Your blog is awesome! Keep up the good work!

By the way, I did see your site, to see what your bragging was about. Your wedding “creations” are just as ugly and tacky as anyone else.

Or maybe the stigma is there for a reason, because they’re cheesy and cheap looking….just a thought.

I’ve always found these balloon creations somewhere between cool and REALLY SCARY. Not sure why.

I am a strong lover of balloons. They are silly and beautiful.

Yes, I agree with you that there IS more to being a GOOD florist than just throwing flowers in a vase. And I think everyone who reads your blog knows that; just like in any profession there are those who are good at what they do, and there are those who are not. I, for one, have a great deal of respect for skilled florists because I do know there IS an art to color, balance, vectors, etc.

But I guess that was part of my point. There seems to be a further perpetuation that flowers, no matter what state they’re in, are better than balloons. And in the hierarchy of the wedding industry, it seems that a bad florist STILL ranks above some of the best balloon decorators with regard to importance. I know this from personal experience, and I wouldn’t consider myself a slouch by any means.

As to your comments about only posting bad or ugly balloon decor, again, I would have to disagree. One of the photos you posted about halfway down the list is one created by Wynn Bell, a skilled designer from Oregon. I think you might have included it with your menagerie because it was probably “bootlegged” by another artist on their website, but the golden canopy with the heart in the center flanked by four balloon columns is actually a gorgeous piece of balloon decor that is perhaps one of the most copied pieces in our industry. Again, you might have found it with a collection of other bad photos, but the full sized version of the photo is quite stunning by any standard. And the parent company who actually commissioned him to create the design, Qualatex, have leased the rights to that photo time and time again to a myriad of magazines who use it in their promotions, advertisements and campaigns in the bridal industry.

Here’s the other problem. The bridal industry heavily influences other aspects of the event business. Shortly after the generalization came out that balloons were bad for weddings, it spread. Now suddenly high end events began to shy away from them. Event coordinators began to steer clear of balloons for fear of being stuck in the same stereotype. And the effects trickle down to where the only markets nowadays that truly seek balloons are those aimed at children: mitzvahs, school dances, etc. Fortunately, my clients have realized I offer a higher end product and now I AM able to secure the higher end events, but it wasn’t before many years of fighting, clawing and convincing people there WAS more to them than simply hauling in a helium tank.

Does the exposure ultimately help? I’m honestly not sure. Yes, it can be said that any attention is good attention, but when the attention further perpetuates an image problem shared by an industry, well, I’m not entirely sure. While I feel that many in my own industry have to “clean house” as it were to shape themselves up and increase the image, fewer blogs painting pictures with broad strokes would help too.

But in the end, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to blog, so I do thank you for your effort and your time. And while it was unnecessary, I do appreciate the nice plug you inserted into the gallery regarding our dresses from Shanghai. My new site, aerationdecorations.com, will be coming in the near future with a much larger selection of designs and decor pieces to see.

Thanks again.

Steven Jones
Aeration Decorations
AeraDecoVideo.com
FLOATtheconvention.com