Balloon artist extraordinaire Sean Edwards (aka The Balloon Guy) joins hosts Libby Sundgren and Alysse Bryson for a fun, revealing look behind the curtain of the luxury balloon world. From celebrity parties (think: the Kardashians and Miley Cyrus) to epic installation mishaps, Sean shares how he turned a childhood hobby into an event powerhouse. Learn the secrets behind top-notch balloon design, how to tackle DIY balloon garlands, and the unsung resilience of event pros. Plus, get pro tips for sustainability and safety, and a few balloon puns along the way.
Resources Mentioned:
- The Balloon Guy: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook & X
- Cleveland Balloon Disaster (and here’s a video of the story)
- Alysse & Libby: Bios & LinkedIn
Connect with Us:
- Website: www.beatsworkingpodcast.com
- LinkedIn: @BEATS WORKING Show
- Instagram: @beatsworkingshow
- Facebook: @Beats Working Show
- YouTube: @BEATSWORKINGPODCAST
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BEATS WORKING is a platform on a mission to redeem work—the word, the place, and the way. We believe that work is the most honorable act in the universe, and through inspiring stories and practical insights, we want to transform the way people think about work and help them discover greater fulfillment in their lives. We invite you to join us as we build community through sharing and actively demonstrating what we learn.
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:00]:
How much do you use helium?
Sean Edwards [00:00:02]:
We do. Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:04]:
And are your helium sucking days over? Because I’m still tempted when I get around. I can’t help it. I can’t help it.
Sean Edwards [00:00:13]:
You’re really not supposed to do that.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:14]:
I know. It’s not good for you. I know.
Sean Edwards [00:00:18]:
Also, whatever’s in that tank that’s probably been around for like 16 years.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:24]:
Okay.
Libby Sundgren [00:00:25]:
And there’s probably like asbestos in there or like lead you’ve got.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:29]:
Yeah, for sure.
Sean Edwards [00:00:30]:
I mean, put a filter on it at least, or something.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:33]:
Okay. Helium sucking days are over. It’s fine. Welcome to Beats Working Winning the Game of Events, where we share stories and strategies to turn any event or life moment into something unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:00:49]:
Events are wild and the people who work in them are some of the most resilient humans on earth. If you know, you know.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:56]:
So come with us behind the curtain for a look at their most memorable experiences.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:02]:
As they say, the show must go on. So let’s get on with the show.
Alysse Bryson [00:01:12]:
Welcome back to another episode of Beats Working Winning the Game of Events. I am really excited, Libby, for our guest today because this is. This is like some real talent that’s about to slide in. Behind the mic, we have Sean Edwards, who is an event strategist and founder of the Balloon Guy, a balloon artist extraordinaire who started his career at. Wait for it. 12 years old.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:40]:
You little kid entrepreneurs.
Alysse Bryson [00:01:42]:
Seriously? Seriously. Sean has since climbed to the top of the LA event scene, earning the trust of clients like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Disney.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:53]:
Ever heard of her?
Alysse Bryson [00:01:55]:
Nike? Universal Studios. His artistic mastery and vision transform ordinary venues into immersive, joy filled celebrations. Whether it’s a luxury balloon decor or high impact installations, Sean brings color, creativity and connection to every event. Sean, welcome to the show.
Sean Edwards [00:02:17]:
Thank you so much. That was quite an intro. Like, can you follow me around every.
Alysse Bryson [00:02:21]:
Everywhere, everywhere? I’ll follow you everywhere you go. So I know that, like, Kardashians weren’t in the list that I just rattled off, but when I think about extravagant balloon artwork, that is the first place my brain goes because I’ve watched every episode and they, they all have those birthday parties for all 8,000 of the kids. And I, you know, balloons are a really big deal. Like, they’re a really big deal when it comes to event decor, especially here.
Sean Edwards [00:02:52]:
In LA with celebrities like the Kardashians, which, by the way, I have worked for them. But as a balloon artist, like a balloon animal artist, which is how I started.
Alysse Bryson [00:03:04]:
Okay.
Sean Edwards [00:03:04]:
There’s another company here that’s a great Company and they do most of their balloon decorations.
Alysse Bryson [00:03:10]:
Okay.
Sean Edwards [00:03:10]:
Oh, yeah. Thanks to the Kardashians for getting this whole thing popping off, because, like, it’s definitely. Since they’re balloon jokes right there.
Alysse Bryson [00:03:25]:
All of that. And so I just really feel like. Like it is the new trend. And I’m not mad about it because, you know, I’m just kind of tired of photo booths. I’m just kind of tired of it. And, like, I think balloons are the cutting edge trend things. So. But let’s.
Alysse Bryson [00:03:43]:
Before we get to all of that, I need to go back to the beginning, which is Sean at age 12. How do you. Like, 10 years ago, obviously 10 years ago. How. How does this happen? How did you get hired from your first event? When did you know you love balloons? Like, just walk us through how this started.
Sean Edwards [00:04:05]:
So I was an only child, and I was always bored, so I had nothing to do. I was always bored. My parents didn’t let me watch tv, so they were really trying to maximize the boredom. And so I used to walk around just being like, I’m bored, I’m bored, I’m bored. And they would give me these kits of different activities to do, and balloon animals happened to be one of them. And so I just, like, opened up this kit and I got. I got super into it. And little by little, I got better and better books and better and better balloons.
