This week on BMTV we are on location with Mike Hurst from Balloons by Reds at his brand-new unit. He gives us a tour of the studio and shop and shares some of his tips and tricks for your workspace, whether it is in a shop or at home!

Over the past 5 and half years Mike has had different shops, moving to a bigger space each time. The move to the new unit was needed as again they needed a bigger workspace. They wanted a space where they could prep for big jobs a day or two in advance and have the space to store the balloons. The business has changed over the years, with the focus now being on decorating jobs and online orders, with their Click and Collect service, rather than just being a walk-in shop.

There are lots of inventive storage solutions which Mike has come up with for the workspace, including storing latex balloons in silver tea tins which can be arrange neatly on a shelf. They each have a label of the product on the top of the tin so they can be easily identified! Being stored in the tins also stops the balloons from oxidation. He also uses plastic see-through sweet shop jars to store latex balloons on shelves.

To store ribbon Mike has created a rack using several knot lamp stands which are fed into hooks that are secured to wooden panels on the wall and held in place with M14 nuts. The ribbon reels have then been put onto each stand/pole and the ribbon can then be easily accessed for decorating jobs and cut off easily.

Mike is part of PEBA (Pro Environment Balloon Alliance) and has recently started creating eco bricks which involves taking plastic balloon wrappers and deco bubbles and putting them in a plastic bottle. These plastic bottles are then used to build walls and structures that can be used over and over again. To find out more about Eco Bricks, visit www.ecobricks.org.

They store orders in plastic wallets, which are then placed in storage towers with days of the week labelled on them. Another requirement for the new unit was a space for a consultation area, where customers can come and discuss their event and what designs they are after. The consultation area has a table and chairs, coffee machine and even Ikea plants!

Mike has another Lights, Balloons, Action training course coming up with Natalie Saunders, following the success of the last one! The course is being held on Monday 16th September at our usual training venue, AFC Totton which is just around the corner from Balloon Market!

To find out more info about Lights, Balloons, Action or to book on the course click here.

To find out more about Mike Hurst and Balloons By Reds click here.

Anna-Jayne

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