Balloon Chat
Uncategorized Boards => Events. Balloon, Magic, Etc => Topic started by: G L Admin on July 06, 2009, 05:41:10 PM
Diamond Jam is coming up in a few weeks which I'm looking into getting possibly a cheapish flight out to attend.
They have some good names lecturing and a balloon fashion show on the 16th Aug plus balloon camp which is for the balloon decorators so all in all a good few days of ballooning.
More details and website are; http://www.diamondjam.com/registration.htm (http://www.diamondjam.com/registration.htm)
I'm also looking into going to the August magical masterclass that Jeff McBride is holding on the 19/26th Aug which just happens to follow on nicely from the balloon convention and is also in Vegas.
I wanted to let you know about some exciting news for our industry. To receive some exposure for the talents and artistry of Balloonists worldwide, we've arranged to get some national media coverage.
NBC's The TODAY SHOW has confirmed they will be joining us this year. We're proud to have been a part of putting this together and we're sure it will be a big boost to our industry
Our special guest and celebrity model this year will be Jenna Wolfe Correspondent and weekend anchor for the NBC Television show. Jenna will be joining us, with her film crew, to so do some special features on the Fashion Show, Diamond Jam and Summer Balloon Camp. They will be filming from Friday until Monday to cover the classes and activities at the events. The 2008 winner of the "Top Fashion Designer" Award, Debbie Stevens, will be creating a dress for Jenna and has agreed to teach a class on Dress Making on Monday morning at Balloon Camp.
The 2009 Balloon Couture Fashion Show has a few spaces left for competitors vying for the "Top Fashion Designer" Award.
So if you're a dressmaker or want to be a dressmaker now is your opportunity to show your talents and skills to the Balloon Industry and the public. There's no cost to be a part of the Fashion Show competition. Just be registered for either Diamond Jam, and have a dinner ticket for the show, or register for Balloon Camp.
All the information is on our web sites. Hope to see you there!
Well I finally done it after looking at the screen for booking my flight to America for 30 mins yesterday and two hours tonight I've finally pressed the buttons tonight and booked :o
I come out in a cold sweat just booking the tickets let alone flying.
yea!! I'm glad you're coming Graham, it will be nice to visit with you again :)
So, is anyone else planning on going?
No sorry, I will be performing my balloon show at the Edinburgh festival!
But i look forward to reading about Diamond Jam on the forum here!
8-)
Yes, it will be good to see you again Graham! You too Tonya!! I will be at the Tuscany from the 12th-18th. Ive chose to attend Diamond Jam and just "hang around" the hotel during balloon camp. Drinks on me! See you soon!
Very cool Jack, glad you'll be there too :)
I'll only be there the 12th thru the 14th though.
See you soon.
Jack, the same as myself. Attending diamond jam and hanging around the hotel for balloon camp. And the drinks are on you, perfect ;)
I have a week to go before we fly out for Diamond jam and the Jeff McBride Magic masterclass.
Have hotels booked, how cheap can they be? For the balloon convention I'm booked in for six nights at the convention hotel and will be sharing, the cost to me $110 and then we are booked in at a motel for the masterclass again sharing the room but with a hire car and for eight nights the all in the price is $195. Rooms in Vegas in August are very sensibly priced.
I will try and do a bit of reporting back on the convention and classes that I sit in on so that we can give a rough feel to how things are and possibly tempt you into coming to one of the American conventions sometime soon.
My stress levels are getting up to maximum :o
All packed, just sorting out the paperwork etc for the 11 am flight tomorrow morning.
I've started on the wine to help me relax, very much looking forward to the trip, once there ;)
Well I'm glad I checked the paperwork as my flight goes at 10.10 am,
So rule number one always make sure you know what time your flight departs
Have a fantastic time over there Graham.
Enjoy.
:shock:
even the flight!
Danny ;)
Sitting waiting at departures, those eagled eye'd will notive I'm posting this after my flight was meant to take off :o
Nothing seems to run smoothly sometimes as we have a 3 hour delay of the flight into Charlotte. My connecting flight did have a 4 hour gap so I'm still booked on the original Charlotte to Vegas flight as I have an hour and ten minutes to catch it so fingers crossed we will still get to Vegas on time at 19.50 Tuesday night
Hi All,
I'm sitting in a business centre at Charlotte airport writing this as yet again I've had a really exciting time travelling with my flights :o :o
So where to start, the flight wa delayed at gatwick for three hours but that still left me enough time with my connection as I had a four hour and ten minute window to connect with it. Flight was fine for the first six hours of a 8 hour 40 min flight although it was odd that you had to pay for some of your drinks and only got a basic meal although extra's we're available for a charge. First time on United States airline but on BA and virgin everything is complimentary. So got a bit fed up after six hours but with reading, I got Frank Skinner's new stand up book which is OK but not a riveting read oh and you had to pay for the headsets to listen to the films, very odd.