Sean Edwards [00:04:38]:
And then when I was about 12, I started. There was a big thing because I grew up in the south, in. This was in North Carolina, and buffets were, like, a really big thing thing. On Sundays that everybody, like, went to after church. We went to the local buffet, you know.
Alysse Bryson [00:04:59]:
Yep.
Sean Edwards [00:04:59]:
And so the one closest to my house was called Country Roadhouse Buffet and Grill. That was my first job, doing balloons and magic for people as they waited in line to pay to go to the buffet. And then I would also, like, go around table to table and make balloons for people, and they would, like, tip me. They paid me, like, 25 bucks. Yeah. So I. That was my first job, was working at a buffet, doing balloon animals and.
Libby Sundgren [00:05:28]:
Oh, my gosh, that’s so cute.
Sean Edwards [00:05:30]:
You know, I mean, people really respond to a balloon. It’s not something you think you’re going to see most of the time in your day. So I think when you do get a balloon, especially a balloon animal, I mean, it’s cool, you know, it’s different. It breaks up kind of the monotony of life.
Libby Sundgren [00:05:47]:
They’re so fun.
Alysse Bryson [00:05:48]:
I think if given the choice of a balloon animal or a towel Animal. You know how like fancy resorts make animals out of towels. I’m gonna go with balloon animal every time, I think because there’s more color options. I think that just more options in general. Do you. Okay. Back when you were 12, did you have a specific animal that you really love to make or was really popular?
Sean Edwards [00:06:12]:
I. I mean the dog was like, it’s now my logo because it’s the first classic that I learned how to make with the dog I really liked. I did these like a heart with these two lovebirds kissing in the middle. That was always a really popular one. What else?
Libby Sundgren [00:06:29]:
That sounds really hard.
Sean Edwards [00:06:32]:
Well, these were all pretty basic. Now I, now I. After years of doing it, you can do some pretty. And balloon animals, I would say since I was a kid, have gotten much more advanced. The level you have to be at to be like a balloon animal to have that be. Your career as a balloon artist is pretty high. When I was a kid, it was like, as long as you can make a couple, you’re good.
Libby Sundgren [00:06:57]:
You just need to have a couple on your roster. What do you think is the most now what’s the most difficult balloon animal? Do you think? What’s the most complicated?
Sean Edwards [00:07:07]:
Anytime you do like an outfit, like dresses or. I mostly do like. Well, now I mostly do balloon decorations. But I would. When I was doing balloon twisting for events and stuff, it was not stuff that I really did ahead of time or a lot of people will do competitions. I just did it for events on like an hourly basis. So I would show up. My favorite type of event to do is always a wedding.
Sean Edwards [00:07:35]:
I love it’s fun because, you know, some of the weddings can be super stuffy. And then at the after people have a few drinks and like get a little loose and things get a little dull, they bring me out with a bunch of balloons and then I make like outfits and hats and yeah, wearables like wings and crazy, crazy stuff. Lights. We put lights on them and then it can get really fun. So that’s my favorite type of event to do. But yeah, I mostly did event balloons. So the complexity of what you can do in a two hour span is pretty. It’s not that complex.
Sean Edwards [00:08:15]:
But so like the balloon dresses and stuff that you see on like Instagram, the. A friend of mine, Molly Balloons, who I also recommend everyone check out, she does amazing like dresses and just wearables for like parades and stuff. Oh my gosh, she’s really great at that. But those take days and a number of people to do usually or just a lot of time.
Libby Sundgren [00:08:41]:
You know, I’ve never made a balloon animal, but I did make a balloon. I wouldn’t call it an arch. It was a garland. I guess I would call it a very big one. And I made it for my son’s birthday, I think. I think it was his birthday. Yeah, it was a couple years ago, or maybe it was last year. I don’t know.
Libby Sundgren [00:09:01]:
Birthdays all run together. He’s only eight, so I’ve got a lot to go, so I shouldn’t run them all. Anyway, I hung it in the living room. I just bought it on Amazon, you know, And I was like, I’ve had people do balloons. I’ve had people do, like, balloon decorate events before. Like, it looks like they have real tools and like actual, like, people working on it. But, like, I could do this. No, I.
Libby Sundgren [00:09:25]:
It took me like five hours and the least can attest because she. I was like, I can’t do these work meetings. I have to finish this balloon garland. Balloons were flying all over. There was confetti all over my office. And I finally got it up. Like, I made my husband, picked him up from school. I was like, you got to drive around the block a few times because I’m not quite ready.
Libby Sundgren [00:09:45]:
I finally got it up. I was like, sweating. I mean, you think it. You’re like, I could do that. No, I can’t. It actually takes real skill and, like, knowing what you’re doing. Yes. I would maybe attempt another one, but I would probably rather pay someone else to do it next time.
Libby Sundgren [00:10:04]:
I don’t think. I. I don’t know if I want to do it again because I don’t. I’m not very good at that. And I’m. I’ve got hand eye coordination. I’m like, pretty dexterous. But it was not.
Libby Sundgren [00:10:14]:
It takes real skill. I think I underestimated the skill.
