Focus Kite Designs

Happy Holidays & A Update

2010-12-16T22:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays to all!

We wanted to take a moment and give a quick update. For anyone who is wondering, Focus Kite Designs is still alive. As mentioned in previous post, Paul and I have both started new full time jobs. We wish you could make a living building kites but the reality is that you cannot. But we love it and we are keeping it going. The unfortunate result is that orders are taking a longer to process and not all kites are in production yet. We are working on this and trying to find the best solution to get more kites out on the market. Right now we are building Jinx, Jinx ULs and Skates.

We apologize to customers who have waited longer than we thought it would be and thank you for your understanding. If you need to get in touch with us, please email us at kites@focuskites.com . It is very difficult to reach us on the phone at the moment. Again, thank you for the support and understanding. Happy Winds to you all!

Hunter Brown
Focus Kite Designs
www.focuskites.com

Update to Previous Post - Read Previous Post First!!!

2010-05-04T14:25:00.002-04:00

This post is to clarify a few points in regards to the post before this one.
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE POST BEFORE THIS, PLEASE READ IT FIRST AND THEN READ THIS ONE.

It has come to our attention that a few points may not have been very clear so we wanted to address them.

Paul and I both will still be working together as a team with Focus Kite Designs. We still are the two people running the company, designing, and developing new ideas. We will also still have our hands on EVERY kite that is shipped out. We hope that not having to sew all the sails ourselves, will give us more time to develop new innovative products.

Paul and I hope to be able to build all orders that are currently in before switching to the new sewers. If your kite will not be 100% built by us, we will contact you and let you know.

It is possible that there will be a short transition period as we switch to the new sewers. If you will be affected by this, we will contact you and let you know.

I want to stress again that we have nothing but the highest amount of confidence in the people we have selected to sew our sails. They have sewn for many US made kite brands over the years and probably for many you didn’t even know they did.

For you the customer, not much is going to change. We just wanted to be upfront with you and let you hear it from us. If you have ANY questions or comments regarding this, please ask us. You can post a comment on the blog, email us, call us at 910-466-1850 or post on our Facebook page. We want to hear from you especially if you have concerns.

Again, thank you for the support and we are excited for the future of Focus Kite Designs!

Hunter Brown
http://www.focuskites.com/

Changes Coming To Focus

2010-05-03T22:00:00.002-04:00

There are some changes coming to Focus Kite Designs and we wanted you all to hear it from us directly and not the rumor mill.

When Paul and I set out to form Focus we wanted to offer high end, hand built kites at the best price quality ratio we could. We feel that we have done a very good job of this and are thankful for the support we have received. We both have been in the industry for many years and we knew that we could not make a full living off Focus and all along have had other jobs and other sources of income. We continued with Focus because we love it and we saw potential for the future.

Most recently Paul has been working with his long time friend and mentor Kurt Degener at Avia Sport Composites. Avia Sport was recently purchased by Goodwinds in Mount Vernon, WA. Goodwinds is a rapidly growing company specializing in carbon and Fiberglass rods and tubes for recreational and industrial use. They stock all the accessories you need to build kites, RC planes & boats, and archery arrows. With the sale of Avia, Paul has accepted a position with Goodwinds. He will be their Sales and Operations Manager with his core task being account management and quality control. With Paul’s formal education in composite engineering and his background in the kite industry, this is an ideal job for him. He and his wife will be moving to the west coast at the end of May and they are very excited about the opportunity. Look for him to be showing up to kite events out that way now!

After closing my retail shop last fall I have been concentrating on Focus while deciding what I wanted to do next as a career. I’ve built a life here in Wilmington and have family in NC so I wanted to stay here if I could. I have recently accepted a job with Verizon Wireless and will be working retail for them. I’ve worked retail all of my life and am very excited to work with Verizon in the fast paced, ever changing, wireless market.

So what does this mean for Focus?

Not to worry. We are going to keep Focus Kite Designs going and there will be little change to you, our customers and friends. We are finalizing a deal to have our kites sewn by one of the top sewing companies out there. They are based here in the US and we know they will be able to produce our sails at the high standard we have set for ourselves or better. The kites will be framed by us so Paul or I will still have our hands on every kite. It is possible that there could be a little down time while we go through this transition but we are going to do out best to keep this to a minimum.

Paul and I are very excited about the changes ahead. We have always known this day would comje and we have done our best to prepare for it. We will keep you all posted as things progress. We assure you that Focus Kite Designs will continue to produce high quality, hand built kites and we will continue to develop new and innovative designs. Thank you again for all the support over the years!

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Echo & Skate Video by Jared

2010-04-28T12:02:00.005-04:00

Jared sent us this great video of him and his daughter playing with his Echo and Skate in front of the Raleigh convention center. His wife Nancy shot the video.

We really enjoyed seeing his daughter playing with the Skate. Nice work Jared! Thanks for sharing!

Ultralight Focus Kites from Jared H on Vimeo.

More Customer Photos

2010-04-28T11:58:00.002-04:00

As we have told you in the past, we love to see customer's photos. Ed sent us these shots of Marty's Manta (white one) and his Manta (black one) flying. Thanks for sharing Ed!

Have some pictures of your Focus kite in action? Send them our way. We love to see them!

A Customer's Echo Video

2010-04-14T14:44:00.004-04:00

Here is a nice video of the Echo that one of our customers and Facebook Fans shared with us. We really like the location that this video was shot in. Great job and thanks for sharing!

Echo in the Wild

2010-04-07T10:47:00.004-04:00

One of our customers, Brian Bishop, was kind enough to send us this picture of his Echo out in the wild. Thanks for sharing Brian!

We always love to see pictures of the kites we've built out being used and enjoyed. If you have a picture, feel free to share it with us!

Hunter Brown

http://www.focuskites.com/

The Skate gets a Update!

2010-03-27T14:01:00.003-04:00

The Skate has been one of our most popular kites since the formation of Focus Kite Designs. It has been out for over two years and it is time for an update. We are excited to announce a new graphic for 2010!

One of the exciting things about this new graphic is that it allows for two distinctively different options. If you color the body and the upper wings the same you get a very different look.

There are also some very interesting options the new graphic lends itself to. Here are a couple of examples from the colorizer.

Easier Travel & Shipping!

Another new feature the Skate gets is the ability to fold up shorter. We heard the demands to make the Skate easier to travel with and we have done it. Now the Skate folds up to almost half the length. This will make traveling by air easier with the Skate and allow us to ship to countries we previously could not due to package length.

We are very excited to share this news with you. Please let us know what you think of the new graphic.

We plan to have the website updated with new pictures and colorizer very soon. We are starting to build the new graphic so go ahead and place your order now! We can email you the colorizer so you can play with color options.

New Skate Graphic Special!!!

If you place an order for a new Skate before we get it on the web site, we will make you a Skate in the new graphic with your choice of colors and waive the custom fee. That is a $25 savings. Once we get it on the site, we will have stock color options and will have to start charging the custom fee. We are also going to have to raise the price slightly due to the extra work in the sail and frame. But this will not happen until the new Skate is on the site. So don’t wait! Get your orders in now!

How to order the new Skate before it is on the site?

If you want to place a order for a new Skate, email us for the new colorizer. Then once you decide on colors, place an order on the site for a Skate in any of the stock colors. In the comments section of the checkout process, let us know you want a new Skate. Email us your color selection. We will confirm all the details with you before your credit card is processed. Or you can place your order by over the phone by calling us at 910-466-1850.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Lincoln City Indoor Kite Festival this weekend!

