Hi! I’m Graham Rouse. Welcome to RouseInternational.com. Come on in. Look around. Then join me in making this site your online headquarters for INSPIRATION, EDUCATION, TOOLS, TIPS, AND TECHNIQUES for BALLOON DECORATIONS.
I, along with teammates, are here to help you do better with your balloon decorating projects than I did with my first one. I was a high school student responsible for decorating the school prom. Our whole committee wanted to include helium-filled balloons in our decorations, but we overestimated their float time. Fortunately, committee members showed up for the prom just ahead of the crowd and we successfully avoided a complete disaster by picking up our somewhat shrunken balloons and hanging them around the scene. It was a close call, and more than twenty years before I tried balloon decorating again.
Early in 1982, I discovered a bag of “Twisty balloons” along with instructions. I used them to make a gift for a friend in the hospital and she liked it! My new hobby was born. Soon afterward, I sold some of my balloon creations to help raise money for a church building fund. That planted the seed to grow my hobby into a business.
In 1985, I made the move from a statewide supervisor and facilities designer within state government to a full-time balloon entrepreneur. Over the ensuing 40 plus years, my innovations in balloon art and balloon decorating tools and techniques led to patents, new products, awards, exhibitions, publications, and teaching jobs on five continents.
Several positive milestones for me occurred at the 1988 national balloon convention in Nashville, Tennessee. I introduced new balloon-decorating products, received recognition as the Balloon Artist of the Year, and met Mary Queen, an accomplished balloon artist in her own right, who would become my wife and lifetime partner to this day.
The year 2020 brought much less appealing milestones. Covid-19 struck America, the world, and the balloon decorating industry. Simultaneously I required major surgery and then two additional surgeries to resolve complications from the first surgery. Since then, new health issues have arisen and been dealt with by me just as the nation has dealt with the fallout from COVID-19.
Today, the event and balloon decorating industries are on the rise, and my mind is flooded with new ideas to add to past innovations. You can be among the first to learn of them and other Rouse International offerings designed to enhance your balloon art and business by signing up below for our FREE Rouse.LINK™ newsletter.
Want a bonus? Include your mailing address and we will send you a free, small sample of one of our newest products.
—————————————————————————
I inserted a wire into the stems of the balloon flowers to keep them standing up and lasting longer. I called these “RIBS™” (Rouse-Internal-Balloon-Structures™). I exhibited and taught these techniques. In 1985, I coined and published “Fantasy Flowers” as the name for my RIBS flowers. That name persists around the world today for floral balloon creations with RIBS™. (see the linked article “The First Seven Years of ‘Fantasy Flowers'” )
[add a picture or pictures of early RIBS flowers]
Later,( ) I patented a specialized form of RIBS™ that allows the insertion and removal of chemical lights or other objects from RIBS balloon sculptures while the balloons remain inflated and sealed.
[add a picture or pictures Lite Sculpture MaybeB ]
RIBS™ Designs, Tools, Techniques, and Kits will be featured on this site along with a second Rouse innovation that is seminal for the balloon decorating and gift industry, “R-E-A-L GRIDS™” (Rouse-Expand-And-Load GRIDS™). They are the R-E-A-L THING™ in balloon art (the Rouse-Expand-And-Load THING™). They have been called by a variety of names over the years: Rouse Matrix Systems, RMS, Rouse Matrix,
aL.
My profitable hobby turned into a new career in 19xx when I left my position as a statewide supervisor and designer within the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind to start my own local balloon business.
My local business grew over time, as did my innovations, number of patents, awards, trade publications, international exhibitions, and teaching assignments across five continents.
…or something like this:The XYZ Doohickey Company was founded in 1971, and has been providing quality doohickeys to the public ever since. Located in Gotham City, XYZ employs over 2,000 people and does all kinds of awesome things for the Gotham community.
As a new WordPress user, you should go to your dashboard to delete this page and create new pages for your content. Have fun!