Hello, I’m Mika Suhara, founder of Lovedup Balloons.
I’ve been fascinated by balloons since I was little. I couldn’t let go of any balloon I was given, even after it had shrunk. I kept them pressed in an album, like dried flowers. Balloons have always been that special to me.
Not just as decoration: a balloon can change the air of a place, and even how people feel that day.
I think I was drawn to that strange power of balloons before I even noticed.
Later, I gained experience as a member of prize-winning teams at the world championships, and for 15 years I have kept bringing the world of science and research to life in balloons with the University of Tokyo.
Today, at any scale, from personal anniversaries that color a special day to spatial designs that change the impression of an entire facility, I create experiences people remember.
Giving shape to moments that stay in your heart.
That is our work.
Childhood
A child who couldn’t throw away
a shrunken balloon
Balloons pop, and balloons shrink.
As a child, I kept every balloon I was given in an album, even after it had completely shrunk.
I wrote down the date and place I got it, added a photo from the moment I received it, and noted how I felt.
If you ask me why, I can’t really explain. I just loved them.
That passion didn’t fade when I grew up.
Deciding to work in balloon decoration felt completely natural.
Balloon planner
400 projects a year as a balloon planner, then going independent
For my first three years, I worked as a balloon decoration planner,
giving my full attention to each request.
More than 400 projects a year, from personal celebrations to corporate events.
I saw so many moments when balloons made people’s happiness shine even brighter.
All of that is where Lovedup Balloons began.
With the eye for reading a space that I built as a planner,
I handle everything as an artist, from design and production to set-up and removal.
This company is how I made that way of working real.
Cultivated Foundations
The skills and foundation behind large sculptures
The foundation of large sculpture, learned at the World Balloon Convention (2012, 2014)
The World Balloon Convention is an international event that brings together balloon artists from around the world.
In 2012 and 2014, I joined the team competition in the Large Sculpture category as a team member, and was part of a prize-winning team.
It may look like a glamorous result, but what really mattered to me was the feel I gained from building a large piece together as a team.
How do you make something large stand naturally, beautifully and in balance? That sense still runs through every large decoration and object I make today.
Even now, whenever I face a large space, the sense I gained back then helps me. This experience is the technical foundation of large-scale work at Lovedup Balloons.
Precise technique and structural design, honed in large sculpture
Large balloon sculptures can’t be made with good taste alone.
Does it stay balanced from every angle? How do you build it with safety and stability first?
That design ability is exactly what the world championships demand.
Building pieces over 5 m or 10 m tall from scratch on site, and removing them safely, is a rare skill even in the balloon industry.
That’s why institutions like the University of Tokyo and The National Art Center, Tokyo keep coming back to us.
Balloons aren’t only cute. They can also express precise, striking forms and abstract ideas.
We keep pushing that potential further every year.
The day we launched a 13 m rocket at The National Art Center, Tokyo
The theme of our work at The National Art Center, Tokyo was the Kappa-6, a space observation rocket launched in 1958.
The finished balloon object stood about 13 m tall.
It faithfully recreated the look of the rocket.
As we hung it from the ceiling, even I couldn’t hold back my excitement.
People rarely believe it’s made entirely of balloons.
But that’s the point. The moment they notice, it becomes a piece that impresses even experts in the field.
Specialists in every field have at least one point they won’t compromise on. I think our almost obsessive pursuit of those points is why corporate clients keep working with us for years.
Beyond the Known
15 years with the University of Tokyo:
opening “doors to the unknown” with balloons
Since 2012, we have created balloon objects for the University of Tokyo’s open campus. For 15 years, with a new theme each year, we have delivered balloon objects over 5 m tall.
Making worlds that seem difficult feel closer, through balloons
We have worked with research institutes across the University of Tokyo, including the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the Institute of Industrial Science and the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences. Every year, the work begins with a meeting with the researchers connected to the piece.
We decide the design to match that year’s research theme, then give it shape in balloons.