2010-03-25T13:28:00.001-04:00

On the 27th and 28th of March, Lincoln City, OR is hosting its annual Indoor Kite Festival. Some of the best fliers in the country have been invited to participate and help make the event the success it has been every year. Focus is proud to announce that Lisa Willoughby and Paul de Bakker have been invited and together with the cream of the crop in indoor kite flying, will perform and compete.

The LC event is different from others in that the main event are 3, hour-and-a-half longs shows produced and choreographed by Lee and Debbie Park from Aerial Experience, where kite fliers and other performers are actors, all cooperating and playing within the bigger framework.

The event has been going on for years now and has been a great success, it must be one of the very few events where a city rallies up a paying audience to see kite fliers perform and we love it!!
Focus will also unveil something new in LC, stay tuned for pictures and an event report!

www.focuskites.com

Echo 2 Stack Video by Devin

2010-03-24T10:29:00.005-04:00

One of our good friends and customers, Devin, just sent us this video of him flying his two stack of Echo’s. Devin is a college student at the Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) and a very accomplished kite flier and musician. We really appreciate him taking the time to put this video together and share it with us.

Direct Link

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Photos from Scott

2010-03-15T19:23:00.001-04:00

One of our customers, Scott Hertenstien, sent use these photos of his custom Skate flying. In one of the photos you can see his custom Manta in the background. Thanks for the photos Scott!!!

Jared Haworth on his Jinx UL

2010-03-12T15:04:00.000-05:00

Jared Haworth sent us this video of him out flying his Jinx UL. Thanks for sharing Jared and keep up the great flying!

Jinx UL from Jared H on Vimeo.

Happy New Year! - January Update

2010-01-04T23:48:00.001-05:00

2010 has started, and we at Focus wish everyone a wonderful new year, full of happiness and great kite flying days!

As we write this, we are getting ready for the new season. Hunter will leave for a road trip to Florida in a couple of days, to take some vacation time, product testing and hopefully make some pictures and video of our kites. On the way back up, he will be meeting up with Lisa and me for the 2010 Treasure Island Kite Fest and Sport Kite Competitions. We will have some free time before the event to get some much needed photos and videos of our kites, some of which are long overdue. We are keeping our figures crossed for good weather! We are very much looking forward to the first event of the year, to meeting many friends and to hopefully fly kites in our T-shirts.

Soon after the Florida trip, expect the new Jinx page to be up, complete with colorizer and video. We are already in full swing building the new Jinx and we do have the colorizer available by request. We just haven’t had the time yet to update the website. So, if you are thinking about getting a Jinx, please send us an email (kites@focuskites.com) and we will send you the colorizer to play with directly.

Also keep checking back for news of a new Demo Program that will allow you to test our products on your home beach, field or gym. We are finalizing details and will be announcing it soon!

Do you Facebook? If you don’t already know, Focus does! We are grateful to have over 400 fans and we invite you to join in the fun. Just search for Focus Kite Designs in Facebook or chick the link: Focus Facebook Page

We are looking forward to seeing what the new year will bring and hope to continue to provide you with products that provide many great flying experiences. When you see us at a festival, please come up and say hi, it would be our pleasure to get to meet you!

Paul de Bakker
http://www.focuskites.com/

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T15:24:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Paul, Lisa, and Hunter at Focus Kite Designs.

New York Kite Festival - Rockaway - By Lisa

2009-12-14T22:52:00.000-05:00

I was able to attend one day of the NY Kite Festival. The festival was held on September 12 and 13 on Rockaway Beach, NY not far from Coney Island and was run simultaneously with the Rockaway Music and Arts Festival.

Sunday was a sunny day with a variable light northwest wind which increased toward the end of the day. There was a great group of kite fliers representing several clubs including many fliers from South Jersey Kite Fliers, Wings over Washington, and a group from New England. Dave Gomberg was also on hand to fill the sky with large kites. The Dallmers had What the Duck flying too.

A large group of quad fliers were there to put on a show with team quad flying. Pete Dolphin spent some time taking KAP shots of the quad kites doing formations around some of the larger kites. When the wind was light and most of the big kites came down, I put up the Manta near the beach access. It was the only kite flying at times. Many of the beach goers stopped to ask questions or tell me how much they liked the kite. They wondered why it was flying when others were not. They also liked how large and steady it was in the sky. Many of the other kite fliers wanted a turn to fly it.

While the Manta was being passed around, I went up to the boardwalk to fly the Skate around the crowd. Since the boardwalk area was sheltered from the west wind by a large old stone building, it was like flying indoors. It was so much fun to fly it around people. Some seemed to like the kite close to them and others (remember this was New York) were not. The security guards had a great time with it. I gave one of the guards a quick lesson and he loved it. He flew it around the people while his fellow guards cheered him. Paul Berard even took a turn flying the Skate with me. Toward the end of the day, the wind turned more from the water and I was able to enjoy some team quad flying.

The day seemed to end too early for everyone. As the sun set and the wind dropped to nothing, we all made plans for the next time we could get together and fly.

Lisa Willoughby
http://www.focuskites.com/

WISKF 2009 by Lisa

2009-12-12T14:26:00.001-05:00

There has been one festival that I have always wanted to attend….WISKF. The Washington State International Kite Festival was held on August 17 to the 23. It is an immense gathering of kite fliers, kite enthusiasts, media, and kite spectators. A week long kite celebration held on a very beautiful beach in a quaint little town. For me, the festival included the fighter kite world cup and the opportunity to fly with a new group of fighter pilots. The festival also included for me the Northwest Sport Kite League competitions, Rokkaku battles and the indoor events.

Although the festivities started on Monday, I wasn’t able to fly out until Wednesday. I arrived early Wednesday evening in Long Beach as the fog rolled down the main street from the beach. The cooler temperature was very apparent compared to the 90 degrees I left that morning. This was the weather everyone warned me was typical on the coast in Washington. Perfect indoor weather. After quickly checking into my hotel, I drove over to the indoor gym and put together my kites in the hall since it already started. It was fun to watch all the impressive performances. I flew a demo with my Skate later that evening. It was a fantastic start to my WISKF experience.

Thursday morning started chilly, grey and with a light rain. The waitress at breakfast hoped I enjoyed the sun the previous day because they never know when it will come out again. Wearing my rain gear, I walk over the dune to fighter kite central. A gathering of one line kite fliers who share an extreme passion for dueling in the air. These skilled fliers are masters at maneuvering the small unstable kites to touch the top or bottom of the opponents’ line to win a point. There are many different strategies, styles of flying and types of kites the fliers use to hopefully dominate the match. Although the goal is to win, a well flown match results in both fliers enjoying the experience of the game. We took turns fighting each other throughout the day. It was a great opportunity to meet and visit with each other.

The winds were light to moderate and the sky slowly cleared until the sun did appear for a short stay in the early afternoon. Later in the afternoon, I walked up the beach to the main kite fields. Although the day remained grey and cool, the sky was filled with an array of kites. After spending some time flying with my Revolution friends, it was time to head over to the indoor demonstration event. There were several more fliers scheduled to perform and the gym was filled with spectators. I flew a routine that included my Skate and Echo. Later, it was great to be asked by a few people for an indoor lesson. After showing them how the Skate works, all of them had a wonderful time experiencing indoor flying.

