She's 51, still plays with bubbles and gets paid for it

Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there.


For many of us, the days of chasing bubbles in the playground are long gone. But this 51-year-old is still flying the flag on her love for them.

Caroline Cornelius-Jones, also known as CJ the Bubble Girl, is a 'bubbleologist' with 12 years of experience putting on shows for any occasion, from children's birthday parties to corporate functions.

As you may have deduced, a bubbleologist is someone who creates visual spectacles and performs tricks with the effervescent orbs. 

And Caroline isn't planning on stopping any time soon.

"I'm now in my 50s but I still love doing it. I can still travel around the world doing it," she told AsiaOne. "And I don't have to stop until people stop booking me, but that seems to be no problem at the moment."

It's easy to see why business is thriving — Caroline's alter ego, CJ the Bubble Girl, radiates an infectious energy and seems almost ageless with her pastel hair, vibrant costumes and quirky accessories (for our interview, she chose to rock a pair of cat ears).

Not to mention her soapy creations, which are also a treat for the eyes.

When her audience is faced with cube-shaped bubbles, elaborate sculptures and bubbles large enough to encapsulate multiple people, even the adults "turn back into little kids", she said.

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In fact, Caroline herself fell in love with the art of bubbles as an adult when she caught sight of a clown making giant bubbles at a party, she confessed.

"I thought, 'Oh, that's great! I want to do that!'," said the Brit, who separated from her husband shortly after moving to Singapore 20 years ago.

And so CJ the Bubble Girl was born as a culmination of Caroline's previous stint working in education, where she picked up tips on dealing with kids, as well as her expertise in fashion and interior design, where she flexed her creative muscles.

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Floating to the top

Caroline is now one of the top bubbleologists in the region and has taken her act to thousands of events, including the Singapore Grand Prix and ZoukOut.

The Singapore PR has even had the opportunity to rub shoulders with actual royalty.

In 2015, she was flown out to Brunei to perform for the royal family as part of Princess Ameerah's birthday celebrations, she said, citing it as one of her most memorable gigs.

The princess' birthday festivities included an hour-and-a-half long stage show with artistes from around the world, said Caroline, who performed a 10-minute long segment at the event.

"It was crazy and amazing. They didn't just fly me out. They flew out a magician, a costume designer from England. They flew out a six-piece silk aerial troupe from the UK plus all their guys and their riggers."

The elaborate production also included Elsa and Anna lookalikes from the States, as well as carnival rides, she added.

It's not as easy as it looks

But she isn't always living the high life. As the owner of her own business, she's in work mode 24/7, Caroline said, admitting that she has to force herself to take time off.

On weekdays, she works on "boring paperwork" and practises her tricks at her home near Marine Parade, while most weekends are '"crazy busy" and consist of rushing from one gig to the next, sometimes even having lunch on the go.

With the amount of work that she does, the biggest misconception that grinds her gears is that "everybody thinks it's easy to blow a bubble," she shared.

Contrary to popular belief, she doesn't "just play with bubbles". There's a huge amount of science involved in her craft, she explained.

"You have to understand a little bit of fluid dynamics, how the bubble moves, how the fluid on the bubble moves. You've got to watch the bubble to know when it's going to pop.

"If it's getting really thin and it's losing its colours then you know you have to go much faster. You have to speed up so you can complete your sculpture before it pops."

She even spends hours testing and timing bubbles just to get the perfect bubble solution recipes for her tricks.

"So I have my table, I do a dome shaped bubble, make sure the bubble is the same size each time I do it and then I time it. And then it pops. And then I do another one. And then I do that about 20, 30 or 40 times and take an average."

"I'm a little bit of a chemist. I have to be a little bit of a mathematician, a scientist," she said. "But mainly I am a performer."

"I love sharing the joy and the performance of bubbles with everybody."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com

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