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10 February 2012
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You are in: Essex > People > Your Stories > Business is ballooning

Helen Skelton and the Blue Peter ship

Helen in her dress and with the ship

Business is ballooning

An Essex company has produced a set of balloon sculptures for the BBC1 TV programme, Blue Peter, including a dress for one of its presenters and the iconic Blue Peter ship logo.

Darryl White and his business partner Jodie Norris run the Balloon Art Studio in Thurrock and produce a variety of different sculptures all from balloons.

Darryl White and Jodie Norris

Darryl and Jodie in balloon hats

Thirty-year-old Darryl has been working with balloons for around 15 years: "I had a part-time job as a children's entertainer whilst studying graphic design and I decided to set up my own business and Jodie got into the balloon business through floral designs and set up her own business as well."

The pair set up Balloon Art Studio together around five years ago and recently they were called on to tackle a special project for a historic BBC TV show.

'Blue Peter' asked Darryl and Jodie to produce a version of their famous ship logo along with the pets and a dress for presenter Helen Skelton.

The Blue Peter pets

The Blue Peter pets full of hot air!

"The production team had seen our website and asked us to make some sculptures out of balloons for them, along with a dress," says Darryl.

"It was really good fun filming with Blue Peter. The dress took over 10 hours of work to get right along with a fitting," he says.

Darryl believes balloon fashion is becoming more popular: "We're often asked to do one-off pieces for photo shoots as it looks very eye-catching."

Some 15 hours of work went into creating the Blue Peter ship from balloons, and  the result is stunning.

Helen and Jodie

Helen (L) is shown balloons with Jodie

Originally from Northern Ireland, Darryl went on to produce balloon versions of the pets "We made Shelley the tortoise, two dogs and two cats. It took around five hours to make them all."

BBC1 viewers can see the results of Darryl and Jodie's work on Tuesday, 28, April 2009 edition of 'Blue Peter,' it'll also be on the BBC iplayer.  

last updated: 28/04/2009 at 10:37
created: 27/04/2009

You are in: Essex > People > Your Stories > Business is ballooning



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