Friday morning was still cool with dark clouds and a steady light rain. There was also no wind. In the distance on the main kite field, I spotted a lone Manta flying majestically in the sky. I hoped it was a sign for a great day of flying. As the time for the pilots meeting for the Fighter World Cup approached, the rain stopped and the weather started to clear. We started our first matches in almost no wind. The judges had to move the fighter areas many times to accommodate the changing wind direction. Toward late morning the wind continued to get stronger with a consistent direction, allowing for better flying conditions. All of the matches were very exciting and well flown. They would start with one flier almost as the winner and at the last minute the opponent takes the match. I enjoyed flying with pilots who had years of experience and skill. It was an incredible learning experience. I placed respectfully for my first world cup. During the matches, the Revolution Mega fly was taking place in the early afternoon on the main competition field. It was an amazing sight to see 50 plus kites flying together in a grid formation. Later in the afternoon, I put my fighter kite flying on hold to run up the beach for my Pairs Multiline Ballet competition. My pair’s partner and I flew well and took a second place. As kites were being put away for the day, I started to prepare for the indoor competition. Many fliers arrived early to warm up before the event while the audience filled the seats. The gym was small and it was difficult for all the fliers to warm up at the same time. When the competition started, the small gym was filled with eager spectators and fliers. All the fliers did a remarkable job with their performances and the crowd rewarded each of them with enthusiastic applause. Again, another great evening of indoor flying.

Following the indoor event, the night fly and fireworks was going to get underway. A small group of us had a quick dinner and then headed out to the night fly. We didn’t realize that everyone in the town and people from other towns also had the same idea. There were as many people on the beach for the night fly as there were during the day. The dark cool night sky was filled with multi colored lights that were alive with movement. The Revolution kites put on a spectacular display. Although it was already a long and busy day, it couldn’t end until our group visited Scoopers for some Long Beach ice cream.

I was surprised to see sun and a bright blue sky on Saturday morning. I was scheduled to fly in Masters Dual line Ballet and the Rokkaku Battle. The beach was overflowing with kites, banners, kite vehicles, kite displays, kite spectators….It was filled. The crowds had come out in full force. The boardwalk (as they called it) was crowded with people looking in all directions to see the vast amount of kites on display. When I arrived on the field, I was asked if I would like to fly in a second larger Mega Revolution fly. Oh yeah. I had missed it the day before because of my fighter kite obsession. I quickly put together my kite and was given a position in the line. It took a considerable amount of organization and directions for all of the 60 plus kites to successfully fly together in formation. It was an amazing sight and even more fun to be part of it. All the participants were asked to sign a book to document the event. Following the Mega fly, I flew in the team Rokkaku battle. We had a superb team but had some trouble with the tuning of the kite resulting in a crash finish in the first round. Once the tuning was improved, we flew well and finished with an enthusiastic second place. It was so much fun running all over the field trying to figure out what strategy would work best to down our opponents. The wind continued to get stronger throughout the day. When MIB started, the wind was almost strong enough for a vented kite. I flew my standard Jinx and was hoping the wind would not get stronger. As I flew my ballet, I felt a little overpowered at times but I managed the kite well.

The day ended with some relaxing quadline flying with friends. After packing up our kites, we were off to the banquet to benefit the World Kite Museum. The banquet hall was fill to the brim with Kiters visiting and sharing stories of their days at the event. It was nice to talk with friends that aren’t seen often. One of the activities of the evening was the crazy mask challenge. It was difficult to find the best mask from all the creative entries. I’m not sure who won but they all looked like they had fun. The evening continued with awards and acknowledgements to the organizers followed by an auction filled with impressive kites. I ended the evening watching fireworks and eating ice cream.

Sunday was beautiful. The temperature continued to be cool but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. When I arrived at the beach, the sky was already filled with kites and the crowds were gathering on the dunes to watch the last competitions of the event. I was scheduled to judge for most of the morning. It was great to meet some new judges and see the performances of the fliers. The wind continued to come off the water at a steady and manageable rate throughout the day. It was the nicest day of the event. Later in the afternoon, I competed in Master Multilane Ballet with a field of talented fliers. Following MMB, I was asked to fly in the Tricks event. During the Tricks competition, each flier is randomly paired with another flier and given a 1 minute time limit to fly as many tricks they can to music that is also randomly picked. When the time is up, the second flier on the field has a chance to fly and demonstrate their trick ability. After two tries each, the audience is asked who they thought was the best at flying. The crowd will cheer for the flier they liked the best. I had a great time flying the Hydra which is a fantastic trick kite, but I was paired with one of the best trick fliers in the country who also happens to be a 14 year old kid. He was too cute for the crowd to pass up. No problem for me….on to the next event. I ended the day flying with many of the Revolution fliers well into the early evening. It seemed we all didn’t want to leave the beach and the WISKF experience.

Lisa Willoughby
www.focuskites.com

New Address & Phone Number

2009-10-30T10:10:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the long delay between post. Paul and I have been busy packing things and moving the workshop. We are pretty much all set up in the new space and back to building kites.

We have a new address and phone number so please make note of it. The new phone number is, 910-466-1850 and the new address is:

Focus Kite Designs
5514 Brittain Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28409

We do have some blog post in the works and will get back to posting regularly very soon.

Hunter & Paul
www.focuskitedesigns.com

Early Jinx Review on KiteClique.com

2009-10-15T12:17:00.002-04:00

Recently Jared Haworth came down to test out the new Jinx and Jinx UL. He and Paul went out to fly and ended up with great winds to test both models. Jared wrote up his impression for KiteClique.com.

Click Here to read what he had to say about the our latest kite.
Photo By: Nancy Haworth

A Light Wind Evening with the Manta

2009-10-05T22:58:00.003-04:00

Check out our latest video of the Manta flying outdoors in light winds.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Sneak Peek.... New Jinx!

2009-09-23T14:30:00.000-04:00

Focus proudly presents the re-designed Jinx!

Here are the first pictures of the new Jinx, our flagship competition and performance kite.

As you can see, it has a completely new look but we didn’t just stop at cosmetics. A tweaked frame configuration and a refined sail cut result in better precision flight and better trickability, without sacrificing on versatility, or flight characteristics.

The Jinx will be framed in the new P3X tube by Skyshark, where P400 was used last year. The UL will use the brand new P1X, versus P200 last year. These changes result in a lighter, equally tough frame and a more responsive kite.

The new sail cut has been altered from last year’s, to improve the flight of the Jinx in all aspects. Better precision, better side-slides and better behavior when the kite goes through pitch-based tricks are the result. At the same time, its style, grace and elegance in flight remain unchanged.

We’re working on getting the new Jinx up on the website, including video and a colorizer, please keep an eye out on the site and blog. We are taking orders now. Feel free to contact us with questions, comments, and orders!

Paul & Hunter

www.focuskites.com

New Echo Indoor Video

2009-09-16T23:00:00.002-04:00

We just added a demo video of the Echo flying indoors. In the video you will see Hunter Brown and Paul de Bakker (2008 National Indoor Champion) enjoying some time on the Echo. Check it out on the site or in the player below.

Video of the Manta Flying Indoors

2009-09-15T13:27:00.005-04:00

One of the additions to the new web site is a demo video of the Manta flying indoors. This 10.5ft wide kite is one of the best indoor show kites out there. Because of it's size and grace you cannot help but notice it. In the video you see a single Manta being flown, a stack of Mantas, and Paul and I flying pairs. If you have not seen the video, check it out here:

New Web Site is Live!

2009-09-10T13:58:00.002-04:00

Greetings all! As mentioned before, we have been working on a new Focus web site. The new site is now live! Check it out at www.focuskites.com.

Here are some of the new features on the site:

-More user friendly layout
-More products (The Echo, Affordable line sets, and T-shirts)
-Kite colorizers
-New Hydra demo video
-New Manta indoor video
-Specials on line sets and shirt when you buy them with kites
-More information
-And much more!

Take a look, watch the videos, play with the colorizers, and let us know what you think. We will be adding more to it very soon so keep a regular check on the site and our blog.

Thanks for your support!

Hunter & Paul
Focus Kite Designs
www.focuskites.com

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

2009-09-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day weekend! Around here, Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of the summer season. We hate to see it end but know there are lots of good things still to come this year.

