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Meet the Designers Steven Jones founded Aeration Decorations in 1998 as a home based balloon decorating business. A former art major at the University of California at Riverside, never in his life did expect that his medium of choice would end up being balloons! In 2002, Steven's part time project grew into a full time occupation. With that, he abandoned the comforts of his living room for a studio location on Benson Street on famous "Wedding Row" in Reading, Ohio. An accomplished balloon artist, Steven has had his work regularly featured in Balloon Images Magazine, the balloon industry's largest and most recognized trade publication. In addition, Steven has served as an instructor at national training seminars for newer balloon professionals around the country. In 2003, Steven was asked to serve as a monthly columnist for BalloonHQ.com, the industry's largest support website for balloon professionals, a role that he continues to serve to this day. Most recently, Steven took top honors at the Ballooniversity Competition Series in Athens, Georgia. After taking First Place in the Large Sculpture Competition and Second Place in the Delivery Piece Competition, Steven was declared Designer of the Year, the event's most prestigious award. Then, just two weeks later, Steven's Large Sculpture was reproduced in Las Vegas at the Balloon Summer Camp Sculpture Competition. And again, Steven was awarded First Place in the event. This achievement became the seventh national title Steven had won in just 13 months. In 2004, Steven announced the creation of BalloonTown USA, an event that would soon become the nation's largest independent annual balloon exhibit. Aside from balloons, Steven is also a degreed professional in the field of audio/video production and frequently accompanies Ms. McClain as a camera operator and production assistant with her company, Petite Productions. Amanda McClain joined Aeration Decorations in 2001. Since then, she has served as Production Assistant on over 700 different decor and delivery jobs. Blowing up balloons was also one of the last things Amanda ever thought she'd be doing for a living! Amanda had enrolled at a local college to perfect her skills in audio/video production when she met Steven, who then asked her to come to work for him on a part time basis. Since her first day of blowing up balloons (and badly bleeding fingers), Amanda has become a vital part of Aeration Decorations. Her healthy work ethic and friendly nature are matched only by her passion for perfection. Amanda has competed along side Steven at the International Balloon Arts Convention in the grueling Large Sculpture Competition. There, artists must work for 27 straight hours to complete a sculpture no more than 15' by 15' by 18' in size. In addition, Amanda's efforts as Production Assistant were vital in Steven winning his design awards at the 2004 Ballooniversity event. Without her efforts, it is unlikely that the outcome would have been the same. In addition to her life in latex, Amanda is the proud owner of Petite Productions Videography Services, a special event and montage video production company. The company was founded in 2001 after she graduated with her degree in audio/video production. In 2004, Amanda moved her operation to "Wedding Row" as well and frequently gets her "revenge" by having Steven serve as her Production Assistant on scheduled shoots. You can visit Amanda's company website at www.petiteproductions.com. |
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