So we are over Charlotte airport and are told there will be a 15 minute delay while we circle due to thunderstorms and then a 15 minute delay on the tarmac till we can unload, so after 30 mins of circling we are informed tht we are off to a different airport to refuel as we are running low. We spend about 30mins on the ground at Greensville? to refuel which is only 60 miles from charlotte and in no time we are back in the air and at our destination at 7.30 which is five and a half hours late so no connection to Vegas so it's off to a hotel which took nearly two hours to get to with waiting for the shuttle and re booking my flight for this morning at 11.30 am. The quality inn was only a 5 minute drive from the airport but unfortunately in the night they had a power cut, you probably think I'm making this all up :D so how people managed to get out in the night as there was no emergency lighting I havn't got a clue as when it was light I could see hardly anything.
So I've missed Ralph Dewey's think tank which is why I came over a day early but at least I have some new experiences to share and I still have a smile on my face.
Las Vegas........here I come
note to self - never fly with Graham :D :D
Hope you get there OK
Smiggle, your not the only one that has said they would never fly with me :D
Still I did get here ok and spent a couple of hours participating in the think tank with Ralph Dewey and a few others and picked up a few neat idea's from the session.
Have just been to Bidou's class who is from France and it was most useful with some good idea's that are most useful for the real world, the concept was putting sculptures onto hats but while making them and telling a story which helped to lead your audiance up the garden path so to speak. The models not looking like anything so people struggled to try and guess what was being made and then at the end was the urica moment when it all came together, worth sitting in on the class as at the end he had a variation on a ball theme which had many applications for a face, turtle, camel, car etc etc
pleased you got there in the end. Sorry I made that jpke now about the flying being nothing to worry about but the airport was a different matter. I just got back from my trip to Wales but can't sleep so got up again. Hope the rest of your trip goes more smoothly Graham.
So the classes I went to yesterday we're Bidou, Ken Stillman, Patricia Bunnell and Mark Byrne.
All classes we're interesting and I'll do more of a write up when I get a few minutes. I have been taking some pictures but due to me having the new camera for some reason that is beyond me I can't download the disc to get the pictures onto my laptop so may need to upload these when I get home but just going to see if it will load up again now before I set of to the next class.
Good news Ed Chee has just sorted out the problem with the download and I now have the pictures on the laptop and will try and post some when I get a few minutes, this is embarrasing but I also had a card reader on my computer that I never knew about :oops: :oops:
Writing up the convention is very difficult to do as the majority of the lecturers are friends but I will try and be honest and give my views as I see things, so please note these are my views and may vary to others.
Ken Stillman - Thinking outside the box.
Ken had a few nice idea's with the betallic odd shapes, the best for me being the giraffe head mad from memory a small teddy bear head, this shape could also be used for a horse and unicorn. He also had a nice elephant made from the snowman shape.
It should be said that Ken got out of his sick bed to be at the convention as for the past 3/4 weeks he has been suffering with his health. He was even at the doctors the day before.
It was also not his day as for some reason whatever could go wrong on the day seemed to :o
Sometimes we all get these days but Ken kept going and a few good tips and ideas was passed on to those that attended.
Struggling with uploading the pictures as I've now re-sized them but they are being saved in a programme I cant seem to find on the lap top, I'll have to see if I can find Ed again ;)
Patricia Bunnell - Bubble Belly Babies
Patricia went through some of her models from this DVD, Winnie the pooh, Eey-ore and a very good rabbit which was definately my favourite :) The class moved along at a slowish pace and Patricia has a very soft voice that definately needs to be projected or what we will do when she lectures in the UK later on in the year is to mic her up. She has plenty of great ideas to choose from and has done three different lectures here this week.
The last lecture I saw from day one was Mark Byrne - Bad to the balloon
Mark went through his persona as bad to the balloon and showed how he worked at parties moving quickly on and showing some excellent and very usable creations that are very usable in the real world. They we're all on hat's, Teddy on heart, braided hat, duck hat, mermaid, dolphin, superman, hulk, monkey up a tree, elephant and dragon. A nice class which surely no one could have left without getting a few good idea's from.
I'm sitting in the jam room writing the reviews up at 11.15 p.m. and the lectures I went to on day two we're Jimmy Leo, Colin Myles, Mark Byrne and Jane Driscoll. This morning the first two classes we're absolutely excellent and well worth seeing with some greta tips on how to promote yourself and a very nice woven heart, I'l do a write up when I get a few more minutes hopefully later on in the week.
A big thank you to Harveyfor helping me find my picture folder on the laptop :D Harvey was one of my team members last night along with Jenine in the twisting with the stars competition thatwe didlast night which was based on an American TV programme. We had twenty minutes on each to make models related to music, rock, 50's and country. We had a laugh and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
Just off to the first class of the day so will try and down load some more pictures soon.