For example, a researcher studying chum salmon told us about nuptial coloration, the different body colors of males and females. We ask each researcher about the points they won’t compromise on, then think about how to recreate them in balloons. That process is what makes it fun.
Research can seem hard to approach. If a familiar material like balloons can spark even a little interest in it, nothing would make me happier.
A 3 m wave crashing in, with an eel riding it
Bringing smiles to its reopening ceremony with balloons
A mother polar bear and cub, about 2 m, in balloon art
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, “STOP Global Warming”
A polar bear parent and cub playing together
A giant, life-size balloon sculpture!
Kappa-6 rocket (about 13 m)
Open campus
A colorful sea and a green sea turtle (3 m)
Making people stop and ask, “What is that?” That is our work.
Recreating complex research in balloons is not just decorating.
Visitors stop, wonder “What’s that?”, come closer and start talking with the experts and staff.
Creating that moment is the purpose of our balloon spatial design.
I believe the University of Tokyo has kept asking us back for 15 years
because we deliver that power to make people stop, every single year.
Every time I see visitors react, I become more certain that balloons have the power to open a small door to an unknown world.
Career & Achievements
Worked as a balloon planner.
Handled more than 400 decorations a year
World Balloon Convention, Large Sculpture category, team competition: member of a prize-winning team
Founded Lovedup Balloons
Balloon objects for the University of Tokyo open campus (every year, ongoing)
World Balloon Convention, Large Sculpture category, team competition
Large balloon object for Kamaishi City’s “Sea and Hope Festival”
Major works
| Venue | Theme | Size |
|---|---|---|
| The National Art Center, Tokyo | Kappa-6 rocket (recreating the launch of a space observation rocket) | About 13 m tall |
| National Museum of Nature and Science | Special exhibition and indoor and outdoor walkway decoration | Glass ceiling of the outdoor walkway |
| Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo | Bubbles and spirals in the sea (inspired by DNA and the ocean) | 36 m tall |
| Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo | 20th anniversary ceremony decoration | Venue and stage decoration |
| Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo | A flying wheelchair (theme: “a step toward the science of the future”) and a Meiji-era microscope (theme: “RCAST’s microscope”) | 5 m x 5 m each |
| Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo | Large balloon gate | 7 m x 7 m |
| “Sea and Hope School Festival,” Kamaishi City, Iwate | Oyotsuhamogani crab (modeled on a new species found in Otsuchi Bay, Iwate) Research vessel Hakuho Maru | 6 m x 4 m 12 m x 4 m |
| Ginza Mitsukoshi | Halloween decoration Giant balloon photo spot | 10 m x 2 m |
| University of Tokyo open campus, various facilities | Chum salmon, anglerfish, bigfin reef squid and more, with a new theme every year (since 2012) | Over 5 m |
Media coverage
- “Ocean Breeze,” the newsletter of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo (featured many times since 2012)
- “Rcast Social Review,” Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo (Vol. 01 and Vol. 02)
- Cover of a University of Tokyo campus newsletter (our balloon Akamon gate)
- “Sousei” No. 33, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
- Iwate Nippo newspaper (our Hakuho Maru balloon object)
- Newspaper coverage of our coming-of-age ceremony decoration for Arakawa City, Tokyo
The Balloon Art Team
Lovedup Balloons is a team.
Lovedup Balloons is a balloon decoration team founded by Mika Suhara.
From birthday surprises to large-scale spatial design, several staff members can take on each request, depending on its size and content.
Founded and supervised by Mika Suhara
Based on each client’s wishes, Mika Suhara personally takes responsibility for the design direction, quality control and final check.
Since the team carries my name, I don’t want to deliver anything I’m not satisfied with.
Even for projects I leave to staff, that is the one thing I never compromise on.
Our on-site staff are chosen by Mika Suhara
Every staff member at Lovedup Balloons has been personally checked and chosen by me. From personal celebrations to corporate event decoration, I decide and take responsibility for who handles each project.
Mika Suhara personally handles requests for large-scale spatial design and large balloon objects.
So you never have to wonder who will show up, we let you know your staff member in advance when you book.
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