For those of you who haven't read my other posts, my name is jake and I am a 12 year old children's magician/ balloon twister living in Queensland, Australia

My current balloon stock is currently pretty small
I have around 800-1000 260's of various colours (character and carnival assortment plus pink)
And about 50 5 inch rounds

My normal quarterly balloon order goes along the lines of 750 carnival assortment, 400 character assortment , 100pk of pink and 100pk of five inch rounds. In australia using this website (http://www.balloonguy.com.au/Balloons.htm) this costs around $150

I was wondering how you (or how I should) build my balloon stock so it contains more colourful rounds and 360's and 160's and hearts and 321's and geos and 5 inch prints?

Being a 12 year old... Im not the richest person in the world, so buying them all at once is not really an option. Which of these would you reccomend buying first?

I was thinking getting a few bags of prints in my next order and then see how that goes.

Which of the other unique balloons that I mentioned would you use the most often? What designs do you use that use those balloons?

Having a bigger balloon stock ( I imagine) would mean more possibilities and better looking balloons. Is it really worth it though?

The title is supposed to say growing :/

I started out much the same as you. Assortments are certainly the best way to start. I was also a young twister who could not really afford to just jump right in and buy every balloon on the market. I made it a rule that with every balloon order I made I would include a balloon I had never worked with before. It started with things like 350 assortments but as you learn what you use often you can start to refine your shopping list into individual single color bags. This is a great way to remain fresh and creative as you often get to experiment with a new size, shape, or color.

When I started, back in the Jurassic era of balloon twisting, it was easy to decide what colors to use. You could have any color you wanted as long as it was the 8 or 10 colors Ashland produced. Like you, when the opportunity arrived, I started with assortments; in my case, the traditional, character and entertainer. Then I kept track of what I used the most, and what wasn’t available in any assortment. I use a ton of lime green not in any assortment. I will always use more goldenrod and mocha then gray. Better for me to buy those separately than what comes in the character assortment. The 350s I use are for specific designs; better for me to buy the separate colors I use than a 350 assortment. For 160s, because I use them in fewer designs, I still typically buy, with a few exceptions, the assortments.

Now, thanks to David Brenion, I’m bulking up on hearts and rounds besides the ever-present whites.