We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dustin MacMillan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dustin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Balloon Artists are more or less “self taught”. Working in an unregulated industry, theres no formal balloon school that is needed before working as a performer. So a lot of our knowledge is community sourced, funded, created, however you want to say it. We do it ourselves through online forums, dvd’s, youtube channels, pdf’s etc.

My journey specifically started with finding a book in a used book store on how to twist balloon animals. From there I branched out to youtube tutorials, podcasts, facebook groups, and any other kind of balloon community platform I could find. I had been bitten by the balloon bug and couldn’t get enough of it.

I think if i had to give my younger self advice on how to learn faster, it would be to not be afraid of spending money on practice balloons. As a twister, the only way you get better is my making balloon animals, and every time you practice you in turn use up your inventory. And I was so scared of using up balloons when I wasn’t working a gig that I never gave myself the freedom to play around with an idea and see where it could lead. I was penny pinching my balloons and only doing the bare minimum that I didn’t learn as quickly because i was only really twisting balloons during my performances. I would definitely go back and give myself the freedom to play with balloons more and not be scared of using up inventory.

The skills that are the most essential I would say are hand/finger dexterity and having a good memory. The majority of all balloon animals use (more or less) the same 3-4 techniques, just in different orders. And because of that, I probably have a good 60+ balloon animals that I can make off the top of my head. And being able to quickly recall a specific design is one of the most essential skill in being a line twister at events like festivals or birthdays.

The main obstacle has stood in my way, and still does sometimes, is inventory and practicality of designs. There are so many different sizes, shapes, and colours of balloons that it’s impossible to use them all. There have been entire dvd’s focused on using a specific balloon shape (like a geo-blossom or a 321 balloon) only to have that shape stop being manufactured a few years later. And while I would love to use every shape and colour and print and size in my designs, when I show up to a party I have to be self contained as I walk around and be able to quickly recall what balloons go with which design. So while I am always wanting to learn more, I realize that practicality will dictate what designs and balloons I buy and learn to use.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dustin MacMillan and my business is Inflatable Magic & More (IM&M). When I was a kid my mom took me to see Cirque Du Soleil and that was, unknown at the time, the start to my love of the circus arts. I remember the inside of that tent being the most exciting place in the world for me, and over the years I would one day become a performer that I had admired for so long.

I started as a Magician in 2009 and have now been learning and performing magic for 15 years. In 2016 I was walking through a used book store and found a book on making balloon animals and remember thinking “magic and balloons kind of go together” and added balloons into my repertoire

Over the past 15 years I have gone from a kid who likes magic to performing being my full time job. I run my business Inflatable Magic & More (IM&M) and I could not ask for a better career.

IM&M provides event entertainment for all types of events. Be it a corporate event, fair/festival, birthday, etc. Our services include stage shows, walk around entertainment, balloon decor, and this holiday season we are adding our first Santa for hire. We work to spread joy and help our clients provide positive memories and amazing events year round. As we grow we hope to include even more entertainers/performers into what we offer so that we can continue to provide high quality entertainment for our clients.

I am most proud of finally achieving my childhood dream of being a full time performer, and hope that through time and business growth that I can help other people achieve this same dream. I never believed it would be possible, and I can’t wait to see what IM&M turns into

The main thing I want people to know about IM&M is that there is still magic out there. That the whimsy you saw all around you as a kid can still be felt in adulthood. When you see a fog tornado inside a soap bubble, or when a deck of cards vanishes from between your hands, that moment, whether it comes from trickery or not, that moment has real magic, and that magic can not only be felt, but shared with those you love!

Have you ever had to pivot?

The first time I ever tried to go full time as an entertainer I had to quickly pivot and try again later. I was in college at the time and I was about to finish the academic year. I had made the decision that that after that semester I was going to take 1 year and try to be a full time entertainer. Unfortunately the year that I had decided to go full time was 2020, and shortly before the end of my semester Covid-19 took over and not only was school shut down, but the entire entertainment industry as well. There were no fairs/festivals, nobody was throwing birthday parties, no corporate events, nothing. I very quickly had to pivot since full time magician was no longer in the cards. Later that year during the summer, outdoor farmers markets were starting to open up, and that summer I went to as many markets as possible to sell my balloons. Balloon art kept me afloat until I was able to get steady work with an essential service during Covid.

in 2024 I had just finished getting certified as a first responder and suddenly a bunch of balloon artist work came up. I told myself I could work the events and always apply for EMR jobs later. However, more events kept coming up and eventually there was another pivot point asking the question: Do I become a first responder, or do I fully commit and pursue being a full time entertainer? So I switched my focus to being an entertainer and have been a full time entertainer for the past year and a half.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My favourite moment of being an artist is being able to not only amaze people with what I do, but to give them a feeling of child-like wonder. I’ve had people tell me “I felt like I was 7 years old again!” and being able to bring that feeling of magic and wonder is better than any round of applause I could get. It’s what keeps me loving my work and helps me remember that even though I’ve see a magic trick hundreds if not thousands of times, that for my audience, it’s their very first time and they deserve my very best every time. When I make a balloon animal for a parent at a party and they say its the first balloon animal they’ve had in 20+ years with a giant smile or that they had no idea it was even physically possible to do what I’m doing out of balloons; these are the experiences that I find the most rewarding as an artist and performer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://inflatable-magic.com
• Instagram: Inflatable_Magic_&_More
• Other: TikTok: @inflatablemagicandmore

Image Credits

Inflatable Magic & More