1, Charlotte airport with the birds flying around the inside of the airport
2, The first plane for flight again at Charlotte airport
3, The Tuscanny hotel, I just liked the way the towel was folded. I'm sad ;)
Some more pictures;
1, Hotel room, very large. More a suite with kitchen fecility's
2 & 3, Pink panther on a hat from Bidou's class
Bidou showed a nice ball technique and the face, helicopter are based on this design. The snail had a lovely story to it while it was being made which took you from a twister to an entertainer.
The skull is another variation from Bidou on his bal technique and the dog and elephant are from Ken Stillman's lecture on odd shapes from the Sempertex range.
The first night entertainment was the busking competition which I personally think should be scrapped, it's not a true representation of what you would need to do if you went out into the big world to do some busking. There we're either 6/8 competitors who entered and I believe some had no notion as to what busking was or what was involved in the art of
getting a crowd before you start to entertain them. Some of the acts should not have entered as they just got onstage and twisted without talking at all or even trying to entertain those that we're watching.
Instaed of this being on the stage if the wish to continue with it why not put it on inthe hotel lobby or on the Las Vegas strip where true busking would be possible. Before the evening started Gary Leadbetter the compere/master of ceremonies encouraged the baying crowd to heckle, harrass and really give the competitors a hard time............why? When busking you get some light banter etc but as the audiance we're mainly entertainers I feel this made for a very difficult situationfor those brave enough to take part. It would also have been nice for the compere to do a little research into the names of those taking part and where they came from so that he had a little info on every one rather than saying well here's the next one every time. We had tickets to vote on who we thought should win, I decided not to vote.
These again are just my thought's though.
After the busking competition was the very first balloon world record attempts which was run by Ralph Dewey, there we're two catagories for this year, weaving a two balloon spiral hat and the interwoven flower. All balloons had to be inflated with a hand pump with all the balloons on the table un-inflated and with a 30 minute time limit. I was changing rooms when this was going on and will find out who took the honours and can promote themselves as world record champions. This may very well be coming to the UK with other catagories being competed for so that we can promote and expand the balloon world to the general masses, so perhaps there will be a few world record attempts taking place at a care & share day near you soon :D
So onto the two best lectures I have beento so far while at Diamond jam,
Jimmy Leo, Marketing beyond the balloon box.
This was an excellent class with not a balloon in sight on how to promote yourself, no matter what I say about this session it won't do it justice. Well worth attending with full notes being sent to you via a pdf file after the event. Jimmy is a very loud person and in your face and it does possibly take a while to get to know him but it's well worth while getting to know him as he is avery interesting character.
So onto Colin Myles lecture, who is a good friend but I did speak with others about his class to make sure I gave a true reflection on what he taught and showed.
I thought this was an excellent class and realy made for a great morning as I attended this just after the Jimmy Leo class, Colin explained very well his heart shape woven technique.
The heart could be left like this or aded to by threading through extra balloons to make the heart look fuller and solid, hopefully the pictures will explain this better. Colin has a nice way with him when teaching and is just the same teaching or socialising and he engages everyone in the classroom, my only suggestion which I have already spoken to him about is that ashe has a fairly soft voice in the classroom it would be better if he was mike'd up so that he projects better. If Colin is doing a teaching day near you, then go as you won't be dis-appointed.
Mark Byrne, Why only balloon hats
Mark spoke about why he likes to make balloon hats in his resturant work that he does as it makes and frames the face for a good photo opportunity. Mark went through his complete set up where everything is bought from and why he does things in a certain way. Plenty of info for everyone and also time for half a dozen hats made the Mark Byrne way.
Pictures from the world record attempt's that could be coming your way soon to a care & share day :)
1, flowers going to the hotel staff after the event
2, Denzil going all out to win
3, All the hat's after the attempt
Pictures from the jam room;
1, usable car
2, Another one of Jenine's frog's
3, Colin & Lorinda, two lovely people
More picture's;
1,Jack Mattson's bear
2, Tonya Mcneil's geo pig
3, Minnie, unknown
More picture's from the jam room;
1, Tonya McNeil's, sheep
2, Elephant hat, unknown
3, Dress made for the nbc TV reporter
Pictures from Patricia Bunnell's lecture bubble belly babies;
Jane Driscoll, Restaurant entertainment
Zanie Janie is a lovely lady with a big personality and you cant help but warm to her. There we're some good advice given in the first half hour of the session with three excellent tips passed on to those that attended, and it was a full class, the biggest of the week that I attended, approx 60 people. Guess who has just walked in the room as Istart to do a review about here........yes you guessed it, Jane.