Sean Edwards [00:10:18]:
Right.
Libby Sundgren [00:10:18]:
Yeah.
Sean Edwards [00:10:19]:
If you’re going to diy, like, we’re actually working on a DIY kit right now with like. But we want it to be like, we’re. We’re calling it. The working title is the Exquisite Balloon Kit. Because we want it to be really great. Because I. I feel like people often come to us with that problem. They’re like, I bought this kid on Amazon.
Sean Edwards [00:10:39]:
It’s impossible. Like, I don’t have.
Libby Sundgren [00:10:42]:
The balloons keep popping off of this, like, long thing. Like.
Sean Edwards [00:10:46]:
Yes.
Libby Sundgren [00:10:46]:
There’s like this weird tape and I need a specific. I need, like a map. I’m not a super visually creative person. So, like, I. If you give me a picture and you’re like, make it look like this. I can make it look like that. But when they’re like, just stick the balloons in, I’m like, well, yeah, how do I do that?
Sean Edwards [00:11:04]:
So it looks good, I feel like. And my family, you know, often hits me up for balloon tips. One of my, Nicole in my family, she always asked me about how to do balloon garlands. And I’ve been able to coach her, like, pretty successfully, I feel like, on how to level up her, you know, garlands each event. And she’s like, pretty good at this point. So I feel like I do want to put out like a kit at some point with just like a video because I feel like these kits on Amazon that you get, they don’t need to be that complicated. But if they just had like an instruction video with them, it would already be like twice as worth the money because it’s really not as hard as you would imagine it to be. But it does take skill.
Sean Edwards [00:11:48]:
It does take time to blow them up. You don’t want to be stuck there with one of these hand pumps.
Libby Sundgren [00:11:54]:
Just, oh, no, you got to have the automatic one.
Sean Edwards [00:11:57]:
Yeah, the automatic one for sure. Definitely invest $20 in that.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:01]:
Yeah, unfortunately.
Sean Edwards [00:12:03]:
But yeah, yeah, I totally hear you. And I feel like that’s the first thing people try and do is, is like a balloon garland.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:10]:
Well, see, I’m just gonna FaceTime you next time I want to do it and I’ll have you coach me through it.
Sean Edwards [00:12:14]:
I’ll do it.
Alysse Bryson [00:12:15]:
You’re like the balloon whisperer.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:17]:
Yeah. So like halfway through that, I was like, this is not going well. But I’m too far into it. I gotta, I just gotta do it. It’s gonna take forever. My day is shot that I gotta, I’m committed already. I gotta finish this. So that was my moment during.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:36]:
And not really a high stakes event, but that, you know, but it was birthday. It’s a big birthday. It was seven, you know, big deal.
Alysse Bryson [00:12:43]:
So you only turned seven one.
Libby Sundgren [00:12:44]:
You only turned seven once, hopefully. I hope so. That was my moment. But I want to know if you’ve ever had a moment, you. It would be much, you know, it’d be scaled a lot higher because your skills are at a much different level than mine are. But during an event, when have you had a balloon situation go awry? Like, did all of them pop? Did some of them pop?
Alysse Bryson [00:13:09]:
Is, can weather be a factor and climate. I have so many questions related. Does the rain, weather, climate, like, the sustainability? Like, what happened? Like, do you have a certain balloon brand you like, like, tell us every. We need to know everything.
Sean Edwards [00:13:25]:
Sure, sure. So I can talk about an event that we just recently did, actually. And I will say, first off, weather. Heat is the worst. I live in Los Angeles. It’s where my company’s based. And like, for instance, we were talking about the Kardashians. One of my other clients, Miley Cyrus, they all live like, in like the hottest area of LA that you can live in.
Sean Edwards [00:13:48]:
It’s like always, you know, like 90 degrees. And so it’s really difficult. You. You have to. If you ever do a balloon garland again, Libby, you have to underinflate the balloons. So, like, if it says it’s a 9 inch balloon, don’t make it bigger than 5 inches. If it’s an 11 inch balloon, don’t make it 8. Bigger than 8 inches and so forth, you know? So like downsize it at least 3 inches because otherwise the air will expand in an old pot, you know, that.
Libby Sundgren [00:14:17]:
Tracks because I had it in our living room and it would get. It gets. Well, it, like, it’s kind of hot in there because there’s so many windows. So if we don’t have the blinds down. And it’s also Seattle, so it’s an older house, so, like, doesn’t have ac. Most houses here don’t have ac. And so like, we’d be sitting and all of a sudden you’d hear like a big bang come from part of the house. And I was like, ah, another balloon.
Alysse Bryson [00:14:38]:
It was terrifying. I was on calls with her and I was like, oh, my gosh. Was terrifying.
Sean Edwards [00:14:42]:
I had. I had one mom tell me we did. Because we did a. Because we’re like a. We’re a luxury balloon company is what, like, most people would say we are. We’re. Yeah, we’re a balloon decor company. And one of the moms told me the same thing.
Sean Edwards [00:14:56]:
Her balloons were like popping every five seconds because it was just so hot. And that’s the last thing you want to hear is like, somebody, you know invest all this money. Yeah, you don’t want to sit there and. And listen to that your whole party, you know?
