Life & Work with Carolynn Hayman of Ann Arbor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolynn Hayman. 

Hi Carolynn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I got interested in balloons when my daughter was young, and then a whole new world opened up to me when I joined a local twister’s group here in Michigan and learned new techniques, took classes, and eventually went to my first balloon convention! Going to a balloon convention was so incredible with 250+ twisters from all over the world, classes all day, and a jam room with free balloons open 24 hours a day! (There is no sleeping at these conventions!) I met so many artists over the years, and with social media starting to grow, we were all able to share designs and photos to learn from each other in between the conventions, too. One of the instructors took an interest in my work and invited me to join a group of about 20 people at a gathering in Arkansas one winter. The day I flew in, there was a huge ice storm, and we all ended up stuck in the hotel with all of the balloons for three days making giant sculptures and even balloon costumes. As soon as I got into a balloon costume, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how fun it was, and I started planning my own designs right away. This same instructor encouraged me to start competing at conventions, so I started doing that in about 2014. I won some competitions and had my work featured on trade calendars and in some other trade media. It took me three years of competing in the balloon costume contest to finally win an award, and when I did, it was with my costume Conrad the Unicorn. My videos of Conrad the Unicorn in the 2016 Chicago Pride Parade went viral and brought me a lot of recognition in the industry. I was invited to teach at all kinds of twister and decorator conventions and even traveled to Colombia to teach. Conrad the Unicorn had some big moments in several Chicago Pride Parades as part of some friends’ balloon float, and we were on The Harry Connick Jr Show and America’s Got Talent among other appearances. I found that I really enjoyed teaching balloon design and costume design and focused on that for a few years. When the pandemic hit, I was just about to launch a program teaching balloon costume design to groups for team-building workshops. That has been put on hold, and to keep busy during 2020, I started offering outdoor balloon deliveries which was something that many other balloon artists had started doing. Things took off around Ann Arbor, and as time went by, I was able to offer more indoor designs as well. Being nearby University of Michigan, so many parents of students want to send balloons for celebrations, so I make a lot of delivery pieces. It has been fun and kept me really busy! I’m still looking forward to being able to offer team-building workshops once things feel more settled. I’m hoping to share the fun of working with balloons and get people more interested in balloon costumes which are my real passion! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Working with balloons has lots of challenges! First of all, they can be fragile, and sometimes the most important balloon in a design will pop or deflate, and I’ll have to figure out a way to fix things. Sometimes I’ll go to a setup, and the ground is frozen, so installing a pole in a particular place will not be possible. I have some strange tools in my setup for when things aren’t going as planned. Usually, I’m able to work through the problem, but it can be very stressful – especially if people are watching and expecting things to go smoothly! 

Also, right now there is a balloon shortage and supply chain issue, so sometimes I can’t get the balloons needed for a particular project. I try to keep lots of my most popular balloons on hand, but it’s not always possible. Sometimes I need to get creative and change up a design or suggest something else to make things work. 

As for costumes, I learned early on that vision and mobility are the most important design elements. I almost fell off the stage wearing my first lobster costume as I couldn’t see out of it. Now, I design my costumes so I can walk a parade route or run a 5k in them!! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in designing and making balloon costumes. I’m best known for my 9′ tall creation Conrad the Unicorn. In 2016, Conrad the Unicorn was in the Chicago Pride Parade as part of a friend’s balloon business’ float, and the videos of him went viral and have been seen over 400 million times. I became very well known in the balloon industry, and the demand for balloon costume designs and classes has blown up! I’ve taught various designs at conventions, and I sell video tutorials, too. I run a group on Facebook about balloon costumes, and we have thousands of members from all over the world. It has been amazing to see people making designs I’ve taught or, better yet, their own original costumes and posting on our page! 

My first original costume was a lobster. A few years ago, I made him for a grand opening of a book store in Portland, Maine. After the event, we took him to an oceanfront park and took photos and videos. I always love to make videos of my costumes doing funny things. I ended up rolling down a hill wearing the lobster costume (The Maine Lobster Roll), and then started doing that whenever possible with my other costumes! Each costume only lasts so long, so it’s fun to have them go out in style. I also love to play tennis, so whenever possible, I’ll feature my costumes in videos playing tennis – sometimes with a very large racquet! And, my family and I like to wear group costumes and run in our local Thanksgiving Turkey Trot when we can. We’ve been a group of Thanksgiving foods, slices of pie that all came together to form one big pie, Christmas characters, and a group of balloon gnomes! I’d say the creative videos really set my costumes apart! 

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Going to balloon conventions really helped to build my network. I started out with balloon twisting conventions, but now I love balloon decorator conventions, too! I’ve met so many people, and we are able to keep in touch on social media. There are so many artists whose work I admire. If I can take a class from them, I will. When I started teaching, I tried to emulate some of my favorite instructors and teach fun, hands-on classes. Our network in the balloon industry is huge, so there are groups focusing on all kinds of things where we can go for advice or design inspiration. In our industry, I’ve found that most people are very generous with their time and knowledge. Still, it’s important to try to build that relationship rather than assuming someone wants to help or mentor you. If I meet someone new with talent and has an interest at a convention, I might go out of my way to connect with them and offer assistance. Sometimes they end up teaching me! 

Outside of the balloon world, it’s practically an instant conversation starter when I mention that I’m a balloon artist! I like meeting other small business owners and learning about how they do things, too. 

Pricing:

• Most of my deliverable designs start at about $80 and up.
• Larger pieces like garlands and columns can be several hundred dollars depending on the design.
• Balloon costumes are more expensive because they are so large and require someone to wear them (usually me!) and a “handler” for safety issues.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.popdesignsandcreations.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popdesignsandcreations/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popdesignsandcreations