PARTY NEWS
Christmas TV Balloon Boost
Balloon artist Lisa Dussek of inspiredballoons.co.uk appeared on primetime television in the run-up to Christmas, teaching TV’s Kirsty Allsopp how to make seasonal balloon sculptures. Helping to get the nation in the mood for Christmas with her novel balloon art, TV awardwinning balloon artist Lisa Dussek of www.inspiredballoons. co.uk was invited into the Channel 4 studios to teach British celebrity crafter and presenter Kirsty Allsopp how to make a cute one-foot high balloon snowman, complete with hat and scarf.
Lisa also made a balloon tableau which stretched eight-feet-wide and comprised a winter wonderland of Christmas trees, snowball fights, snowmen, a penguin family and Santa being pulled along by his reindeer. The show – which was Lisa shows Kirstie shown on Channel 4 on how it's done on Channel 4's Kirstie’s Wednesday 14 December Handmade Christmas. at 8pm – was Lisa's second appearance on Best Handmade Christmas the popular TV series Tableau Competition for her Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas. balloon recreation of the She made her TV debut in last nativity scene. year's show when she won the
The Nuremberg Focus As the largest toy fair in the world, over 70,000 visitors will be heading to the Nuremberg Exhibition Center in Germany to check out some 2,800 exhibitors across 13+ product halls. Taking place from 1 – 6 February 2017, the party, carnival and festive articles section of the show (Hall 9) is becoming more important each year – with 250 party and costume companies showcasing their latest lines for the coming year. However, in 2018, the show will be taking place across five
days instead of six – running from 31 January to 4 February 2018. According to ceo of Spielwarenmese, Ernst Kick; “We are sending out a clear signal that is fully in tune with the needs of our customers, as we are aware of the pressures on both time and budgets.” This year's show won’t be affected by the change and will continue to take place, as planned, from 1 to 6 February 2017. For more information, see www.spielwarenmesse.de
Colin Stewart Classes Come To UK After the success of his 2014 tour, BAPIA is pleased to announce that Colin Stewart is coming back to the UK for three classes in March 2017. This time Colin will be teaching his Lineart class along with some sellable sculpture designs. Colin is a very successful decorator and retailer in Canada and has become a much soughtafter instructor for his very sellable designs and fab sales tips. The dates and locations are: Glasgow (20 March), Enfield (22 March) and Halesowen (23 March). For more details and updates keep
an eye on the BAPIA website at www. bapiaonline.com and also on the BAPIA Facebook page. Below: Unusual décor from Colin Stewart.
One Door Closes Popular Manchester-based fancy dress business and joke shop, The Stage Door is being sold off after 45 years of business, as reported on BBC News NorthWest in early January. The store was originally founded in 1971 by Pat Walsh using £200 she had saved towards a deposit for a house. Pat, now a grandmother-of-four, invested everything she had in the company, using a shoebox for takings until she could afford a till. Today, after several moves up and down the street, The Stage Door is a four-storey treasure trove full to the brim of all things party-related, with jokes, fancy dress, dancewear and accessories for all ages, as well as having its own in-house
wig maker and professional stage make-up studio. Despite an overwhelming passion for the successful business, Pat says ‘it’s been a good home’ but the time has come for her to move on. She is currently looking for new owners who will love the shop and industry as much as she has.
Above: Pat Walsh has been a part of the party industry for 45 years.
Pam's Goes Live!
A Fishy Theft The hunt is on for a brazen thief who stole a beloved metre-high sardine tin costume from a Surbiton pub. The foam costume, which is among the main attractions in the upcoming Seething Festival, was stolen from under the noses of workers at The Lamb pub, in Brighton Road. “I want to think it was just some kids,” said Adam Lewis, 45, who owns The Lamb. “We’ve got the Seething Festival coming
“My heartfelt thanks goes to BAPIA who alerted me to the tableau competition. It was a real honour to be invited back onto the programme this year in order to spread the joy of balloon modelling!”said Lisa, who set up her business three years ago. “My passion is creating large-scale balloon installations which are filled with creativity, a sense of fun, attention to detail and wow factor.” The 2016 show can also been seen on 40D and at Raise the Roof Production’s online blog showing viewers how to create a four foot balloon Christmas tree.
up and the costume is a big part of that – I feel gutted. I’m hoping it can be returned.” The annual Seething Festival sees dozens of residents from across the borough march through Surbiton’s streets in unusual fancy dress attire. The surreal procession last year saw children dressed as cheese and guinea pigs led through the streets by the legendary ‘goat boy’.
The newly-designed Pam's website is now fully functional and – after responding positively to feedback and requests from customers – Pam's now believes it has created a truly efficient, easy-to-use website. “We have added the ‘Quick Order’ system allowing our regular customers to re-order their weekly staples using our product codes,” explained sales director Carl Taylor. “New customers can browse through the categories and add products to their basket at their own pace and everyone can back order out-of-stock items which will be automatically shipped with the next order once the goods arrive.” Right: Seasonal focuses make Pam's home page attractive and easy-to-use.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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