Alysse Bryson [00:15:11]:
Well, and it can be kind of triggering depending on who’s attending, you know, it’s like, I don’t know, it’s. It’s not a great sound. It’s not a great sound when they truly not pop.
Sean Edwards [00:15:21]:
A little tidbit about the balloons popping. I learned this bit of trivia, I don’t know, a long time ago, and I spout it out all the time. But when A balloon pops. It actually creates a mini sonic boom. So that’s why you get so scared. Oh.
Libby Sundgren [00:15:40]:
That’S a good tip. Or a good piece of trivia, I guess.
Sean Edwards [00:15:44]:
And if I you asked about balloon brands too, I really like. There’s three main brands. One of them just went out of business. So I love Sempertex balloons and a lot of people really love Tough Tex balloons which are made here in the usa, in Ohio. But yeah, those are both great brands.
Alysse Bryson [00:16:00]:
If you look have you. Are the tariffs going to affect your business with balloon sales?
Sean Edwards [00:16:07]:
They very well could, yes. Because most of the balloons, almost all of the latex is made in China and then imported to wherever. The Semper Text balloons that we like to use, I believe are made in Colombia. So we would be importing those and they’ve already started saying that they’re know going to go way up. But we don’t have an estimate yet. But everyone’s raising prices preemptively. So we’ve seen bags, you know, of balloons, like double. So yeah, I mean the tariffs are definitely will affect birthday parties everywhere.
Libby Sundgren [00:16:43]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:16:45]:
How do you. What’s the disposal process of balloons that is sustainable or earth friendly?
Sean Edwards [00:16:53]:
So there’s actually someone that’s looking to solve this problem right now. They’re trying to repurpose the balloons or like party decor so that people can reuse it. Because not just balloons, but stuff you buy on Amazon, you know, streamers and confetti, but you know, anything reusable, extra plates, stuff like that, it usually just ends up in the trash. So I know there are companies out there now that are trying to repurpose some of this stuff so that other people could use it, which I think is a great idea actually because there is so much to lose. My dog.
Libby Sundgren [00:17:30]:
I love that I could just see the toy kind of like over your shoulder.
Alysse Bryson [00:17:34]:
I love a lambie.
Libby Sundgren [00:17:35]:
I was like, that’s either a human or a dog just dangling that. And I kind of think it’s chance, but I don’t know.
Sean Edwards [00:17:41]:
Yeah, he has free reign of this place. Like he just runs.
Alysse Bryson [00:17:44]:
He’s the boss.
Libby Sundgren [00:17:45]:
He’s the boss, he’s the boss.
Sean Edwards [00:17:47]:
But yeah, so I definitely think it’s something that we want to solve too is like figuring out how to party more responsibly and like with less waste and like because balloons, while they are a natural, they’re made of latex and it doesn’t hurt the trees when you harvest the trees for latex. But. And they are technically biodegradable. But they take a while to biodegrade, as I understand it, so there is waste involved. But I feel like if you can, you know, if your mom doing a. If your balloon garland survives in Seattle, you know, you could always offer it up on Instagram or something and say, like, hey, I’ve got this true. You know, blue and green balloon garland. If anybody wants it, come pick that.
Libby Sundgren [00:18:38]:
Yeah, I do see a lot of people post that on, you know, next door. Yeah, lots of things. Sharing the balloon.
Alysse Bryson [00:18:46]:
Sean, what about balloon related injuries?
Libby Sundgren [00:18:51]:
Oh, I’ve never heard one of these before.
Sean Edwards [00:18:53]:
This is like my favorite podcast, Balloon Related Injuries. Okay, Well, I do have some stories.
Libby Sundgren [00:19:00]:
Bonus points if you can include a hot dog in this story.
Alysse Bryson [00:19:03]:
Ah, there she goes. She’s just trying to work Costco into the conversation again.
Sean Edwards [00:19:07]:
Sean, I’m sure people were cooking hot dogs when this happened. My worst one was at a park. I was still doing most of the balloon decor myself, and I was on a really short ladder, so it makes it even more embarrassing. Like, a really short ladder, like one or two steps up in the air. And I felt hard, like I just. I was rushing because we had like three or four events that day. And I just, like, I don’t know what I did, but I just moved my weight or something on the ladder to try and, like, put this one balloon up.
Libby Sundgren [00:19:40]:
Oh, my gosh. You. And the ladder just tipped over.
Sean Edwards [00:19:43]:
Right over. And the guy that was working with me was so nice. He just looks and he goes, oh, you know, like horror. And he, like, runs to me, like. Like a dad running. Just like their kid or something. But, you know, that’s the worst one. I still have the scar.
Sean Edwards [00:20:00]:
Oh.
Libby Sundgren [00:20:01]:
Oh, my gosh. That left a mark.
Sean Edwards [00:20:03]:
Yeah. So that’s my worst one. I imagine there have been worse ones. I don’t know. But you can get from the big three foot balloons. This is one people talk about a lot in my line of work, is that they can, like, if they pop on your arm, they can leave a bruise.
Libby Sundgren [00:20:22]:
Oh, God. Oh. Because it’s like a big sonic boom on your arm.
Sean Edwards [00:20:26]:
The latex, like, you know, hitting against your arm.
Libby Sundgren [00:20:29]:
Oh.
