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Top 5 Things To Know When Hiring A Balloon Artist in Utah

Three Utah brothers with balloon animals

We at Party Pipeline have been twisting balloons in Utah for over 16 years, and we would like to share some insights on what it is like to hire a local, professional balloon artist. Keep in mind that this article comes from the perspective of the balloon twister, so it may differ from the side of the customer. That being said, customers have been very honest and generous with feedback about their experiences in hiring our services, so we hope you will get a good idea of what to expect when hiring a pro balloon twister here in this beautiful state. If you want to jump to hiring a balloon artist right away, click here.

  1. Every Balloon Artist Has A Different Skillset & Style – I personally have been doing balloon art for over 20 years, so by now simple designs such as dogs, cats, swords, monkeys, and even unicorns are an afterthought, and muscle memory ensures that my hands can make them within seconds, all while chatting with the kids or letting my eyes wander to people-watch at the event. However, most balloon artists do not have THAT amount of time and practice under their belt; few do because they have other jobs (and lives). Therefore, a great deal of artists that may show up to your event may not be the Dumbledore of balloon twisting. Rather, they may be the Ron Weasley of balloon art. And although Ron Weasley may not be as fast and capable as Dumbledore, he still has the magic. He can still churn out awesome designs that will make children’s faces light up and parents go “Blimey!” So what does this mean when hiring an artist: Will everyone get the Dumbledore? Well, not always. Sometimes you will get the grand master, Wizard Dumbledore, and sometimes you will get Ron. Pictures on websites and Instagram are helpful to know what kind of balloon art you can expect. Generally, the basics we teach at Party Pipeline can make 99.9% of clients pleased and say “I’ve never seen those creations before!”. So, expect every artist to make a slightly different unicorn, and remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
  2. Expect A Line – People who have never hired a balloon artist tend to underestimate how popular the twister can get. At corporate events and even birthday parties, parents and children will line up and wait for up to an hour to get a simple balloon creation. As a rule of thumb, a normal balloon artist can do anywhere between 25-50 balloon sculptures an hour. If they are doing simple designs like swords, they can churn those out fast, and get close to, if not go over, that 50 sculpture amount. If they are requested to do designs like dragons, you can expect the line to move a lot slower. So, the best way to mitigate people from waiting a long time in line and to help prevent overwhelming the balloon artist is to hire multiple artists. By having more artists there, it becomes less of a balloon factory and more of a balloon spa where the customer doesn’t feel like a number to get done before the time runs out.
  3. Better Comfort = Better Experience – If the balloon artist is placed in the sun, it won’t be long until the balloons are drenched in sweat and a good portion of the balloons pop while being made, because they can’t stand the heat. So, it is really essential that the balloon artists are placed is a shaded area with space to work and a some shade where the guests may line up. If the event is long (2+ hours) and well attended, the balloon artists can get too busy to take a break and may get thirsty and hungry. There have been times for me that the event can be so draining that, at the end of the event, I feel like I might just wither away. However, at events where I am kept hydrated and full–I feel like I could go forever. So, we love when the host inquires as to how we are doing and even brings us a cool drink or a plate of food. When the balloon artist is as comfortable as possible, you get a better performance.
  4. Adults Love Balloon Animals Too – All it takes is one. I have been at many events where the kids have gotten their balloons and are running around playing with them. And the balloon artist gets bored and starts offering balloon designs to the adults at the event. Usually, the first few will turn down the offer on principle, thinking balloons are to be enjoyed by children alone, and they don’t want to appear immature. However, when one adult will buck that trend and ask for something fun, then their friend will give in and ask to be surprised. The other adults will see their friends with a cute turtle bracelet or a cool hammer and then request for the balloon artist to make them something as well. It really is quite heartwarming to see adults connect with their inner child and let loose. Balloon art turns the clock back.
  5. Tips Are Appreciated – We at Party Pipeline do not require to be tipped but love it when we are! There have been commercial businesses I have run into that have hard requests or have even demand tips, and I find it simply obnoxious. And I don’t want my customers to have a similar experience. Here in Utah, we don’t have a strong tipping culture, so I don’t get offended when I am not tipped. But I am always impressed when I am. People often ask, “How much is a good tip?” Once again, I leave that up to the customer. But I have been tipped anywhere from $10 to $150, and I am appreciative of both.
Balloon Entertainers in Utah
Local Utah Balloon Artists
A nice Utah family with balloon animals, hats and laser guns in Provo, Utah
Balloon Art at the Riverwoods
Co-workers at a company party with balloon hats
Balloons At A Company Party
A young girl with a balloon sword and her face painted at a farmers market in Utah
Balloons At A Farmers Market
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Balloon Photo Shoot

