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Life Before Balloons...
Christopher Horne began his professional life as a science teacher
which lasted all of one year before he realized that he needed
to be doing something creative. He and his mother, Freda, had
long talked of running their own floral business, and so in
1979 they started a business from a converted garage in their
hometown of Northampton, England. "Christopher Horne -
Florist" quickly
became recognized as the leading bridal and corporate florist in
the area.
New Directions...
In September 1993, after looking around for something extra to add
to the business, and in response to their bridal client's requests
for balloon decorations, Christopher attended a beginner's course
in balloon decoration and never looked back. He became one of the
very first British CBA's in October 1994.
Industry Recognition...
Christopher's talent has earned him the following prestigious industry awards:
1995 - Designer of the Year at the first European Balloon Symposium, EBS, Amsterdam
1995 - Designer of the Year, IBAC, USA
1995 - Designer of the Year, EBS, Paris
1996 - 2 Second Place Prizes for Buffet & Centerpiece Arrangements at IBAC, USA
1996 - Decorator of the Year, London
2000 – Voted “Best instructor” by readers of Party Times Magazine
2002 - Master Designer Award, BACI, Italy
2002 - Voted “Best instructor” by readers of Party Times Magazine
2002 – “European Qualatex Approved Instructor of the Year”
Today...
After almost 10 years of travelling and teaching, Christopher decided early in 2003 to take time out from his schedule to spend time with his family – his wife Julie and two young sons, William and Oliver. He was employed as the manager of the Florist department in a chain of Garden centres, where his creative and organisational skills continued to be tested to the full. He set up a series of highly popular demonstrations of floristry, and planned and executed a comprehensive educational programme.
In October 2004 he was approached by Amscan International to complete the development of their new range of Latex decorator balloons to be launched under the Anagram brand, on which he had been working as a consultant since mid 2003. As Amscan’s Product Manager for their Decorator Category, he now works full time heading up the further development and promotion of this new line, and is currently working on a programme of demonstrations and training courses which are different to any previously offered. His particular area of interest and expertise is in the combination of Latex balloons, Foil balloons and decorative products in ways that have been so far unexplored. |