On that note, we have some big updates coming this week. We will be launching our NEW WEB SITE this week! Keep a look out for it. It has an updated look and some fun new features.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend and hope you get to fly a kite!

Hunter & Paul
www.focuskites.com

Colombia Part 3 of 3.

2009-08-26T21:51:00.003-04:00

Day three was the final day for Paul, Lisa, and I. We loaded into two vehicles and headed off into rural Colombia to visit two schools. Again the scenery on the trip out was beautiful with beautiful valleys and farm land.

A church on the way to the first school.

A shot from the car.

We arrived at the first school and the kids were sitting in a large circle in a covered school yard. We greeted them and assembled the kites we had brought with us. Then we took turns introducing ourselves and to the kids and pointing to where we are from on a globe. After introductions we took turns flying kites for the kids. Paul did a great job of teasing the kids with the Echo while I flew the Skate around them. David brought along a leaf blower to inflate a Frog which the kids enjoyed seeing. After flying we were mobbed by the kids who wanted autographs and stickers. It was really great to see their excitement and made us feel very honored to be there.

Arriving at the first school.

David shook every kids hand when he arrived.

Some of the kids help Paul with a Manta.

Lisa giving out stickers.

Paul introducing himself with the help of Ines.

David showing off the inflatable frog.

Me handing out kites to the kids.

A group photo with some of the kids.

More autographs by David.

Me teaching the kids new hand shakes.

David shares his hat and shoulders.

Kevin handing out stickers.

When we finished at the first school we went on to the second. Which were mostly high school age kids. Again we did introductions and then flew demos. Paul and Lisa performed their pair Skate routine which was really well received. After the demo we had more time to interact with the kids which we all really enjoyed.

A shot of the kids at the second school.

Next we went to a nearby dirt football (soccer) field where kids from both school met us to fly kites. The field was on top of a mountain but still had gusty winds. We put up a Manta and handed it off to some of the kids who flew it the entire time. Kevin put up one of his kites and David attached the inflatable frog to the line. They handed off the kite to various kids. They loved playing around the frog as it danced around the ground and hovered above their heads. Lisa and I flew Revs on short lines while the Spaniards did the same. Paul took some time to play soccer with some of the kids which I think Paul and the kids seemed to really enjoy.

Arriving at the soccer field.

Some of our my new Colombian friends.

Lisa flying for the kids.

David's frog flying off Kevins kite.

Miguel helps a boy fly a Rev.

Time came for the kids to head home and we were loaded back up and taken to Ines and Jairos home/farm in rural Colombia. Both their property and house are beautiful. The house is perched on the top of a hill with rolling green land around it. Most of us felt that it was the type of home that would be your last because there was no need for anything else. They have all kinds of animals on the property such as geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, rabbits, horses, goats and a cow. Paul decided the turkeys would be fun to play with. One of them thought he looked like a good meal. The standoff was pretty entertaining.

The house.

Paul test the turkeys.

Paul's new best friends.

Geese hanging around the house.

Kevin looks over a Colombian Yaripa Kite.

We were treated to a very nice lunch and spent some time relaxing, enjoying the views, and the company. David was pretty tired so went in another room and took a nap. He left his net book open on the coffee table and while he was sleeping, someone thought it would be fun to change his desktop wall paper. We took a photo we liked and got to work. As we were in the process of making it the wallpaper, out walks David. We were caught in the act! The look on all our faces must have been priceless. We jokingly played it off and David laughed but still did not know what we did. Later he opened his net book to find this picture staring at him. Best part is we are not sure if he knows how to change it back!

David's new desktop wallpaper.

A bit later Ines asked if anyone wanted to ride horses. All of us jumped at the opportunity and we were walked down to the stables where they have quite a few beautiful horses. As the horses were being readied, Ines introduced us to three, two week old, baby goats. They were the cutest little things.

Looking into the stable.

Playing with the baby goats.

Me and a baby goat.

After playing with them for a bit it was time for the first group to go. Kevin (an experienced rider), Lisa (an experienced rider), and David (a not so experienced rider) mounted up and headed off with Ines. A bit later Lisa returned, walking her horse who apparently did not want anyone to ride it. The horse tried to throw her off and Lisa, being a somewhat experienced rider, decided to walk the horse back. David and Kevin returned with Ines and both had a good time.

Lisa all set for a ride.

Kevin excited to go ride.

David ready to get underway.

Next up was Paul and I. Neither one of us had really ridden before so we were both nervous and excited. I mounted up first and after some bonding with his horse, Paul did as well. We rode off with Ines around the property. It took us a bit to get comfortable with riding but we both did, and enjoyed it tremendously.

Me ready for a ride.

Paul and I return from a great ride. Thanks to Rafa for this picture.

When we returned we found out that Kevin had a run in with one of the horses. As we left for our ride, he decided to come along so he mounted one of the horses. Well apparently that horse didn’t want to be ridden and tried to throw Kevin off. The horse stood up on its back legs and Kevin held on. The horse was unsuccessful in throwing Kevin off but when the horse had leaped up, the back of its neck hit Kevin in the side of the face breaking his sunglasses which cut his face. It looked worse than it was and Kevin was fine besides being a bit irritated at no being able to control the horse.

A battered Kevin.

After our adventure with the horses we spend the rest of the evening enjoying the company and talking about our trip. Then we returned to the hotel and Paul, Lisa and I had to start packing to head home the next day. The rest of the group was staying the remainder of the week. The next morning we work up and had breakfast with everyone, said our good-byes and Ines took us to the Airport. The Medellin airport has a nice kite sculpture in front of it so we had to stop for a picture. Ines dropped us off and we said our good-bye to our wonderful host.

Paul and I in front of the kite sculpture at the airport.

Our Trip to Colombia was a wonderful experience for all of us. We really enjoyed getting to see the different areas of the country and getting to interact with the people. The experience is something that I think all of us well remember for a very long time.

Keep checking for more updates. We are working on a new website, new version of one of our kites, new videos and much more.

Hunter Brown
http://www.focuskites.com/

Colombia Part 2 of 3.

2009-08-25T22:49:00.021-04:00

Sunday morning we all had breakfast at the hotel and then loaded the bus to head off to a kite festival in Don Matias, a town high in a neighboring mountain. The trip took us back down through Medellin and then up another mountain. On the way we picked up some local fliers who would be riding up with us.

The trip to Don Matias was amazing. We traveled up a road that overlooked the valley far below giving spectacular views. The land in Colombia is truly beautiful. The trip up the mountain to Don Matias was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

A view of Medellin from the high road.

On the way up the mountain.

A beautiful piece home on the way up.

Beautiful green mountains.

A vendor at a checkpoint.

As we drove into town we saw a beautiful church in the town center with shops, vendors, and restaurants surrounding it. We took a pit stop here which gave us some time to walk around. We saw people loading into trucks heading up to the festival we were on the way to.

The center or town in Don Matias

Lisa, Paul, and I by the church.

Locals loading into a truck heading to the kite festival.

Paul and I in front of the church.

A fruit vendor in the town square.

Walking through town.

David and Lisa pose in front of the church.

After sightseeing, we packed back into the bus and headed off to the festival location which was high up in the mountains. We had to travel up a dirt road which opened onto a large field overlooking a lake.

The view on the way from town to the festival.

Heading up the final stretch to the event site.

The location for the festival. A little larger than the parking deck from the day before!