Its not everyday a photographer asks you to provide her with 20 balloon dogs for a photo shoot in Downtown Provo. We were happy to oblige! The photographer, Felicia (Instagram handle @imagesbyfelicab), loved the concept of balloon dogs being walked in a downtown area and wanted to bring it to life, and she did a great job! Just check these out!

We are pretty impressed with how these turned out! If anyone wants to do photo shoots in the future with balloons, balloon animals, or whatever let us know!

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Lakers Themed Birthday Garland

Lakers Balloon Garland

This one was quite fun. The team working with the CEO of a Utah company wanted to do something special for his birthday. He is a huge Lakers fan, so they commissioned us to do a Lakers themed balloon garland. Not knowing what the office looked like beforehand, we had to pick the best spot to hang it up once we got there, that was easy because the windows provided the most amazing backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains, one of the many benefits Utah has to offer. Go Jazz!

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Roblox Birthday Balloons

We got the request to make 2 life size balloon sculptures of Roblox characters, not being 10 years old, we had to look up what Robloxs were! Turns out a Roblox fan can make their own characters (super cool avatars) and this special birthday boy had 2 favorite characters that his parents wanted to be on display during his birthday party. Well, making a balloon sculpture is never straight forward, especially when you have never done the specific design before, and you have less than 24hrs to complete it! (balloons don’t last very long haha) Luckily, we have had experience with these life size sculptures before, ever since 2012 where we made a life size balloon of LeBron James that went viral and landed the video on ESPNs Top 10. Since then, we have learned some useful techniques to make the sculpture last longer and look better. So after 10 hours of working late into the night in a gym in Provo, Utah we busted these bad boys out! Fortunately the boy and family loved them, another happy client!

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Star Wars Balloon Sculptures

AT-AT Walker Balloon Sculpture

Over the years we have been hired by companies in the Salt Lake City area who want to have parties in a galaxy far far away. They love to go BIG! So they call us and ask for something that will make their event full of the Force. Over the years we have made giant Star Wars balloon sculptures for these events, everything from Jabba the Hutt to the Mandalorian. People always ask how long it takes to make a big sculpture like this, and it varies but the average is around 10-12 hours, and they stay in good shape for a few days if they are kept indoors. We don’t use any preassigned pattern, we just start twisting until it looks like we want it to. The best part of making a giant balloon sculpture is seeing the faces of those who see it for the first time; they are outright mesmerized.

The Force is strong with this one.

If you would like to learn more about these sculptures or get one of your own, feel free to contact us here.

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Partying In Park City

2020 has been a wild year to say the least. Despite the tumultuous world around them, skiers in Park City still can find time to relax and enjoy themselves, that’s where we come in! We are always stoked to travel up to Park City to entertain people from all over the world. This past New Years Eve we were blessed to do balloon art and caricatures for the good people of PC! The balloons and caricature work were both incredibly popular with kids and adults, we met people from all over the US and from other countries here to hit the slopes.

We are inspired by the resiliency of the human spirit and American entrepreneurship that keeps us forging ahead! If you would like to learn more about our services, feel free to contact us here.

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Balloon Cloud Garland

Pure Storage in Lehi, Utah was celebrating their companies birthday, another year of providing quality cloud storage services. You may wonder, “how do you decorate the office to commend such an occasion?” Answer: make a beautiful balloon garland in the shape of clouds!

Upgrade your event with garlands!

With the proper blend of very large and small balloons, one can capture the build of a cloud quite easily (luckily balloons and clouds have similar patters) The trick is getting it to attach to the wall; you have to leave some long strings attached to the main body to tape to the wall. If you have some every couple of feet, you can position the garland to almost any arrangement you need!

If you would like a garland made for you please contact us here.