Will go... just need to find money for it...

I did hear that the Millennium Jam would not be going ahead this year but that there would be an event in England instead. I am presuming that this is the event that was being talked about. But it isnt replacing the Millennium Jam. Twisters seem to have been forgotten here it seems. Although I am having a go at decor and a little go at fashion I am still at heart a twister. There are lots of people who don't want to get into decor but want to come to twisting workshops (not as an intergrated part of decor). In the last couiple of years I have had to choose between the Belgium Millennium Jam and the Euro Jam because they were both being held so close together instead of 5 months apart as used to be the case. Now I have to choose between the Euro Jam and the Qualatex event in Oxford. I would have picked the Qualatex event if the organizers had considered it worth including more than a token gerture to us twisters. So I am dithering on the fence over this. I have to say I was very disappointed when I saw it was basically an event for decorators and not an event for both even though you say for entertainers. If anyone wants to point out whats in it for an entertainer balloon wise I would still consider the event however.

Ok humble pie time!!

I have just been speaking with Graham who has put me straight on some facts. I should have spent more time reading the event details. There is more twisting than I had thought. Colin Myles and Robbie Furman to name just two. Dee White as well I believe. All people I respect and admire. Grovel grovel grovel.........
So apologies for being a bull at the gate. I now have reason to re-consider.

Thanks for putting me straight. Sorry to Qualatex for getting it wrong.

And not to mention Shirley Ray, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I said not to mention Shirley looks like she will be running two seperate classes.
I better go and book myself in for the event.

I have to say I have just looked at the classes being taught and there are only 2 classes being taught that are relay twisting classes. a beginner class by Robbie and 1 advanced class by Shirley there rest are all décor based, maybe décor with a twist but still décor.

I do feel that at such a big event the use of a UK based twister (as good as she is) is a shame we can get to see the likes of Shirley at other events care share events etc. it would have been nice to see a top internationality recognised twister from the us Japan or similar location that we would not normal have the chance to see.

I love Robbie to bits but he is teaching a beginner class and a class on the balloon stick people (useful maybe but not serious twisting).

So I have to say that I agree with Thelma's original feelings that this is out and out a decorator event with a very tiny bit of twisting thrown in.

Yes there are some good twisters teaching but they are not teaching twisting but decorating.

Roger.

Well firstly I got the impression that it is a Balloon Decor event with a few token twisting workshops thrown in. I then thought that I had been mistaken when it was pointed out that certain twisters were attending and running workshops and apologised for my former assumption. But now I am gathering that these twisting workshops are about twisting for decor. So now I don't know what to think. The Millennium Jam was a twisting event with some extra days added on at the beginning for balloon decor. Total Balloon Decor for a couple of days and total twisting for a few days. The event in Oxford is not in the spirit of the Millennium Jam. If Qualatex are upset because I made my first comments maybe they should think how upset all the twisters might be that they seem to be getting just a token consideration. I felt bad about my first post on this thread thinking I had jumped the gun somewhat. But the more I find out about it the more I think my first post was right. If Qualatex want loyalty from the twisting community perhaps they should be more respectful to us. I am actually starting to get into decor a little bit but my main interest is still in twisting and direct contact with people using balloons as a means to opening communicate. A lady in Weatherspoons tonight told us she had learned to make some simple balloons for a charity event and I said to her "Be careful, it’s addictive." But actually that’s not true. It’s the magical effect balloons have on people that I am addicted to. I did one balloon at a wedding reception on Friday at the end of the meal before taking the children to another area. By the time I had finished it everyone had stopped what they were doing and was watching. When I handed it over to the child everyone clapped and some people actually stood up to applaud. That’s how balloons can catch peoples imagination. I did say to everyone when the clapping stopped "It’s all downhill from here!" But it’s not just that sort of thing. Diane Orrett spoke at the Care and Share day last Thursday. She told us how she has been going to the areas stuck by the terrible Tsunami in Japan where the people still have nothing and still live amidst the twisted wreckage that was their lives. She told us how the simple balloons she made helped everyone to take their minds off their plight for a while. How much it lifted their spirits. I know balloon decor brings in a lot more revenue than balloon twisting but please take us seriously. It is an art form and every art form has its value. When an entertainer complains because the audience did not respond the way they wanted them to, I think the entertainer should look at what was wrong with the show and not blame the audience. The same applies with the Qualatex event. If we are posting things you don’t like you should not blame us but look at why we are not happy. It is a lot of money to spend and a lot of money to lose in earnings at the weekend to go along to an event that only offers a few token workshops for twisting. If anyone at Qualatex thinks my comments or Roger’s are unfair then I am very happy to be corrected as I did say in my first post about this.

Hi folks, I am afraid I echo and agree with Thelmas views.. and YES its the impact the balloons have that we are addicted too, too. I feel sorry for decorators who never get the instant WOW feedback when clients walk into their venue and also know the loneliness of creating beautiful room displays and having no one to share it with..

But I can also take a business prospective on this, after all we are all business people.

You have to remember Qualatex is a manufacturer of Balloons and as much as we all love them and promote them they are not a charity and they are there to SELL product to their customers and those that buy more product as in any industry will get priority treatment.

As a Twister and a Decorator I can tell you that I have FAR MORE stock ( and I mean FAR MORE) for Decorating balloons than Twisting balloons..

When we first started decor 16 years ago after twisting for about 4/5 years there was a BIG industry difference between the long skinny balloons we use and the round balloons of decor - believe me even the teachers of balloon art did not know anything about long balloons... and treated them with discontent...

Over the years it has been interesting watching the marketing of long balloons to the decorators - so much so they now call themselves decor-twisters - we should come up with a name for Twisters who also do decor ( maybe twisting-decorators..LOL)

You have to take it into account until we put forward ourselves for OCN to approve our twisting course there have not been any recognised training course for twisters here in the UK - just books, dvd's and twisters sharing and teaching each other (even with QAI's). The course we have put forward was even refused by the Nabas committee as recent as February this year as not required for the Balloon industry and not all their teachers would have the knowledge to present a twisting course was their response.

Both mediums have developed amazingly over the years we have been involved in the industry - but still from a manufacturers point of view decorating is bigger than twisting because of sales volume
(infact if you speak to decorators they will comment that Qualatex aim is more towards shops and retailers than those that work from home for the same reasons)..

We are a small niche industry and the fractions within it are even smaller... Maybe the twisters going to the event can ask for an open Jam room to be supplied and facilitated at the venue (its not a lot of cost for Qualatex to add some twisting balloons into a room. Then at least if the seminars that are going on that have no interest to you, you have somewhere you could go communicate and share your skills together - who knows you could end up with millenium jam style allnighters - even some decorators may get involved with the fun...

But at the endof the day - this event is to sell more product to those who buy more.. and thats business you cant blame anyone for doing that

Pam
xx

I posted similar reservations about this event earlier in this thread, but every cloud has a silver lining...



This event is only the week before, the costs will probably be cheaper and for those who normally worry about a weekend event it does not run over a weekend.

Let's leave the deco guys to it and party on in Holland

apparently its been set up because the dutch twisters felt and same the same as you guys.. and want a twisting event

Pam
xx

Opening night looks amazing fun... Disney themed

xx