“INSPIRATION – EDUCATION – TOOLS – TECHNIQUES“
——————— ABOUT US ———————
My name is Graham Rouse. I established Rouse.LINK/ to be
Your LINK to
Awesome Resources for
BALLOON CREATIONS
Rouse.LINK/ connects you to Inspiration – Education – Tools & Techniques that help you visualize, plan, and build your balloon success story.
Here is the short version of my own story.
FROM PROM FAILURE TO PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
+ KNOCKED DOWN & COMEBACK
INITIAL FAILURE
My own balloon-creation and decorating journey began without the benefit of resources like these and was less than successful. As the student chairman of my high school prom decorating committee, I wrongly estimated the float time of our helium balloons. We salvaged some of those balloons, but it was more than twenty years before I tried balloon-creation and decorating again.
FIRST SUCCESS:
That next and successful attempt was in early 1982. I used a bag of “twisty balloons” to make a balloon gift for a friend in the hospital. She loved it—and a new passion was born for me. That passion led to selling twisted balloon creations to support a church building fund and then to funding my own part-time balloon business featuring twisted balloon creations “From The Other End Of The Rainbow” complete with their own “Care and Feeding Instructions.”
A SEMINAL INNOVATION:
In 1983, I created and added “RIBS™” (Rouse Internal Balloon Structures™) to my balloon sculptures to better control their shape and to improve durability. It worked!
As it turns out, I was the first person (by several years) to make, sell, teach, etc., internal structures for abstract sculptures and balloon “Fantasy Flowers” (as I called them). I was so new to the industry that I did not realize the potential in patenting my invention. My inside-out approach and the “Fantasy Flowers” name are now standard fare worldwide in the balloon gift and decorating industries.
THE BIG STEP + 40
In 1984, I took the “BIG” step. I left my career as a statewide supervisor and facilities designer to become a full‑time balloon entrepreneur. Over the next four decades, my work in balloon art and in balloon‑decorating tools and techniques led to five patents, many new products, awards, exhibitions, publications, professional leadership roles, and teaching assignments on five continents.
Engineering Balloon Decorations
from the inside out.
The first of those patents is for a specialized form of RIBS™ that allows the easy insertion and removal of objects (in this case, chemical lights) from inside balloon sculptures while they remain inflated and sealed in extraordinarily elegant forms one might expect to find in art galleries made of high-end, custom-formed glass.
A PIVOTAL YEAR:
1988 was pivotal for my life and balloon career. I held a solo exhibition of my balloon sculptures at a public art gallery. I introduced new balloon-decorating products at an international convention. I was recognized as “Balloon Artist of the Year”. And, I met Mary Queen, an accomplished balloon artist who became my wife and lifelong partner.
INNOVATIONS CONTINUE:
My first patent addressed giving structure to balloon sculptures and decorations from the inside-out. My next several focused on giving structure to balloon creations and decorations from the outside in.
RMS™ R-E-A-L GRIDZ™
We are now in the fifth generation of my patented RMS™ (Rouse Matrix Systems) R-E-A-L GRIDZ™ (Rouse-Expand-And-Load GRIDZ™). We now have more standard balloon grid sizes, shapes, and patterns than all other balloon-professional grid systems combined. Plus, ours are the lightest, most compact, and available in custom configurations to meet specialized needs.
SIMPLE, EASY, STRONG, FAST Techniques
(We call them Rouse-APPs™ “Rouse Advanced Professional Practices”. I invented and patented these advanced techniques to do for RMS™ R-E-A-L GRIDZ™ what the names suggest. They work! For instance, the SIMPLE technique makes tying balloons simpler while providing extra security to loaded balloons. The EASY technique is so easy that both inexperienced preteens and nonagenarians have used it successfully. The STRONG technique makes an RMS display 20 times stronger without adding heavy, rigid framing. Experienced users of the FAST technique have loaded long strings of balloons into RMS at more than one balloon per second. Now that’s really fast!
RouseLINK BALLOONS™
I invented and patented this set of “ahead-of-their-time” technologies for connecting film balloons at and after manufacture to produce a new class of film balloons with enormous potential impact on professional and Do-It-Yourself balloon decorating. Unfortunately, the lack of lightweight, nonconductive balloon films has long delayed their inevitable market appearance.
KNOCKED DOWN:
The year 2020 battered all of us as COVID‑19 disrupted the world and the balloon industry. Personally, I also faced major surgeries that knocked me down for a long recovery time. Like many in our balloon community, however, I adapted, healed, and continued forward.
COMEBACK:
Today, balloon sculpting and decorating are thriving again, and I am excited to share “RouseLINK™ Inspiration – Education – Tools & Techniques™“ with you. As you might expect, we feature my own Rouse Original Technologies, but are not limited to them. You will find a variety of “Awesome Resources for BALLOON CREATIONS” right here. Just follow the“Rouse.LINK/” links.
Use them to “Stretch Your Balloon Imagination, Inflate Your Balloon Art, and Build Your Balloon Success™. Rouse.LINK/ is here to help, and so am I.
MAKE THE CONNECTION
to RouseLINK™ benefits:
- Sign up below for your free RouseLINKnews™.
- Bookmark “Rouse.LINK/1” and visit us often.
- Share questions, feedback, etc. at Rouse.LINK/ask
- Participate in RouseLINK™ events online and in-person.
I look forward to hearing from you, meeting you, and helping build your Balloon Success, whether it is for a one-time occasion or a balloon-related career of your own.
[Insert email signup]
Graham Rouse
Rouse.LINK/1
RouseInternational.com
“Powered by Rouse Original Technologies™”
“Destined for the Tool Box & Skill Set of Every Balloon Creation Enthusiast™”
gmr@rousetech.com
1-864.654.4166
POPULAR RouseLINK™ Links:
——INSIDE RouseInternational.com——
——Rouse.LINK/1…. HOME PAGE —-
————————————————
Rouse.LINK/about …. ABOUT US (this page)
Rouse.LINK/ask ……… Questions, Feedback, Etc.
Rouse.LINK/edu …….. Education Links
Rouse.LINK/inspire … Inspiration Galleries
Rouse.LINK/links ……. Index of Active Links
Rouse.LINK/news …… Newsletter sign up & archive
Rouse.LINK/store …… Our Online store
Rouse.LINK/tools …… Tools/Products Galleries
——OUTSIDE RouseInternational.com—-—
Rouse.LINK/group……….. Facebook group
Rouse.LINK/instagram… Instagram Profile
Rouse.LINK/linkedin ……. Linkedin Profile
Rouse.LINK/page ………… Facebook Page
Rouse.LINK/pinterest …. Pinterest Profile
Rouse.LINK/youtube ….. YouTube Channel
Stretch Your Imagination, Inflate Your Art, and Build Your Success™.