Up in the air

In high glee: Balloon artist Tan Kok Soong and his four-year-old son, Yan Ze.

Bubbles of positive energy – that’s how Tan Kok Soong describes a balloon. This 34-year-old father of two would know best as he has been in the business for 11 years. Tan Kok Soong is a certified balloon artist whose balloon projects have earned him a place in The Malaysia Book of Records twice – the first entry was in 2004 for the tallest balloon Christmas tree and the second in 2007, for the biggest heart made of balloons. Last year, Tan also managed to clinch third place in a balloon dress competition in Singapore.

Balloons, agreed Tan, have been an important aspect of his life, revealing that he had even used his balloon sculpting skills to twist little teddies so that he could impress his wife, Lip Wai Seong, 30, while they were courting.

Evergreen: Balloon bouquets for all occasions.

In retrospect, Tan surmised that his obsession with orbs of colourful floating latex might have something to do with a childhood which had been largely confined to his father’s mini-market which operated from amidst the green pomelo orchards of Tambun in Ipoh.

Not surprisingly, when the former student of Seri Putera, Fair Park, left school, he would opt for a career with promises of a cheerier atmosphere.

“My first job involved distributing party packs to the cake shops. Now, you ask me why I have chosen to venture into party packs and balloons? Well, in life, it is essential to be happy and to make people happy, isn’t it?” reasoned Tan.

But what had sparked off the idea of starting a business in balloons was when Tan saw it being used at a product launch.

“To me, it was a fresh idea and that got my interest,” said Tan.

So, with a capital of RM9,000, Tan set out to do his market research and attended workshops in Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. The exposure impressed upon Tan that anything is possible when it comes to working with balloons. Arches, bouquets, animals, dresses, the only limit was one’s imagination. By then, Tan had made up his mind as to what his life’s vocation will be.

Whimsical pair: Bumble bees with a combination of twisted and inflated balloons.

“There was no doubt in my mind that I would succeed as balloons have never failed to bring on the smiles. Just look at how a child reacts when you give him a balloon. Moreover, though the usage of balloons in celebrations and events were not popular 10 years ago on the local front, it was widely used in overseas. Knowing that I was not the only one in the world with such a vision sort of gave me the confidence. At that time, I saw it as my place to expose the idea to my fellow countrymen,” said Tan.

To date, Tan can still remember his first balloon order which came in 1998. It was for a wedding and Tan cannot forget this customer as he was named after a luxury car.

“My first customer was a Mr Daimler Tan (no relation) and I tell you, it was an anxious time for me because I really, really wanted to give a good impression. Luckily, everything went well and till today Daimler and I are friends. It was from him that I got many referrals such as orders for balloon arches for company openings and stage decorations for functions,” said Tan.

Today, Tan’s team is able to handle big orders up to 40,000 balloons. He receives such orders annually for big scale events like the Merdeka celebrations.

It is no joke to inflate 40,000 balloons overnight. There is no way that such an operation can be done earlier as the helium will leak and cause the balloons to flop so we have no choice but to burn the midnight oil,” he said.

And in such stressful times, the most infuriating thing for Tan will be to have his balloons bursting one after another while they are being inflated, as in the case of balloons which are inferior in quality.

In answer to conservative quarters that flowers, instead of balloons, would make a better choice of decoration, Tan would agree that the beauty of a flower is incomparable to the man-made aesthetics of a latex balloon, in spite of the bewildering array of shapes, sizes and colours available.

But a balloon, he pointed out, is a definite point scorer when it comes to cost conservation. Moreover, an inflated balloon has the ability to fill up a bigger area. If the case of flowers, more will have to be utilised to fill up an area occupied by a single balloon.

“A budget of slightly over RM1,000 will afford a wedding venue with a backdrop, walkway accents and an entrance arch,” guaranteed Tan.

Meanwhile this balloon artist reckons that the hypnotic hiss of the mechanical pumps have imparted him with a philosophical outlook.

“I sometimes feel that one reason why people appreciate balloons is because at the back of their minds, they know that their beauty is only temporary. This has impressed upon me that while we are alive, it is important to be happy because life is short,” concluded Tan.

Beauty Balloons is located at No.1 & 1A, Jalan Medan Ipoh 7, Bandar Baru Medan, 31400 Ipoh, Perak (Tel: 05-545 8899 / website at www.beautyballoon.com.my).