So the first 30 mins for me was excellent but as we don't have a restaurant market in the UK the the rest of the session passed me by but the rest of the class attendees we're very enthusiastic and it was all well received by them, you cant help but warm to this lovely enthusiastic lady, except for if she choses you later on in the week to play a princess in a balloon play, yes all will be revealed later on when I write up the gala/awards night. I think I made a nice princess :D
On to the Diamond Star, talent show competition.
Cricket was the first acton who also has a dealers booth and sels magic, balloons, dvd's etc. Does some nice jokes, funny bits and pieces and is very good with the microphone doing all sorts of noises etc.
Tom Vorjohan & Daniel Herron, I bought these two artistes DVD many years back from T.Myers and the quality was so bad I couldn't see or hear what was going on, T never replaced the dvd. So after the show I was speaking with Tom as he bought David Grist's new DVD and I was telling him the story and hekindlyoffered to send me a new one, so tha was very nice of him. There sketchwas old macdonald had a farm with many volunteer's up on stage and the bdouble act playing off each other,they seemed to get a good response from the audiance but I thought the act was very american and a lot of it passed me by.
Roger the balloon wizard did a scene about a garden which turned out to be an octopussys garden with an underwater theme and singing along to the song.
Tony Cooper did improv with characters and lecturers from around the convention being part of his show, it was nicely done and very topical.
Janet and Adam Lennox told the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf, the props we're very nicely made and Janet kept the pace flowing along while Adam her young son of about nine was the star of the show. A nice little act that was put together for the convention.
Sheldon Blake has a very lively and possibly at times over the top personality and performed a card in sword magic effect. Sheldon when you talk with him one to one is a very likeable young man but does need to learn quickly where the line is and what is funny and what offends people. I expect he will learn and come back as a very useful addition to our balloon community.
Tony Cooper won the competition
Thanks for taking the time out to review the event Graham. It sounds like you are getting plenty out of the trip. I will have to squeeze some tips out of you when you get back. As for you being a Princess. Its worrying but I can actually imagine you as a Princess. Very sweet too if I may say so.
Thank you for sharing Graham some great stuff, I wish I was there :cry:
fantatstic photos... were you allowed to film maybe some of the twists and turns on your mobile? it would be cool to have some first hand to hand show of how to twist some of those things....
I only went to two out of four classes on the Saturday, first up was Jimmy Leo on character developement. It was interesting to see and hear Jimmy's thoughts on this and how you can play with varying idea's but for me and others that I spoke to after, the class lacked something or it may have been that his other lecture which was for me one of the highlights of the convention was just too dam good and he had no where to go with this one.
Fantasy Flowers, Janice Whitehead.
I was looking forward to this class as I had bought the DVD from Janice about this subject a few weeks previous. Janice and I'm assuming her husband set up a video screen as most of the work is very detailed and they both went through this assuming we had some basic idea of the subject. I thought more explanation was needed as she jumped ahead sometimes and even I was unsure of some of the steps. I would like to see more detailed explanations with not such a wide range of flowers being talked about. So then it was time to try and make a carnation in class, I was very pleased with my first effort and wore it to the gala awards ceremony in the evening and had many many nice comments made. So thanks Janice for your efforts :D
We are hopingJanice will be doing the star interview soon on the forum.
Let's try this for the second time, just spent fifteen minutes writing up all the other lectures and then is dis-appeared :o
This is the list of classes on offer that I never managed to attend;
Kris Cope, Put on a happy face, The everybody
Ralph Dewey, Kingdom Twisters, Balloons with heart
Robbie Firman, Introduction to deco twisting, Deco weaving, Business side of deco twisting
Ed Chee, Improve your yield, New and Advanced twisting techniques
Patrick van de Ven, For the birds, Apes and primates
Bidou, 5" Prints. King of new twisting elements
Jane Driscoll, Art of the story
Jan Iimes and Ken Stillman, Awesome twacking
Ken Stillman, Beat the hard times with awesome balloons
Nina Dees, three face painting classes
Patricia Bunnell, Beyond twisted critters
Colin Myles, Small table centrepieces
Russ Sauve, Special event coordination
Julie Coheley, Start making more money
So there was definately something for everyone with plenty of choice, possibly too much though as it was not possible to see all the instrutors. Rather than one teacher doing 2 or 3 different classes it may be better to have them do the one class and teach it a few times throughout the week at varying times so that it would be possibly to see everything that is on offer as plenty of work is being put into the classes by the instructors and it's a shame when the classes are poorly attended due to so much choice being on offere and registration/numbers on the low side.
The awards ceremony on the last night of diamond jam was well attended due to this being the cross over day and start of ballooncamp.
I will add all the winners at a later date for all the competition winners etc.
Ralph Dewey's world record winners,
Braided hat, Stuart Gutter with 38 hats made in 30 mins (can you do better)
Buttercup flower, joint winner's, Ed Chee and Mellisa Condillez with 20 flowers in 30 mins (can you beat this?)