Sean Edwards [00:20:30]:
We’ve. We try and run a pretty safe operation over here. So thankfully, we don’t have. All the stories are about me.
Libby Sundgren [00:20:37]:
They’re all you.
Sean Edwards [00:20:38]:
Yeah. So. But thankfully that’s the case.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:41]:
How much do you use helium?
Sean Edwards [00:20:44]:
We do.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:46]:
And are your helium sucking days over? Because I’m still tempted when I get around a helium. I can’t help it. I can’t help it.
Sean Edwards [00:20:55]:
You’re really not supposed to do that.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:56]:
I know. It’s not good for you. I know. I know.
Sean Edwards [00:21:01]:
Whatever’s in that tank, that’s probably been around for like 16 years. Okay.
Libby Sundgren [00:21:07]:
There’s probably like asbestos in there or like lead you’ve got.
Alysse Bryson [00:21:11]:
Yeah, for sure.
Sean Edwards [00:21:13]:
Filter on it at least.
Alysse Bryson [00:21:15]:
Okay. My helium sucking days are over. It’s fine.
Libby Sundgren [00:21:21]:
How do you design? I mean, how do you come up with the designs? I mean, I’m sure some people have specific requests, but if I were going to somebody, I, I would just be like, these are kind of, this is the idea. This is what the theme is or the vibe of the party and you know, if there are colors or whatever and like this is where it’s gonna be or honestly, I don’t even know where it’s gonna be. Sometimes I’m like, I need you to come in and give me an idea of where you think something cool would go. How do you draft your design? Do you write it with pencil and paper? Do you have like a special program you use? How do you.
Sean Edwards [00:21:54]:
It kind of. I love the various really quite a bit, depending mostly on budget, like what people have to work with. If it’s just a simple design usually, or if it’s a small budget, we can usually look at a photo of different areas of their home or wherever it’s going to be and recommend a place to put something. So budget usually is the first informer of what we’re going to do. But then I like to go off of color and then, which inspires me a lot, color the environment. So I always love to see pictures where it’s going to be what the theme is, colors, what kind of like person you are. It doesn’t, it does help to like, talk to people and see if they want something really crisp and clean or something really whimsical or if it’s for a brand, what are the brand kind of, you know, visual elements involved. Like we do stuff for like Nickelodeon, which is very different than working for, you know, Netflix, which is very different.
Sean Edwards [00:22:58]:
Yeah, so we do like. And you know, a kid’s birthday party is very different than a wedding or, you know, a 30th birthday party even.
Libby Sundgren [00:23:06]:
For the Nickelodeon balloons. Do you fill them? Do you fill any of them with green slime?
Sean Edwards [00:23:09]:
Oh my gosh, that would be so cool.
Libby Sundgren [00:23:11]:
Yeah, it would be really cool. And then it could get really hot and then they could all pop and slime would fly everywhere. Well, I would take that idea to them.
Sean Edwards [00:23:19]:
I don’t know if I’m Allowed to share this. Not. I love that idea. I really. I will try and get them to do that. I will. But I think we should have a slime machine and like mix balloons into it somehow. Oh yeah, Balloons just like, you know, really slimy.
Sean Edwards [00:23:32]:
Good. I don’t know. Or like pop. What happens when slime pops with a balloon? Like, I don’t know.
Libby Sundgren [00:23:38]:
I don’t know. I don’t know. My son and the neighbor filled up regular balloons. Well, like latex balloons with water the other day. We have lots of water balloons and they’re the easy ones that you just hook up the. To the hose and it fills up, you know, 30 at a time or whatever. You don’t have to do them manually on the sink faucet anymore like you had to do when I was in.
Alysse Bryson [00:24:03]:
The water balloon back in my day.
Libby Sundgren [00:24:05]:
Back in my day.
Sean Edwards [00:24:06]:
Like a sprinkler that you put it on. Because I’ve never heard of this. We still put water. Okay.
Libby Sundgren [00:24:11]:
It’s like this. You just hook this part onto the hose or the faucet and then it blows. Mean, this one has seen better days because my 4 year old carries it around in his backpack. It’s his emotional support water balloon package. He’s got like four of them. That’s truly where this came out of today. But yeah, and then it just fills them all up and then you just shake it and. Or just like pull it and they all come off.
Sean Edwards [00:24:36]:
That’s so cool.
Alysse Bryson [00:24:39]:
That’s.
Libby Sundgren [00:24:39]:
Change the game of water balloons.
Alysse Bryson [00:24:42]:
Okay. What is the, the biggest event you’ve done as far as scale? And that could be like the number of balloons used or the footprint that you covered. Like, what’s the largest project you’ve worked on?
Sean Edwards [00:24:59]:
I still think we did. There’s a really cool club here. I think it’s. I think it’s worldwide. It’s called Soho House and there’s like four or five of them just in la. But we did Halloween for them one year and the theme was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Alysse Bryson [00:25:19]:
Oh.
Sean Edwards [00:25:20]:
And so they wanted to do in their lobby, which is like, I don’t know, like two double stories. It’s really high. It’s on the penthouse of a skyscraper here in la, which is kind of rare. There aren’t that many skyscrapers here. And on the top of the roof is this. They’ve dropped this. They have all these glass windows and then they have this like giant humongous chandelier that they’ve installed. I don’t know how much of craned it up.