The location looked perfect for a kite event and there were already many locals already flying. Our group wasted no time unloading and getting kites out. Throughout the day Kevin flew various single lines and quads he made, David let locals fly the Ghost deltas and a large flow form with inflatables on it, and the Spanish duo flew various quads including a 15ft mesh Rev they made. We got out the Jinx, Hydra and two Mantas with the heavy spreader. We handed the Mantas off to some local kids who flew them all day. These Mantas did great in the varying winds from 3 to 16 mph and were passed off to different pilots. All day we flew various kites, performed demos, and enjoyed getting to know the locals. At the end of the day, we loaded back into the bus and began the trip back to Rionegro. We stopped to stretch our legs and we all grabbed an ice cream. We arrived back in Rionegro after dark and had a really nice pizza dinner at the hotel.

David and Paul with some fans.

More demands for Davids autograph.

Two of our new friends flying a Manta.

Me with the festival in the background.

Lisa getting a little Rev flying in.

Our host Jairo and Ines.

Cows on the hillside.

The bus we rode in the on day 1 and 2.

Ice cream break. The whole crew.

Check back tomorrow for the final update from our Colombia trip where we visited some schools, fly some kites, go toe to toe with some turkeys, and ride some horses! Lots more pictures too.

Hunter Brown

www.focuskites.com

Colombia 2009 Part 1 of 3

2009-08-24T16:22:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay on this blog post. Paul and I have been busy catching up after being away. We are going to put up our Colombia blog updates in 3 sections. We will put up a new section each day starting today. Check back to see the whole story! I’ll go ahead and warn you, these updates are kind of long and loaded with pictures. We wanted to try and share the experience the best we could. So, let’s get started!

Colombia Trip Part 1

In mid July Paul, Lisa, and myself received an invite to Colombia. We would be joining other international kite guest to attend various kite events, demos, and workshops. It seemed like a great opportunity to see another part of the world, experience a different culture, and hopefully have a wonderful experience. So we quickly accepted the opportunity and made preparations.

Paul and I left Wilmington early Tuesday morning and flew from RDU to Miami where we met up with Lisa Willoughby, David Gomberg and Kevin Sanders, three of the fliers joining us for the adventure. We then flew from Miami to Medellin Colombia where we were greeted by our gracious host, Ines and Jairo. We also met up with Rafa Molina and Miguel Molina from Spain who were the final two fliers to join our group. We and our kites were loaded into two vehicles and we were taken into Rionegro and to our hotel. After unloading, we were taken to a local restaurant for a drink and a bite to eat.

The View from the resturant on our first night in Rionegro.

Downtown Rionegro

A beautiful church in downtown Rionegro.

The next morning we were up early and the group walked through town to have breakfast at the same restaurant as the night before. Breakfast consisted of eggs, local cheese, bread made from cornmeal and coffee, or chocolate (hot chocolate).

Walking to breakfast and passing a street vendor.

Photo in front of the church.

Breakfast on day 1.
After breakfast, we meet Ines and Jairo at the hotel ready for our first kite adventure. We were traveling into Medellin to fly and do demos at a local mall. We boarded the bus and began the trip. Rionegro is located in the mountains at about 7000ft elevation. Medellin is in the valley so the trip into town was down a winding road with wonderful views of the city sprawling out in the valley.

Waiting for the bus.

We arrived at the mall and were taken to the top level of the parking deck which was the location for us to fly. The location was a challenging place to fly. The winds were turbulent and inconsistent. In order to fly a single line kite you needed to put it way out to get it into steadier winds which put you out over the city which is home to about 6 million people.

The parking deck we flew on for the day.

We didn’t let these challenges get us down though. We all were excited to fly and do our best. Kevin quickly put out one of his Skinny Edo kites which flew great all day, David put up an inflatable and ghost deltas, and Rafa and Miguel flew various quad line kites they made. Paul, Lisa, and I flew Skates, Echos, and a Manta throughout the day. The Echo was the kite of the day for us though. The winds would go from 0 to 10 mph and quickly change direction. The Echo dealt with these conditions great and was a blast to fly. Paul and Lisa did individual demos on the Echo and then all three of us did a demo together with them.

Me flying the Echo.

Rafa & Miguel performing a demo.

The city around the mall.

David launching a flowform.

Our host, Ines even got to fly a kite.

As the day went on, more local kite fliers and spectators showed up. It was truly a treat to see the local fliers put up traditional Colombian kites which they had no problem putting out thousands of feet over the city. These kites sat very solid throughout the day.

Lisa flying a traditional Colombian kite.

We had a lot of fun interacting with locals, putting on demos, and helping the kids with their kites. Kevin got out stickers for the local kids and was quickly swarmed as David got out his pen and started signing autographs. The kids loved it! As the day came to an end we climbed back into the bus for the ride back up the mountain and off to dinner. All in all it was a great first day!

Locals flying kites on the parking deck.

David's ghost deltas being flown by the locals.

Kevin handing out stickers to the kids.

David, Paul, Kevin, & myself.

Having fun on the bus ride back to the hotel.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2 where we go high in the mountains for a kite festival.

Hunter Brown

http://www.focuskites.com/

Off to Colombia South America

2009-08-07T07:34:00.004-04:00

Paul and I are leaving this morning for a kite trip to Colombia, South America. We will be doing workshops and demos with other international kite guests. During this time we will not have reliable access to email, phone, or the internet. If you have questions feel free to send emails and we will answer them while we are there if we can or when we return.

Look for pictures and a story when we return. Also we have some web updates coming shortly after we return including the highly anticipated colorizers for our kites! Keep an eye out for that. We will return on Wed. August 12th.

See you then!

Hunter

www.focuskites.com

End of Competition, Season 08-09

2009-08-01T16:00:00.005-04:00

The 08-09 competition season for the American Kitefliers Association (AKA) and Eastern League (EL) has come to an end. It has been a season where a couple of competitions sadly were canceled but also one where some new talents were spotted.

Focus Kite Designs is proud to announce that its two competition flyers have done extremely well. Below is a summary of the end-of-season results and standings.

Lisa Willoughby
1^st place AKA Masters Individual Ballet Northeast division.
2^nd place EL Masters Individual Ballet

Paul de Bakker
1^st place AKA Masters Individual Ballet Southeast division
1^st place AKA Indoor Southeast division
(with wins in the highly regarded Lincoln City, OR, Camas,WA and Wildwood, NJ events)
1^st place EL Masters Individual Ballet

Both of these fliers are quite modest so I wanted to take a moment and recognize their accomplishments this year. Congratulations to you both!

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Paul & Lisa goofing off in Philly

Newport Kite Festival 2009

2009-07-25T14:59:00.003-04:00

The 2009 Newport Kite Festival was held July 11 and July 12 with an indoor fly on Friday evening July 10^th. This event was organized by Scott Weider and Glenn Davison with the help of members of Kites Over New England and many friends and family members. It took a community of kite enthusiasts to put on an amazing display of single line kites, sport kite demonstrations, fighter kite and rokkaku battle displays, Bol races and candy drops for the public. It turned out to be a Fantastic event for everyone.

The event started with an indoor fly Friday night at The Hut in Newport. Litsong Lu organized the fly. It was great to meet some people who are new to indoor flying and enjoyed learning how to fly the Focus Skate and Echo. Litsong did a great job organizing the group of demonstration fliers who included myself, Litsong, Wen Jeng, Scott Wieder, Jim Cosca, Steve Santos and Ian Willoughby. During the free fly, everyone was on the floor flying each others kites. The last demo was Litsong and I flying pairs with Skates. It was beautiful. Even after driving for seven hours in traffic (Connecticut), I hated to see the end of our time there. Of course, I was the last to leave the gym.

The weather Saturday morning was perfect with a bright blue cloudless sky and nice wind. When I arrived at Benton Park, many single line kites were already decorating the sky. I haven’t been to Newport since the festival included a competition and I realized how much I had missed the beauty of this location. The Sound already was full of sailboats starting their regattas. I’m sure the kites were an amazing site from the water.