Large Sculpture winner Mark Verge
Medium Sculpture winner Benny Nieves
Stage performer, Tony Cooper
Busking, joint winners, Sheldon Blake and Roger the balloon wizard
Gus the new owner of T. Myers compered the final night show very competently while performing some good strong magical effects with a comical twist thrown in. Zanie Janie then did a little spot with about eight helpers on stage including myself. I think I was type cast as the beautiful princess and enjoyed the experience although all the helpers were a little unsure about what we we're expected to do and the story did seem to go and none of us knew what it was all about. It received a mixed reaction from the audience.
Ralph awarded four special prizes this week, two for up and coming to Tonya McNeill and Jack Mattson who are both members on this forum and twister of the year went to Debbie Stevens.
There was also a trailblazer achievement award that went to Leo Verlinden from IBS balllons and who runs the millennium jam for all his hard work over the years in promoting our balloonart to the world, this was well deserved and I had the honour of picking the award up for Leo and saying a few words on his behalf. This also gave me the opportunity to plug the new DVD that has just been broughtout called "Friends od David" which has 12 top names from within the industry giving there time freely to help raise funds for David Grist's family. I will have a few of thses for sale when I get back at the end of the month.
1, Empty jam room
2, Jenine's work
3, Zanie Janie
1, Monkey, unknown
2, Bidou's team entry, link o loon ride in car
3, Our 20 minute competition rock star entry, Graham Lee, Harvey and Jenine
1, Zanie Janie playing games at the award/gala night with Jimmy Leo and Jack Mattson
2, Cricket in the busking competitio
3, Roger the balloon wizard also from the busking competition
The last thing to write about is the balloon fashion show so when I get a few minutes I'll sort some pictures out as I took over 200 just at this event, but it was amazing, the dresses, words would fail to do this event justice. Everyone that made a dress and competed should be congratulated as I got tingles at this event and to be in the room where the majority of the dresses were being made during the day was a great experience and very interesting to see how everything was put together.
thanks for posting so much Graham, I haven't gone thru all my pictures yet, but I have noticed that not many of my pictures turned out :cry: so it's nice to see some of the figures here. The elephant hat is Jack's. I'm not sure who made the other unknowns. Glad you are having a good time, it was great seeing you. I can't wait to see all the fashion show pics, sounds like there was some amazing dresses again.
thanks again Graham for all the updates :) Have a safe trip home.
Great write up Graham!
I very much enjoyed Diamond Jam this year, even though it seemed so much smaller than past conventions. I actually felt like I was on vacation. I came away with some really good ideas, and some designs I know I will get a lot of use out of (especially that woven heart).
It was great to hang out with both Tonya and Graham.
And Graham, you DO make a lovely Princess!
~Jeanine
Princess here with some more pictures, if anyone else would like to comment on classes they went to and what they thought of them. It would be good to see what others thought about the event.
1, Miss Balloon Heart, our newest member on the forum
2, Benny Nieves
3. Jack Mattson, competition piece
More competition pieces;
More from the competitions;
More;
Robbir Firman has just gone by handing out cold drinks, how nice is that. So many lovely people in this business :)
More;
Some more from the jam room
These are from Janice Whitehead class on fantasy flowers;
1, Class for the fantasy flowers.
2, Entrance for the gala awards.
3, Stage set for the awards ceremony.
1, Table decorations
2, Someone getting ready if they don't agre with the voting
3, Joe Baird and the scholarship winners
Just come back from having a lovely swim and soak in the hot tub, it's a tough life but some times very enjoyable ;)
So onto the fashion show with 24 dresses being on display, just sitting behind the scenes for the days leading up to the show is very interesting and I always learn so much from watching how the competing artistes put there dresses together and the thought process behind it.
I was sitting and chatting with Colin Myles, Debbie Stevens and Mark Verge last night for an hour or so talking about the show and there thoughts on the whole aspect from start to finish and how to solve the many problems that will arise while constructing a dres, I found it very fascinating and interesting speaking with them all.
Those competing for the major prize were,
Marie Dadow
Mark Verge
Melissa Gjergji
Yoon-Hee Park
Ken Shute
Benny Nieves
Lisa Swiger
Kyung-Sook Jeon
Sofie Vandewyer
Mark Byrne
Rie Hosokai
With two first timers,
Ashley Contildes
Jessica Mastrelli
Designer's showcase with two dresses;
Carmen Ballering
Master designers taking part also with two dresses each were,
Larry Moss
Debbie Stevens
Ed Chee
and me old mate Colin Myles
The show was put together very well with Zanie Janie compering part of the show with a big bad wolf story which this time was well constructed and worked very well with some nice cameo parts from the press ganged volunteers and this time I was not taking part as the princess.