Sean Edwards [00:25:52]:
But anyway, we filled their entire lobby with blue bubbles because they wanted to emulate that scene where they’re, like, floating. And it took, like, an entire week. It was like 25 people blowing up clear balloons for hours on end. And we. Because they. They didn’t want to close the club. And the other problem was they didn’t want anything to touch the ground or the ceiling. So we had to get really creative.
Sean Edwards [00:26:23]:
We made these, like, grids with fish line, and we, like, close to loaded the balloons up and dropped them down. And then they wanted their staircase to be empty. So I also had to split all the balloons at the staircase and have them go perfectly up. So we used magnets, we used fish line. We weren’t allowed to use tape. I tied it to some things, like lamps that they had. Didn’t tell them.
Libby Sundgren [00:26:50]:
Hope that you’re not listening. Soho House. So people just walked.
Sean Edwards [00:26:53]:
So.
Libby Sundgren [00:26:54]:
So they didn’t walk in the balloons, but they all, like, the balloons were, like, on either side of them when they came in. And it was.
Sean Edwards [00:27:00]:
It was really cool. Like, the photos are really cool. You should check it out on my Instagram, which is balloon guy la. But yeah, like.
Libby Sundgren [00:27:07]:
But I didn’t see that so much.
Sean Edwards [00:27:08]:
There because you could take a picture on the stairs, like, with 20 people, and then the photographer would, like, stand up at the top of the stairs and they got these great pictures of, like, you know, all these crazy people, like, drag queens and Halloween out and, like, you know, in the craziest outfits, like, with just, like, tons of bubbles around them, which was really cool. But then it was also super cool because it. It was super clean in the middle, so it, like, split, so it looked really. I don’t know. That’s my favorite thing I’ve ever.
Libby Sundgren [00:27:40]:
When was it?
Sean Edwards [00:27:41]:
2025? This was probably 2022.
Libby Sundgren [00:27:43]:
Okay, scroll back. There’s so many good pictures.
Alysse Bryson [00:27:47]:
Would you. With all the. With all the captured memories that you have, would you ever, like, make a coffee table book or, like, a pictorial memoir of your work? Because it’s really unique what you do. I imagine there’s some competition, but, like.
Sean Edwards [00:28:03]:
I would love to do a coffee table book.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:05]:
Like, I think that would be so cool, right?
Libby Sundgren [00:28:08]:
They look. They’re so cool to see these kinds of creations. Like, okay, that looks rad. That is insane.
Sean Edwards [00:28:19]:
Are you talking about the bubble one?
Libby Sundgren [00:28:21]:
Yes. And I just want to, like, put it up here for all those YouTubers. Look at that. I mean, that’s only one of the pictures. That is wild. That’s so many Balloons. Oh, my God.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:35]:
Yeah. That’s wild.
Libby Sundgren [00:28:36]:
Hanging and hoisted.
Sean Edwards [00:28:38]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of.
Libby Sundgren [00:28:39]:
I can see why. It took a long time. And 25 people.
Sean Edwards [00:28:43]:
And 25 people. They had us in their movie theater, which is really large, actually. I don’t know how many people can hold at least 200, I would think. But they had us in their movie theater for days, you know, just blowing up balloons.
Libby Sundgren [00:29:00]:
What’s your favorite kind of success after you’ve. You create? Either when you hand it off or after you hear about an event afterwards. Like, how do you, you know, measure success other than, you know, people working with you clients?
Sean Edwards [00:29:15]:
Yeah. I feel like, to me, at the end of the day, it’s always about the client’s response. There’s three pillars that I always talk about in our business, which is, like, joy, artistry, and professionalism. And I feel like if we can hit all of those at the top, like, then we’ve succeeded. Like, Like, I always want our clients to have, like, the best party possible. I want the. The artistic side and vision to be, like, fully realized and for our team to have executed what they wanted. And then I want us to have, like, great customer service so that, like, if something goes wrong or they have a question or whatever it is, they can always call and talk to someone.
Sean Edwards [00:30:00]:
I hate phone trees, so I really never want to do that. But always call and talk to someone on our team or whoever’s on site, building. I just want everybody to have the best hospitality and have the best possible customer service experience, because I feel like that’s really, for me, any business, it doesn’t matter where I go for coffee in the morning or if I’m staying at a fancy resort. You always just want good customer service. You want to feel like you’re being taken care of and like, that you’re treated like, you know, a fancy person. So, like, that’s. That’s always. Those are my three pillars.
Alysse Bryson [00:30:39]:
Joy, I love that you’re clearly winning the game of balloons. Clearly.
Sean Edwards [00:30:45]:
Thank you. Yeah, I have big dreams. Big, big, big hopes that my balloons will take off, take flight in the next couple years. There’s a couple big things that we have in the proverbial balloon pipeline. So, yeah, I’m excited to see where things go.
Libby Sundgren [00:31:01]:
Okay, question. We’ve watched the movie up here a lot. Do you think that it’s. Is it even possible I haven’t googled this? I could have just googled it. Do you think it would be possible to tie enough balloons to a house? It’s old house the foundation is crumbling so it’s not really attached to the ground to lift it up and carry it into the sky.
