What balloon colors should an entertainer carry?
Overwhelmed with balloon colors, the entertainer struggles to figure out which balloons they should buy and why would they use that color? That’s the question many beginners and some veterans of balloon entertaining ask themselves.
Let’s jump in a time machine and go back to April of 1986, when I first started my professional balloon entertaining career. In my homemade balloon apron are Tilly balloons, a brand name of Dipco Inc. / Tillotson Balloons, of Fall River, Massachusetts. You find Tilly’s balloons at a local trick shop. Or, if you were lucky enough, you got a catalog from T Myers Magic Shop.
I bought my bags of 260 balloons at Bill’s Trick Shop. Each bag contained a gross – 144 balloons. I didn’t know about any other balloons’ size as the local trick shops only carried hearts, bees, apple, and 260 twisting balloons. My balloon selection of colors was as follows; red, dark blue, light blue, yellow, light green, dark green, purple, lavender, orange, pink, burgundy, white and black. It was two years later that I was introduced to Qualatex at Chuck’s House of Magic.
I was hooked on them because of the colors and texture. The color selection was standard white, light blue, and pink, with jewel-tone yellow, red, purple, orange, dark green, dark blue, black, and clear. The colors were brighter, and I had an extensive selection, but balloon figure designs were typically one balloon at that time in the industry.
I didn’t learn about multiple-balloons figures until 1988. Shortly after that, new balloon colors were being offered at the local trick shops. New balloon colors came about as balloon decorators merged with the floral business and balloon wedding decorators required a broader palette of colors. Colors like ivory, periwinkle, and pastel colors came about. With a wide range of colors, balloon artists emerged into the industry. They began creating detailed multiple-balloon figures bigger, more realistic, and identical in color to famous characters.
Fast forward to today, where Qualatex is introducing the Spring Green balloon. If you look at the chart below, you can see all the choices just from one manufacturer. It is easy for a new entertainer to get confused on which balloon colors they should stock in their balloon apron with all these colors.
Another balloon manufacture is making things more confusing. Betallatex balloons have their shades of colors too. Each manufacturer uses a different formula to make their balloons. Hence, the color, texture, and shine of the balloons are just different enough that a professional can usually see a difference when inflated. To the untrained eye, the balloons will look the same.
So who has the best colors?
For years the balloon entertainers, artists, and decorators have talked about their fastest moving, most popular balloon color...which is the one they like. Talk to a balloon entertainer, and they tell you they use more lime green than forest green. Why? They like lime green and use it in more designs than forest green. Sometimes it’s a favorite character, or colors like white and black, which is part of most models.
However, it is really because the entertainer likes the color or texture and the ease of buying supplies, which determines why entertainers carry specific balloon colors.
Let the truth be told; a blue balloon is a blue balloon. Be it transparent or opaque – it all boils down to what the entertainer is try to reproduce or likes.
i like the color chart