Throughout the day, I was able to fly several demos with the Hydra. I also flew pair’s quad with Dennis Smith and team quad with the Rev-O-Lettes. I enjoyed teaching the crowd how to fly a fighter kite with the help of Manny Alves. There were several running of the Bols throughout the day and lots of candy drops. Kurtis Jones did a great job as announcer. He educated the crowd with details of the fliers, their kites, what we do in competitions, and how to fly different kinds of kites. The day ended with a Mega fly of 16 Revolution kites. As the sun set over the Sound, I continued to fly until it was almost dark. Again, I was almost the last to leave. The evening ended after a relaxing dinner with kite friends. Perfect!

On Sunday morning, Litsong treated me to a wonderful breakfast in downtown Newport. It was great to visit with her after a long year of just emails. After breakfast, we arrived at the park to see a carbon copy of Saturday. The sky was full of incredible single line kites just exploding in shapes and colors in a blue cloudless sky. It really is an amazing view with the water surrounding the park. I spent most of the morning helping to organize the kite raffle for the event. All of the kites were generously donated by the event sponsors and friends of the event. There were many happy raffle winners later in the day.

Again, I flew demos with the Hydra and the Jinx and quad team with the Rev-o-lettes. The crowd on Sunday also learned about fighter kites and how to fly in a fighter battle. I helped throughout the day with the Bol races. The kids who ran with the Bols all had Huge smiles on their faces when they crossed the finish line.

Toward the end of the day, Glenn and I coached a group of kids and adults taken from the crowd on how to fly and win a rokkaku battle. One of my students was the winner. Again, the day ended with a 17 Revolution Kite Mega fly. Scott Wieder led 17 kites into ball, complex follows, and a grid formation while Ben Dantonio flew his Rev up and down the columns just to add to the happy confusion. I continued to fly until it was almost dark. Another Perfect day flying in a beautiful place with friends. It was sad to pack up and leave but this is one event that shouldn’t be missed. I will be back again next year. The evening ended with dinner among a happy but tired group of fliers all excited that the festival was enjoyed by the crowd, the media, and the fliers. Again, Perfect!

Lisa Willoughby

Newport Kite Festival this weekend!

2009-07-10T07:56:00.005-04:00

This weekend is the Newport Kite Festival in Newport, RI. The event is held in Brenton Point State Park, July 11^th and 12^th from 10am to 5pm each day. There will be a indoor kite fly tonight form 6 to 9pm in Newport at “The Hut”. Lisa Willoughby will be at the event for Focus. Look for her at the indoor event tonight with her Echo and Skate. Lisa is always happy to let people try her kites and share the joy of indoor kite flying. If you have not met Lisa she is both a extremely nice person and wonderful flier. She will also be at the event Saturday and Sunday so keep an eye out for her there also.

Focus Kite Designs is proud to sponsor this great event. Look for a custom made Skate in festival colors to be auctioned off at the event. For more information on the event, check out their we site at www.newportkitefestival.net.

ODSKC 2009

2009-07-01T14:32:00.004-04:00

Dorey Park in Richmond, VA was the setting for the ODSKC 2009 on The weekend of the 20^th and 21th.

Traditionally, the competition has been flown in low to no-wind conditions, so I made sure to have an exceptionally light Jinx with me. Imagine everyone’s surprise to arrive in Richmond and find 15 mph winds, gusting up to 25!

The conditions were challenging this year but that is what it means to fly competition, you show your stuff on cue, in whatever circumstances. It doesn’t always showcase the best flying but it certainly shows the best flyer of the day, the one that can adapt the best.

Saturday morning started off with me judging the Masters individual precision competition and while Ron G and Will Sturdy both looked very good (Will is only in his first season as a Master flyer!), there was one clear standout in this field of accomplished fliers and that was Shawn Tinkham. Where others struggled a bit from time to time, he showed a complete and varied routine and seemed to be in complete control at all times. Congrats Shawn!

More congrats need to be given to the 3 new novice fliers; Jared Haworth, Brian Bellamy and Brian Bishop. All of them jumped in on the deep end of the pool on their debut and most certainly didn’t drown! In fact, this was the strongest showing of “first timers” I can remember seeing and I enjoyed watching their performances, especially their ballet routines.

In the afternoon on Saturday it was my turn to fly Masters Ballet. I had been watching the fliers and their kites on the practice field and decided to go with the Hydra, which is a bit smaller than the Jinx and has a huge windrange. I figured it was the right kite to go with considering the wind being so full of lulls and gusts. Also, I decided to fly my “old” routine. I just didn’t feel comfortable enough on my new “Quantum of Solace” routine and I anticipated a lot of improvisation during the routine. I was in the middle of the pack, and what I saw didn’t make me happy, very difficult circumstances indeed! My music started, I performed my “opening move”, a rising fade from wingtip stand, exited it and from there, everything was a blur. The battle plan was thrown out the window as I need to constantly adapt and improvise to the ever changing wind speed. This allowed to put a few maneuvers in that would not have been in the routine otherwise. I made sure to always stick to the mood and tempo of the music and finally landed, as Ron described it, “4feet away” from where he sat as a spectator. It was a bit of a rollercoaster but the right choices before the comp and the risk taken during paid off and I managed to finish first!

That pretty much marked the end of the day and everyone went back to their hotels and guest houses, clean up and gather at Terry and Janice’s place for a wonderful buffet. They do a great job of hosting everyone on their beautifully located property. It’s only about 10 minutes out of town and you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere! It’s where I saw my first flying squirrel and drank my first whisky slushy. And for those who wonder, the two weren’t related!!

Sunday came around with some more judging and it was time for Fusion to take the field to fly the pairs ballet competition. Lisa and I had been discussing the weather throughout the day and decided to fly anyway, regardless of the even harder wind s on Sunday. We flew and flew quite sloppily, mostly due to me and my inability to nail a landing. This is where the intricate choreography makes it more difficult to perform. Our routine is definitely geared towards good, smooth winds! We wrestled through the routine, only to find out that a 20 second piece of music magically went missing towards the end, due to someone hitting the cd player in the sound tent. We were granted a re-fly and quite frankly, I was very happy with that cause I could only see us perform better. I was wrong….20 seconds into the re-fly, I snapped a spar on a hard landing and that was it for pair Fusion. We didn’t even get a score, for lack of sufficient time flown… Twice now have we flown when we maybe shouldn’t have and twice has it cost us a broken kite. Guess I should listen to my brain a bit more than to my heart in those cases.

Either way, it was another great weekend and gave me the opportunity to see people that I get to see so rarely and spend a bit of time with them. Also, watching the new blood flying this weekend was awesome and inspiring. It took me right back to my first years of flying, watching their fire, passion and nervousness. Thanks guys!!

Special thanks to Jared Haworth for letting us use his photos of the event. To see more, check out his Flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alloyjared/sets/72157620280411227/

Paul de Bakker
www.focuskites.com

Banners at ODSKC

Pre-flight briefing for Open Team Precision.

Paul flying the Hydra in the Masters Ballet.

Paul and Lisa flying in Pairs Ballet.

Paul and Lisa's Jinx flying in Pairs Ballet.

Wildwood Part 2

2009-06-22T16:47:00.037-04:00

A beautiful display by Pete Dolphin.

After a fun night Friday hanging with our roommate, Chris Schultz with HQ Kites, we woke up Saturday and fueled up for the day with a nice breakfast and then headed to the beach and set up the Focus base camp. Paul practiced his ballet routine and I put the Hydra in the hands of some fliers who had been waiting to test it out.

A creative display from Gomberg and Mike Agner.

Gray Skys painted with kites in Wildwood.