I was very busy taking over 200 pictures of all the dresses etc to take too much notice of other things going on but thought the music could have been more edgy and high energy to get the models working the cat walk better and the audiance going. Sometimes a good model can make or break a dress and this time there were a few of the models that didn't work very well with a dress on as they came down the catwalk but then others really brought a dress to life. Benny Nieves model was very good in a very revealing outfit on a star wars theme, others may have been a little intimidated about wearing this but she really worked it well considering all the fuss tha was going on about this dress.
In Europe nothing would have been thought or mentioned but in America it seems to be a different story as Benny had to add some extra content to the dress around the thigh area and it was a talking point after the show which is what art is all about. It seemed odd to me as evrything was well covered with Benny's dress/costume with nothing showing or being revealed but showing a lot of skin yet the first dress on the cat walk showed very little skin but was very revealing around the breast area, very revealing!
This was all being filmed for the NBC today show and will hopefully be broadcast on either Friday or Saturday this week so a really big thank you to Dave Scott and the gang here at Diamond jam for the fantastic publicity this is bound to cause when aired and the hopefully knock on effect it will surely have to our industry.
A final thought was on the judging as I couldn't see any sitting next to the ca walk and none were introduced during the show? At all other events they have always been introduced to the audiance and it seemed a little secretive as to who was doing the judging. For the first time ever it ended with two designers sharing the top spot, Rie Hosokai from Japan and Sofie Vandewyer from Holland.
So congratulations to them but also everyone who took part spending hours and days putting all these truly wondereful creations together, I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about how fantastic this event was and it;s made possible by the dedication to our art of all those that took part.
It possibly is time as well to have two seperate judging critiria as we are getting such a cross section of inflated and un-inflated dresses which add different aspects to the dresses but when it comes to building/constructing the dresses very different pressure.
An un-inflated dress can be made at home weeks/months in advanced and used over and over again in many different shows but the pressure on those using inflated techniques, they have a pressure deadline to meet for the show and can go days without sleep.
Now to a moan..........why do the people competing in the fashion show have to register for the full event and even purchase a ticket for the fashion show?
Full registration was $199 and the fashion show ticket $55 yet they spend 2/3 days backstage building there dresses so not seeing anything of the convention and having to buy a ticket for the fashion show that they are competing in.
The fashion show is the draw for the event, the designers travel from all over the world with hotel, airfare, food expenses etc all having to be paid for and then they have to spend out $254 to take part. Just my thoughts.
I should point out that this is not just at this event that this happens but all over.
Dress one;
Mark Verge;
Melissa Gjergji;
Dress four;
Ken Shute, my room mate for the week.A mention should be made that this was Ken's first dress and it was an excellent first effort. The wings were on an opening mechanism and the dragon actually breathed fire while coming down the cat walk
Benny Nieves;
The things your roving reporter has to do to bring you the best pictures :lol:
Lisa Swiger
Marie Dadow;
Sofie Vandewyer
Mark Byrne;
That's it for the moment, going to see if I can get some tickets for a show. The hotel has a half price outlet for shows today, I saw Matsuri yesterday which is a Japaneese gymnatic show, it was just amazing from beginning to end and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was at the Imperial palace hotel which is a 10/15 minute walk but in around 110 degrees heat was a challenge to get there. Just waiting to cross the road is likje getting stuck in an oven, my throat was dry and you have trouble breathing as the heat warms up the inside of your nose and throat so I may well get a taxi to this afternoons show if I get tickets for one. Will be attending the farewell party tonight as guest of Betallic who are the promotors of Sempertex in the US.
Will try and add some more pictures when I get a chance.
No No!!!! I want more!!!! Well what to say! I am feeling somewhat inspired. There are some fantastic dresses there. So many different techniques too. Good photos Graham. You either had a good zoom or got nice and close. I think it owuld be hard to pick a best dress with so many different styles.
Graham,
You asked a few questions that I've also been wondering about. Why DO artists that help promote the event have to pay? Eh, who knows! ;)
Regarding this particular event, the fashion designers didn't even know what the judging criteria was. Was style most important? ...technique? ...originality? It might help to know when working out a design.
As you stated, there were several gorgeous designs at the show. Many designers opted for uninflated designs. Even Sofie accessorized her AMAZING Dior inspired dress with an uninflated Bolero style coat. I'm sure it won't be long before there is a separate category for these pieces.
Lovely seeing you again, Graham!!
Keep those pictures coming!
Sofie's Amazing Dior inspired dress
(//http://www.balloonhq.com/photos/db/uploadsAfterDec2004/web/4764-1250661102.jpg)(//http://www.balloonhq.com/photos/db/uploadsAfterDec2004/web/4764-1250661060.jpg)
By 'eck, Thelma, your insatiable.
