• 11 months ago
Artist Beverley McGrath has created a range of eye-catching life-size models of celebrities including Harry Styles and Barbie - using balloons.

Beverley, 43, has even had some 'weird requests', including one from a customer who asked her to make a tattooed, topless lady on a motorbike.

But Beverley says she will 'always have a go' at making everything and anything.

The married mum-of-one said: "I will always have a go at everything.

"I've had some very weird requests, I have one customer that sends me quite a few challenging things.

"I had to do a topless lady, who was covered with tattoos and was on a motorbike.

"He always tries to throw me a curve ball but I'll always have a go.

"I normally make people but then I've made Daleks and other recognisable things.

"We also do normal balloon decorating but I posted a picture of some figures on Facebook and they've just gone nuts."

Beverley works at party business The WOW Shop in Northwich, Cheshire, but started making the life-size balloons for her 30th birthday party.

It's 'snowballed' since then and she now charges customers at least £65 per balloon, which can take her around four hours to make.

Beverley said: "I didn't want the run of the mill balloons so I decided to make it pirate themed.

"I did little pirates, monkeys, palm trees, octopuses and then it just snowballed from there.

"Then when things happened with the Queen like the jubilee, I thought I would have a go at making them.

"It's gone from there really."

Beverley says that even though she can make literally anything, one of her most popular products is balloons of princesses for birthday parties.

She added that the orders for the figure balloons can be 'hit or miss' as it 'kinda just depends on' what's happening in the news.

Beverley, of Northwich, Cheshire, said: "We do make a lot of life-size princess balloons and ones of footballers.

"We have one woman who is music mad and loves David Bowie, so I once made David Bowie for her.

"It kinda just depends on what is happening locally or what's happening in the news around the world.

"We did some of the Queen when it was her jubilee and then we did some of the king for his coronation."

Beverley also makes a range of celebrity figures including ones of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Freddie Mercury and Andy Murray.

She even made a life-size figure of Radio 2 presenter Owain Wyn Evans, who went viral in 2020 after he posted a video of him drumming the BBC News theme song.

Beverley said: "I did one of Owain because he did an event in Northwich.

"We just thought 'why don't we make one and send it over to the production company?'

"We never heard anything at the time but one day, there was a knock at the door and he was there.

"I've done loads of balloons of famous people though."

Category

😹
Fun
Transcript
00:00 Hi, I'm Bev from the Wow Shop and here's some of my balloon creations.
00:07 My name's Vicky and I'm the owner of the Wow Shop in Northwich, Cheshire.
00:15 We've been making these balloon characters behind us now for nearly 13 years.
00:20 So we've got Ken at the end with Barbie. We've got Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and then just
00:28 a glamorous couple.
00:35 Some of the fantastic creations that I've been asked to make, I have made a 90 year
00:42 old woman on a Segway, I have made Freddie Mercury, I have done Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse,
00:49 I have done lots and lots of different creations and on an average they take about 3 to 4 hours
00:57 to make.
01:04 I have done a lot of different things.
01:11 I have done a lot of different things.
01:18 I have done a lot of different things.
01:26 I have done a lot of different things.
01:34 I have done a lot of different things.
01:42 I have done a lot of different things.

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