A bit after lunch I headed into the Wildwood Convention Center to help with the “How to Fly Indoors” Clinic that Steve Santos was running. If you have not been to Wildwood, this is one of the best indoor facilities you could ask for. We taught both kids and adults how to fly indoors and the Skate was a big hit for this. After teaching we performed some indoor demos.

Steve Santos flying 2 Decas during a demo.

Me flying the Manta during a demo. Notice the size of the space we had to fly in.

Torrey Lindemann's daughter flying the Skate indoors. Watch out daddy, you might have some competition soon!

While I was indoors Paul competed in the Masters Individual Ballet competition with the Jinx. He flew the routine he had just finished putting together and it went great. We later found out that Paul took 1^st place.

Sport kite competitor's kites laid ready to go.

As the day was winding down Paul and Lisa joined me indoors and we had some great free fly time. We were playing with some 3 person Skate team flying which went really well and was a blast to do.

Sunday rolled around and we hit the beach. When we got there the Rev games were underway. It looked fun so I entered. I flew after Rev Guru, Scott Weider, who at that point was in 1^st place. To my surprise I just barely edged out Scotty and took 1^st place in the Rev Games. I guess I got lucky! I received a really nice trophy that was sponsored by Ben at Revolution.

Me with my Rev Games trophey sponsored by Ben with Revolution. Thanks Ben!

Later that day Paul and Lisa, Pairs Fusion, flew in Experienced Pairs Ballet on their Jinx. As National champions they felt the pressure to deliver. They noticed the other competitors had stepped up their game. After the performance, they had no idea where they stood but later found out they took 1^st place.

Paul returning after competing in Experienced Pairs with Lisa.

Jim, Lisa, and Roger at the Rok battle.

I helped with the indoor clinic again and after the EPB comp, Lisa and Paul came indoors to do demos with the rest of us for a larger crowd. After more free fly time indoors we went to dinner, to the awards banquet and then to see Dodd Gross’s band, Kodiak play. Kodiak put on a great performance and had special guest Dennis Smith on guitar and Mike Moore jamming on the drums for a few songs.

Monday morning was the indoor competition. After some warm up time we flew a few demos and then the comp began. I ended up being drafted to judge the competition with a great panel of judges. The competitors were great and according to Paul, a lot of them had stepped up their game in comparison to last year. Lisa flew the best routine indoors I have seen her fly. Torrey Lindemann showed his years of experience with a great routine. Will Sturdy laid down some amazing tricks that you just didn’t think could be done indoors. Paul ended up flying last and as current Indoor National Champion, his performance was highly anticipated. He is now flying a new routine that incorporates both the Skate and the Reflection. Paul showed why he is National Champion by flying with confidence, showing he the really feels the music, and flies to the music. Paul ultimately took 1^st place at the Wildwood Indoor Competition.

Focus kites all set up ready to fly in the Wildwood Convention Center.

The judging panel at the Indoor Comp.

Will Sturdy at the indoor comp.

Lisa performing her routine with the Echo.

Paul performing with the Reflection.

Later that day Lisa drove Paul and I to the airport in Philly and we headed home to Wilmington after a great and successful time in Wildwood.

Hunter Brown
http://www.focuskites.com/

Friday of Wildwood 09

2009-05-22T23:52:00.002-04:00

This morning Paul and I left for Wildwood, NJ, to attend the Wildwood International Kite Festival and East Coast Sport Kite Championships. We were lucky to find some low cost flights direct from Wilmington to Philadelphia, where Lisa Willoughby picked us up at the airport. Since we arrived early, we took some time to see some of the sites around Philly. First we went and saw Constitution Hall, Liberty Hall and the Liberty Bell. Of course we had to take the opportunity to fly some Skates while we stopped.

Lisa flies her Skate in front of Liberty Hall.

Paul and Lisa flying their Skates together.

Lisa and I enjoying some flying in front of Liberty Hall.

Next we were off to the Art Museum but not to see art of course. We had to see the stairs that Rocky ran up.

Paul runs up the stairs of the Art Museum just like Rocky did. Oh, with a Skate of course!

A perfect day to fly a Skate on the steps of the Art Museum.

Paul flying a Skate on the Steps at the Art Museum.

Enjoying some time on the Skate in Philly.

Looking back at downtown Philly.

Finally, we headed to South Street and enjoyed a genuine Philly Cheese Steak at Jim’s Steaks.

Paul and I outside Jim's.

After that we headed out of town and on our way to Wildwood. Paul had some heated arguments with the GPS as Lisa drove. It was quite entertaining.

Paul fighting with the GPS about what is the right way to Wildwood.

We got to town, registered for the event, caught up with friends and flew a few kites before attending the welcoming party and night fly. Tomorrow is the real start of the event which is looking pretty busy for the Focus crew.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Great Lakes Festival 2009

2009-05-20T17:48:00.002-04:00

On the weekend of the 16th and 17th of May, Lisa and myself met up at the Chicago airport to travel the last leg to Grand Haven, MI together to fly at the 2009 Great Lakes Kite Festival.

For both of us it was the first time to visit this festival that is put on by Steve Negen of Mackinaw Kites and we had long been looking forward to attend. Steve had arranged for us to stay in the house of one of his employees and I have to say, Tena and Rob took great care of us, thanks guys!! Also, many thanks to Steve for the invite and for making us feel at home.

Friday night was the indoor fly and a mix of local and national flyers showed their stuff, amongst them John Barresi, Steve de Rooy, Dave Hathaway, Sam Ritter and of course, Lisa and myself. We had a large audience, that loved the demos they saw, so all of us flew at least 3-4 times, I made it to 5 appearances and sore calves myself.

Saturday…beautiful day…sunny too but that wind! It blew at around 20-25 mph all day and made demos very challenging, to say the least. Yet, the audience turned out so the show must go on! This is where the quad line kites have a clear advantage and IQuad was there in full force to show their showmanship and craftsmanship. It has to be said though, legendary team Chicago Fire represented dual line sport kites well!
I spend most of the morning chatting with people I had met the night before and talking to them about our kites. In the afternoon, I attached the Hydra to 120’ lines and flew my new outdoor competition ballet routine for the first time, to (luckily) both the satisfaction of the audience, as well as myself.

At the end of the day, everyone hurried back to their hotel/guest house to thoroughly clean off before we went to Steve’s house at night for a great home made buffet.

Sunday came around and it was sunny again but this time, the winds were a beautiful 5-10mph! Things were different now and I spent the entire day flying demos, both solo as well as with Lisa as pair Fusion and flying several Focus and Prism kites with Mark Reed and Justin from Prism. Another thing I did was volunteer as ground crew for Zach and Josh Gordon as often as I could, so I’d have a first row seat to watch their routines ;). Those guys are truly top flyers and super nice in addition to that! Thanks guys, it was a pleasure sharing the field with you this weekend!

Another honorable mention goes to IQuad, I have been lucky enough to watch the best (quad line) teams worldwide over the years and their “Rolling Stone” routine, as performed on Sunday was awesome, I have not seen it done better than that. Thank you for the promotion of stunt kite flying boys!

We took it easy on Sunday night, visiting the town of Holland at night. This, of course was of particular interest to me, since the town was founded by Dutch settlers in the mid-1800’s. One of the cool things we saw was the original Dutch windmill “the Swan”, 250 years old and brick by brick imported from the Netherlands and rebuild in Holland, MI. Only in America..:)

After a loooong travel day on Monday, with canceled flights, airline-sponsored whiskey and long waits, I arrived home safely on Monday night. Couple of days of relative rest and then, on Friday, Hunter and I will travel to the last event of May, Wildwood, NJ. Hope to see you there!!

