Sofie has agreed to do the interview on the forum for us and is the lady who was in charge of all the dress makers at the China Balloon and Clown convention 1st/8th Oct. To see some of the designs check out the forum thread; viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1913
I have known Sofie for many years and she is an absolute gem, and whatever you do no questions about her and I in the tunnel of love at The Millennium Jam

Sofie's website details are; http://www.sofievandewyer.com

Will let everyone know the confirmed date ASAP, hoping it will be sooner rather than later.

Sofie has agreed to do the interview next week so if there are any questions you wanted to ask about putting the balloon fashion show together in China and the headaches that must have been involved in making it look stress free then please ask away.
Sofie will also be teaching at The Millennium Jam in November.

So a few more questions;

1, Any advice on avoiding jet lag and sleeping on long haul flights.
2, How do you overcome having a very tall boyfriend.
3, After helping to organise such a succesful balloon fashion show in China and being on a high,
how do you cope with coming home and back to a fairly normal life style.
4, Was making the tunnel of love with myself at TMJ a highlight in your life.

Hi Sophie,

was it you at the last TMJ that was collecting the nozzle bits of balloons for something amazing at this year's TMJ?

Is it going to happen then? I've been waiting a whole year!
Can you give us any clues?

See you at TMJ,

Danny

1, Any advice on avoiding jet lag and sleeping on long haul flights.

Lots of drugs and valium before you board. Once on the flight make friends with the flightstewards and drink as much alcohol as you can.

2, How do you overcome having a very tall boyfriend.

I try to cope with it. The negative part is that he is always looking in every womens cleavage and knows exactly when i did not wash my hair BUT I do not have to take a ladder with me on a balloon decoration job, I can always buy groceries from the top shelf in the supermarket and his head is an automatic cobweb remover in the house.

3, After helping to organise such a succesful balloon fashion show in China and being on a high,
how do you cope with coming home and back to a fairly normal life style?

I don't! I have always a dip when I come home. It takes a few days before I am back on my 'normal' track.

4, Was making the tunnel of love with myself at TMJ a highlight in your life.

It is the only reason why I stayed in the balloon business...

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Hi Danny,

yes I was the one who collected the nozzles. I still do!
I still do not have enough but I can tell you that the secret will be revealed next year at TMJ, when they have the BIG convention.

Hope so see you there!

1, What road led you into balloon modelling?

I worked in a 'normal' job and on an evening out with the company, with lots of alcohol, a collegue of mine showed me that he could make a dog. I still remember the moment like it was yesterday. I saw him making it and i saw the dog and it was really a 'tadaaaa'- moment. It was love at first sight! with the balloondog not with the collegue Next day I bought a bag of balloons and 2 months later I was working with an entertainment company as a balloonmachine

2, when did you get started with balloons?

about 7 years ago

3, What’s your best twisting experience?

I made a weddingdress for a bride. She had so much fun in it that day and looked stunning.
A few weeks ago I worked in an retirement(?) home ( where they put old crazy people), and that was also a lot of fun because a lot of the people there never saw a balloonartist live at work, so they were very amazed. Plus they do not have anything to do the whole day and you can really take your time. There I became an expert in wheelchair decoration.

4, What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you during a ballooning/entertaining session?

Fighting grandma's. It was very cartoony because they hit eachother with their bags. Funny but also frustating.

5, What do you most enjoy about twisting & why?

I like more the creating part than the entertaining part. I love the balloon as a material and it helps me to bring the images to live that I have in my head. When I was 20 years old I did fashion school and learned to make dresses out of fabric but that just was not my thing, it was too simple, too boring. I can easily say that making dresses are really my passion. Not only for the big impact that they have but also for just the making of it. I am in a very nice, hypnotic, relaxed mode when I make them.

6, What's your favourite age to entertain?

+ 18

7, Do you have the same act but vary the presentation for all ages or do you have set acts for different ages?

Until a few years ago I mostly entertained for children. Then I had different sets for different ages.
Now I try to do only entertainment for grown ups and the presentation is mostly the same but there is always room for improvisation and add-libs (?)

8, What’s your favourite thing to make at the moment?

Dresses of course! But my favorite twisting figure of the moment it the black cat from I think Beating. It is the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. I will search a picture and post it.

9, What is the most asked for model?

Children: A DOGGY! ( that is why I never let them choose)
Adult women: ......
Adult men: A Car ( boys and their toys...)

10, What do you tend to do more of if stuck in the 'balloon production line' model?

Scream! Cry! Drink! in that order!
No seriously, I do not get stuck in the balloon production line. After many years of hard practice, thinking and re-thinking this is frustrating part of balloontwisting, I can finally say: I do not create lines! yippie! I have a set of figures that I make in 90 minutes and with each figure has his own laughs/ gags. The crowed is entertained by me making it but does not expect to recieve the balloon.

12, What kind of work do you do mostly - parties? Corporate? Etc

Corporate and the bigger streetfestivals.

Sophie I am so happy you are doing this interview, I am enjoying it a lot so far, especially using Koen's head to remove cobwebs, who would have thought he could get a job using his head ????
So I will ask you a question if I may. Who living or dead you most like to get stuck in a lift with, and why ??
what would you like to be doing in five years time?
okay I know that is two questions, but I cannot count
who is your favourite balloon artist in the world ( that is three i know, do not say me or graham or people will just laugh )