Rie Hosokai
This was one of the first timers;
Carmen Ballering
Caermen Ballering
Mr Colin Myles
Mr Colin Myles
Ed Chee
Ed Chee
Larry Moss
Larry Moss
Just off to change hotels to get ready for the magical masterclass that I'm attending in Las Vegas this week, fingers crossed that they have free internet access and I can still upload more of the hundreds of pictures that I took here at Diamond Jam.
Debbie Stevens
Debbie Stevens
Debbie's second drees had a cape/throw over the top but I never got a picture of this before it was removed on the catwalk, only in the plastic bag behind the scenes. Hopefully someone else may have a picture of this and the front view and will post for us
The winners Rie Hosokai and Sofie
Just had a fun two hours, went to our new hotel that was $36 a night and to say it's a dump would be an understatement, I have pictures and will post later so we are now re-booked back into the first hotel The Tuscanny Suites and we have saved $70 on the week as well :D
This is the hotel we stayed at for 20 mins :o You can see the MGM Grand from the doorway.
David and John are the people I'm sharing with this week for the masterclass.
1, Marie Dadow Dress
2, The two winning dresses
3, Ed Chee
1, Koon, Sofie's boyfriend and a really nice guy.
2, Jordan who works for betallic/sempertex in the US
3, My winning ticket from gambling, a long story and very funny :D :lol:
1, Another winning ticket for 1 cent, celebrating with Bidou's girlfriend, Sylvie
2, Rie putting her first dollar into the machine
3, Jordan and I at the final night party
1, Jane Driscoll, Zanie Janie
2, Rie
3, Rie on the way to the kareoke bar
1, At the kareoke bar
2, Rie asleep on the way home, it was a fun night with some lovely people
Thank you, Graham, for taking time out of your schedule to post all the fashion show pics. As you know, many of the designers were far too preoccupied to take them for themselves.
Also glad to see Colin lived through his near fatal injury! ;)
Just got back from my first day at the magical masterclass and went to see Guy Hollingworth from the UK do his one man show, "Expert at the card table" it was a very enjoyable evening.
Just got back from seeing the Lance Burton show and spending an hour after the show chatting with him, it was a nice evening. Then walked back from the Monte Carlo to our hotel which took about 45 mins and what an experience it is walking down the Vegas strip.
Off to see the Mac King show tomorrow lunchtime which should be a good laugh at Harrah's
Had another exciting day in Vegas, started with seeing the Mac King comedy magic show that was most enjoyable. Then went through my act with Jeff and Eugene at the masterclass which had some very good positive feedback and idea's and now we have just got back from watching Penn & Teller, so a busy and very productive day. Trying to download some more pictures but have a slight problem with my camera at the moment.
Sorted out the camera problem :D
McDonalds in Vegas :o
Thank you so much for sharing!
The masterclass is over which was an experience and interesting, possibly thought provoking would describe it best for me but I'm glad I attended and met some nice people and made a few contacts. Went to see Scarlett and her lady dancers tonight which was a topless magic show, in my defence I didn't know that it was a topless show till after we bought the tickets and paid over the top for them as well, the show was..............dis-appointing to say the least, possibly one to miss. But the amount of illusions in the show was very surprising, one assumes that the show has a big backer but it was very dis-jointed and didn't work on lot's of levels.
Going to see two more shows tomorrow as it's our last day, Nathan Burton who was a finalist on America's got talent and then in the evening we are off to see Magic's a drag with Eugene Burger and Johnny Thompson so really looking forward to that.
sounds like it was worthwhile Graham.
thanks for the updates.
danny
Had a really great last day here in Vegas, off home in the morning. Went to see two very good magic shows today, Nathan Burton who had two great support acts, a mask vent guy who had four volunteers on stage and was very funny and then a good comedy juggler who was also excellent. Then we went to see magic is a drag that was just so funny and a great laugh.
Just got home late this afternoon after yet another eventful flight, flying is just always a challenge for me for some reason.
Still at least I'm home in one piece ;)
ok graham,what happened this time!!!!! Plane diverted to asnother country,ran out of gas,canx flight:)
are u sure u should consider china! :lol:
Don't leave us in suspense! Did you have to land the plane yourself?
The flight from Vegas to Phili was fine and on time, the flight from Phili to Heathrow left on time and all was going well till the captain announced two hours into the flight that we needed to turn back due to Phili due to an instrument failure. So on the way back we were informed that another plane was waiting for us, then when we landed it would only be half an hour and then as we were getting of the plane it would hopefully be with us in an hour.......
So we eventually took off again some five and a half hours later, oh the joy of flying.
Dave Scott who organises the event along with balloon camp very kindly sent me a list of the winners;
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE COMPETITION ENTRANTS.
Here's a complete listing of the Award Winners.