Sean Edwards [00:31:27]:
It is possible. What? It is possible. But I will say it’s going to scare some people out there. I’m sure. But look up what happened in Ohio a long time ago with them trying to do something like this. It was a big balloon disaster. Disaster.
Libby Sundgren [00:31:46]:
This is a balloon injury story.
Sean Edwards [00:31:48]:
Maybe so many injuries.
Alysse Bryson [00:31:50]:
Libby, you’re going to have to put that in the show.
Sean Edwards [00:31:51]:
Nightmare. Yeah, just like so much. I mean, go down the rabbit hole because it is white.
Libby Sundgren [00:31:57]:
Oh, you know, I love a rabbit hole. God. Shoot.
Sean Edwards [00:32:00]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:01]:
Have you. What’s your stance on hot air balloons? Have you been in one? Love them, hate them.
Sean Edwards [00:32:07]:
I love a hot air.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:08]:
Yeah. You’re. You’re all in on balloon culture. All the way.
Sean Edwards [00:32:12]:
All the way in. I try and go to my events and. And then I try and arrive in a hot air balloon as one does a balloon car.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:21]:
We.
Sean Edwards [00:32:22]:
We all arrived in balloon cars or motorcycles.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:26]:
Oh my gosh.
Sean Edwards [00:32:27]:
But yeah, I do love a hot air ball.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:29]:
Okay.
Sean Edwards [00:32:30]:
You know, I don’t think there thankfully have been that many. I think balloons usually bring a lot of joy to people, which is great. And not a lot of disaster. So.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:40]:
Well, and I feel like with balloons, like you can go to an event and you might not really remember the decorations. You may or may not remember the centerpieces. Like you might remember it was a beautiful event but you might not remember the details. But a well done balloon art, like a statement piece, like you’re good. That’s going to be a core memory.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:02]:
You’re going to remember the statement necklace of the 2000s, you know, is that when we wore them or 2010s? 20. Was that 20 odds or something? Whatever.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:13]:
I think statement. I think they’re coming back. Yeah, I think they’re coming. Their statement.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:17]:
Are they? Well, it’s a good thing I held on to all those.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:19]:
Everything old is new again. I mean, did you see like kids. There are kids, Gen Z and Gen A that are you guys. They’re using phones only to make phone calls.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:32]:
I know, I’ve heard about that. The landline thing, huh?
Alysse Bryson [00:33:36]:
It’s like a whole thing.
Sean Edwards [00:33:37]:
Yeah, I want to do that because when I use the computer too long, I just like, I become a monster.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:42]:
It’s the worst. And I will tell you, Elise has already heard this many times that I. We went to Hawaii in May and I left the last night we were there. I left my cell phone on the counter of the shave ice stand in Hanalei and didn’t realize it till after they were closed. And the next. They didn’t open the next day until after we already had to be at the airport. And it’s, you know, kind of like different parts, way different parts of the island. So you couldn’t just get it and zip over to the plane.
Libby Sundgren [00:34:15]:
So they had to ship me my phone. And because it has a lithium ion battery, it had to go ground. So it. And it actually only took like two and a half weeks. It was supposed to take like three and a half weeks. So it did get here sooner. Kapono, shout out to you, you’re the best. But I.
Libby Sundgren [00:34:34]:
During that, I didn’t have a phone for like three days. And then I did have an, like an old iPhone we had here, but it had like, you know, 12 megabytes of memory. So I couldn’t do anything with it. I couldn’t even like really take pictures with it. So I mean, I could. That’s a little dramatic. But its capabilities were very limited. And I really.
Libby Sundgren [00:34:58]:
I kind of Phone detoxed. I mean, I’m kind of like back at it now that it’s back. But it was kind of refreshing. So if you just leave your computer in Hanalei. There you go. Your phone in Hanay. That’s all you got to do.
Sean Edwards [00:35:09]:
Leave the phone at home. Right?
Libby Sundgren [00:35:11]:
Yeah.
Sean Edwards [00:35:12]:
There’s all these venues here. I think that the artists are now requiring that you like, not bring your phone in or like leave it in a.
Alysse Bryson [00:35:20]:
You have to like check it in in one of those like lockbox situations like they do sometimes when they’re filming like a comedy specials, they make you lock your phone up and you get it when you get back out.
Libby Sundgren [00:35:32]:
Well, who’s going to like. Are you ever going to look back and look at the fuzz at the video you took at the concert? Like, no, I.
Sean Edwards [00:35:40]:
People do though. People do. People. I don’t know how people. Some people get really good videos and I’m just like, how do we do that? Because, I mean, I’ve paid for good seats at concerts since. I still get bad, bad photos, you know, which is not good. Maybe it’s just not my talent. I’ll stick with balloons.
Libby Sundgren [00:35:56]:
Yeah, maybe mine too.
Alysse Bryson [00:35:58]:
Do you have any? As we wind down here. I mean, I’ve been blown away by this conversation. But do you. Do you have any really good balloon jokes? Do you have a. I mean, I’m sure you hear all the time.
Sean Edwards [00:36:09]:
I mean, I just like to say popping off a lot Just popping off. Yeah, yeah, it was a blast. I use a lot emails.