Thanks to all who helped make the events a great time and huge success
The Balloon Couture Fashion Show
A tie for "Top Fashion Designer"
RIE HOSOKAI and SOFIE VANDERWYER
Both will be invited as Masters in 2010
Diamond Jam 2009 Competition Winners;
Diamond Seeker Busker Competition
1st Place (Tie) Sheldon Blake & Roger Godin
2nd Place Denzil Jackson
3rd Place Jeremy Telford
Diamond Star Performance Competition
1st Place Anthony Cooper
2nd Place Daniel Herron & Tom Vorjohan
3rd Place Sheldon Blake
Diamond Artist
Mark Verge
Diamond Master 2 Hour Competition
1st Place Benny Nieves
2nd Place Stu Gutter
3rd Place Jason Torikawa-Domingo
New Diamond First Time Competitor
1st Place Jeff Hatley
2nd Place Patti Gutter
3rd Place Christine Maziarz
Aspiring Diamond Youth Competition Age 4-14
1st Place Jason Torikawa-Domingo
2nd Place Adam Andrew Lenox
Hi Graham,
It was great to have you with us at Diamond Jam and Summer Balloon Camp. You got some great pictures and we appreciate your thoughts on the event. Thanks for keeping our friends across the sea up to date. We are very proud of the event and what it is able to offer to the industry. W have been fortunate to have some great teachers and the people in this industry are inspiring and always willing to share with other balloonists to help make the industry better. The talents shown at this year's event were amazing. The Balloon Couture Fashion Show reached new heights in its display of creative artistry. Just to clarify one of your questions about participants having to be registered for the event, please allow me to explain. The Masters who are invited to create 2 dresses for the show have no costs and are compensated for their efforts. Those competing for the awards, as at other balloon industry events, are required to be registered for the event. At least in the States this is usually the case for any event that has a competition. In our case, arrangements with the host hotel require the event to pay for each person in the room during the meal prior to the show, whether they eat or not. Unlike most conventions we do not charge a fee to enter the competitions held at our events and the prizes are arranged by the event. This year over $10,000 in prizes was given to competition winners. By the way in 2010 the show will have two categories of competition. One for inflated and one for uninflated balloon dresses.
I appreciate your thoughts on the Busker competition. I think the concept of the Busker here in the States may be different than in the U.K. Rather than attracting a crowd the competition is based upon entertaining a mobile crowd, as opposed to entertaining a sitting audience. But, your thoughts are well taken and we're looking at that competition more closely.
Again thanks for joining us and we hope to see you, and many of the talented Balloonists from the U.K., at both Diamond Jam and Summer Balloon Camp in 2010. The Creative Arts Convention next year will continue to help raise the artistry of Balloonists from around the world with new and exciting classes from additional related industries.
All the best
Dave Scott
Welcome back Graham and thank you for all of the posts and pictures - it looked lik a great event.
Quote from: "Graham Lee"The last lecture I saw from day one was Mark Byrne - Bad to the balloon
Mark went through his persona as bad to the balloon and showed how he worked at parties moving quickly on and showing some excellent and very usable creations that are very usable in the real world. They we're all on hat's, Teddy on heart, braided hat, duck hat, mermaid, dolphin, superman, hulk, monkey up a tree, elephant and dragon. A nice class which surely no one could have left without getting a few good idea's from.
Thank you for the nice review Graham!!!
One correction it was spiderman not superman.
Quote from: "Graham Lee"The flight from Vegas to Phili was fine and on time, the flight from Phili to Heathrow left on time and all was going well till the captain announced two hours into the flight that we needed to turn back due to Phili due to an instrument failure. So on the way back we were informed that another plane was waiting for us, then when we landed it would only be half an hour and then as we were getting of the plane it would hopefully be with us in an hour.......
So we eventually took off again some five and a half hours later, oh the joy of flying.
Graham, thanks for sharing all the pics and giving the reviews. Glad to see you made it home safely... if somewhat behind schedule.:) But if I ever work up the courage to fly, please remind me not to fly with you. :D
Bonnie, The Balloon Lady (who only just a few minutes ago was able to post to the forum. Been locked out since before you left for Vegas. grr)
Here is Marie Dadow's dress with the sparkle light; http://www.sparkleit.net/Sparkle_dress.html (http://www.sparkleit.net/Sparkle_dress.html)
The balloon fashion show from Diamond Jam 2009 has just been posted onto you tube, it's well worth a look;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeBC-NmEpR4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeBC-NmEpR4)
So sad I missed this event! I heard great things about it via online reviews through Las Vegas Promos (//http://lasvegas.nyctourist.com/las-vegas-deals) while staying at the MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas (//http://lasvegas.nyctourist.com/hotels/mgm-grand-las-vegas.php), will it be going on again soon? Or at least next year? I would hate to miss it again!
As Diamond Jam was cancelled in 2010, I'm guessing that the event is no longer happening for 2011 or the future. could be wrong though..