Alysse Bryson [00:36:17]:
Do you do any creative marketing as far as like, do you have balloon stickers, balloon magnets? Like, do you have any balloon merch?
Sean Edwards [00:36:25]:
This is my favorite thing that we got recently. This is art balloon. Can you see it? Our balloon jacket.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:31]:
Is that like a, like, like a bomber jacket?
Sean Edwards [00:36:34]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:36:37]:
That’s so cute.
Sean Edwards [00:36:39]:
Huge one, the balloons on the back.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:42]:
That’s so good.
Sean Edwards [00:36:43]:
Says our logo art.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:48]:
There it is. Balloon guy.
Alysse Bryson [00:36:49]:
La.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:49]:
I love it here.
Sean Edwards [00:36:50]:
It says the balloon guy.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:52]:
The balloon guy. Love it, love it. Good.
Sean Edwards [00:36:56]:
I like this one. I wear this one to events. Cute. It’s very glitter. Glitter.
Libby Sundgren [00:37:03]:
Glitter’s going to be there forever. You’re never going to get rid of that glitter. Oh, I love show and tell. Okay, now I’m going to ask you for a little show and tell tips and tricks. You have, as we’ve stated before, a client list that is a like the dream of most people in the event world. So I’m not going to ask you any like personal info, but what is your secret sauce for building and maintaining trust with celebrity and corporate clients? Just people who, you know, us normal folk here and go, oh my gosh, how do I get on that party roster?
Sean Edwards [00:37:41]:
Well, I think it’s, it’s. Hopefully the, the answer is, I don’t know, it’s not as thrilling as you might imagine. I feel like it’s the three things I mentioned before. It’s like those pillars that you keep going back to. I feel like when you’re working with high end and corporate clients, the number one thing is customer service. It has to be just excellent. The second I think would be like artistry. Your artistry has to be like next level because people want to be another balloon joke blown away.
Sean Edwards [00:38:13]:
You know, they really do want to have like an experience. You know, events are all about the experience. Right. So we just did a really cool, another bubble event actually. But in I think October of last year or September, we did an event for l’ Oreal, one of their brands called Matrix and it’s this hair company and it was really cool. They had a giant shampoo bottle in a mansion in Beverly Hills and just like paint balloons all around it. That was a really cool one. But so, so I feel like what’s cool about balloons is it’s a pretty, it can get expensive, but in the big scheme of things it’s not that expensive to like have a really amazing moment.
Sean Edwards [00:38:56]:
And I feel like that’s what everybody wants at their party. They Want to have, like, memory, a photo, surprise, and delight that they’re not going to forget. I guess our. My favorite one that we ever did was for Miley Cyrus, and it was like she’s always got. I feel. I feel like I like her vibe. And full disclosure, I’ve never actually met her. We always work through her assistance, but all her people.
Sean Edwards [00:39:21]:
All her people, her people talk to my people, and we do things for all the people. It was really cool. We did, like, clouds, as you, like, come into her home, and it was just really a dramatic moment. I feel like clouds are always super popular, but you always want to. What we try and do are the three pillars I keep talking about, which is like, joy, artistry, professionalism. And I feel like if you can hit all three consistently, that’s what’s going to keep coming. People coming back because we. There’s.
Sean Edwards [00:39:53]:
I don’t know how many balloon companies in la. Thousands, probably. There’s so many. And I feel like there’s really only a couple that we compete with because they hit those three things. But I will say nobody hits them consistently as well as we do. And I feel like our. Our customer service is next level. I think it’s exceptional.
Sean Edwards [00:40:15]:
And we go above and beyond for our clients. And. And that’s our goal. For me, I’m a little bit of a people pleaser. So, like, at the end of the day, if my clients aren’t happy, I really do not sleep well. So it’s. It’s. It’s all about customer satisfaction for me.
Sean Edwards [00:40:31]:
Customer satisfaction. Say that three times fast. And then.
Libby Sundgren [00:40:34]:
Yeah, yeah. So much good intel. And now I know I can launch this house up with a bunch of balloons if I really like it. Tired of.
Alysse Bryson [00:40:45]:
See, you know, you still gotta go read that article from wherever. Indiana, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio.
Libby Sundgren [00:40:51]:
I’ll read that first.
Sean Edwards [00:40:53]:
Maybe just shrink the house like honey, I shrink the kids.
Libby Sundgren [00:40:56]:
Maybe the playhouse or something. Yeah, there you go. See it, kids.
Sean Edwards [00:41:01]:
Make the goal more attainable.
Libby Sundgren [00:41:03]:
Yeah. All right. Well, that is a wrap for this episode of Beats Working. If you’ve got an idea or want to reach out, email us at info beatsworking show or remember, every detail matters. Every moment counts. And no matter what, the show must go on.
Alysse Bryson [00:41:20]:
Thanks for listening to Beats Working. Winning the game of events where we explore what it takes to make moments unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:41:27]:
If you’re leaving with a little more inspiration, a little more perspective, and a big sideache from all of the laughing at our funny jokes, then we’ve done our job.
Alysse Bryson [00:41:36]:
Beats Working is a work. P2P production. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platforms.
Libby Sundgren [00:41:46]:
Your support helps us keep the magic going.