Paul de Bakker
www.focuskites.com

Here are two photos from the event. Special thanks to Sam Ritter for these two pictures. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Sam, he is a wonderful flier, great person, and excellent photographer. Take a moment and check out his website at http://www.samuelritter.com

Lisa enjoying the Great Lakes event. Photo by Sam Ritter http://www.samuelritter.com

Lisa flies with legendary team, Chicago Fire. Photo by Sam Ritter http://www.samuelritter.com

Atlantic Coast Kite Festival

2009-05-18T14:40:00.006-04:00

On the second and third of May, Lisa Willoughby and myself attended the Atlantic Coast Kite Festival. Two things always stand out, the two different locations on Saturday and Sunday and the now legendary hospitality of Chris Stankus (of Jackite) and family.

Friday night, all fliers were welcomed with drinks and food in downtown Portsmouth, a beautiful old town right outside of Norfolk, VA. After everyone got re-acquainted, we all went to our respective guest houses/hotels for the night. Lisa and I were lucky enough to stay with Tim and Melanie from HQ-kites, always a fun night with those guys!

Lisa flying her custom Echo. Photo by Jared Haworth

Next day, it was off to Virginia Beach for a day of HARD wind, coming over the buildings. In spite of that, everyone had fun on and off the field. For me personally, it was a great opportunity to get to know some new kite fliers. At the end of the day, everyone packed up for a quick shower and a trip to the beautifully located Stankus residence, where we had a great buffet, and just a wonderfully relaxed time at night with all the new and familiar faces. It also was the first time I had tequila out of a milk truck…you had to have been there….

Paul enjoying the Hydra. Photo by Jared Haworth

On Sunday, everyone headed out to the city park of Portsmouth, beautifully located on the water. Speaking of water, we got a ton, in the shape of some severe storms. Never will I forget the image of Ken McNeill of Blue Moon kites, caught by the rain on the opposite side of the field, casually strolling towards the sound booth, soaking wet, sunglasses on….

Paul flies teh Echo around the shelter. Photo by Jared Haworth

Despite the weather, most fliers found plenty of time to be out on the field and fly all kinds of kites. Special mention goes to Paul LaMasters, who shows time and again that he is one of the best quad line fliers on the East coast. The man flies in no wind or 30 mph and always seems to be in control, showing some beautiful flying. Others, of course did the same thing; Dennis Smith, Pair Wing Nuts, Gary & Maggie Engvall, Phil Broder and Lisa, to name a few, were all on the field all day showing their stuff.

At 4 o’clock, it was time to start packing up, saying good bye and hoping to return next year, with maybe a slightly milder wind. Regardless, fun was had by all and kite flying was shown to the public.

Paul de Bakker

A close up of Lisa's Echo. Photo by Jared Haworth

Spring Events are here!

2009-05-01T13:56:00.002-04:00

After a chilly winter, spring is here and the crew at Focus Kite Designs is quite happy for that! With spring comes more kite events! We will be hitting some of the events on the east coast and wanted to detail them here.

Atlantic Coast Kite Festival in Virginia Beach, VA May 2nd – 3rd
Quickly becoming a very popular event for the east coast, Paul and Lisa will be attending this weekend. The event is put on by Jackite Kites along with other sponsors. It takes place in Virginia Beach on Saturday and Portsmouth on Sunday. For more information on the event: http://www.beachstreetusa.com/events/AtlanticCoastKiteFestival

Great Lakes Kite Festival in Grand Haven, MI May 16th – 17th
One of the most popular events of the year, this must attend event is put on by kite retailer MacKinaw Kite. It attracts top fliers from around the nation and representatives from top manufactures. Held right on Lake Michigan, the event is full of great demos and good company. I believe there will be an indoor kite fly on Friday night as well. Come join Paul and Lisa at the event and get your hands on some of the Focus Kite Designs kites! For more information on the event: http://www.mackite.com/glskc.htm

Wildwood International Kite Festival in Wildwood, NJ May 23rd-25th
Put on by Sky Festivals, this is the biggest event on the east coast. The event features loads of demos from the best in world, sport kite and kite building competitions, indoor kite flying/competition and much, much more. This event is a must go to event for anyone who enjoys kites and Focus will be there with Paul, Lisa and myself. Come say hello and test out a Focus Kite and feel the “Evolution of Flight” for yourself! For more information on the event go to: http://www.skyfestivals.com/

First Skate Giveaway Winner!

2009-04-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

Back in February we announced that we would be giving away a free Skate for every issue of Kitelife Magazine. Thanks to everyone who signed up for our newsletter and entered the contest!

Well. The 2nd issue is out and we have picked our first winner! The lucky winner is……. Jim Ferreira!! Congratulation! Jim will be getting a Skate made for him in the colors of his choice. If you see him out flying congratulate him!

To those of you who did not win, there is another drawing coming up soon and you are still in the running. If you are not signed up to possibly wind a free Skate yet, go to our homepage http://www.focuskites.com/ and click on the animated banner at the top to sign up.

Skate Instructional Video Now Online!

2009-04-10T07:01:00.002-04:00

We have just posted a 2 part instructional video on flying the Skate indoors. In these videos we go over assembly, weight options, basic flight, various launches, basic catch and throws. Many of these skills can be used indoors or outdoors in light to no wind. These videos are posted here, on the Skate page of the web site and the Media section of the web site. Enjoy!

Skate Kite Instructional Video Part 1 of 2 from Focus Kite Designs on Vimeo.

Skate Kite Instructional Video - Part 2 of 2 from Focus Kite Designs on Vimeo.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

2009 Kite Update

2009-04-06T16:54:00.004-04:00

We wanted to give a quick update on the new 2009 kites. As you have seen here we have introduced 3 new kites for the 2009 season so far. The new kites are the Hydra 09, Manta and Echo. We are currently working on adding these items to the www.focuskites.com website and they should be up soon.

With that said, we ARE currently taking orders, building and shipping out all these products NOW! So if you are interested in any of the 2009 kites, contact us by email or phone (910-763-7100) for information and to place orders. We will have them up on the normal site very soon!

Testing the Hydra 09.

Introducing The Echo!

2009-04-06T16:46:00.005-04:00

From concept to final prototypes last winter…

Finalized in the last month…

Officially introduced at the Lincoln City, OR indoor festival…

It’s the Echo, our new indoor/low wind sport kite!

When we set out to design the Echo we wanted to make a kite that was easy to fly without too much effort, had good float to it, that did not have a really flexible frame, the ability to do nice throw and catch maneuvers and that could be flown outdoors in little to no wind. After extensive testing the Echo was born and we are quite proud of the results. The Echo surpassed our own expectations. We have passed around prototypes at indoor events and the response has been great. The Echo is one of those kites that makes having fun indoors or outdoors in no wind easy.

If you are a first time indoor flier or thinking about picking up the sport, this is the tool for you. The easy flight and float will have you flying indoors in no time. For the seasoned fliers there is a lot of advanced flying to be done with this “little one”. The balance of the kite in tricks like the helicopter is second to none, and the stiffness in the frame adds to the possibilities…

All Echos will be built in a color combination of your choice.

The frame of the Echo consists of pultruded .125” tubes and the sail is Icarex .5 oz.

Check out the pictures and tell us what you think!

The first batch of Echos getting ready to head out.

One Echo from the first batch.

Paul stands with the new indoor/outdoor kite, the Echo.

The Echo's curved standoff.

http://www.focuskites.com/

Lincoln City Indoor Event

2009-04-06T16:08:00.005-04:00

The last event in a very busy month….

March was a crazy busy month for us, partially because of all the kites we had to build, partially because all the travel that had to be done. Mind you, I am not complaining here.. :)

The month concluded with a weekend trip to Lincoln City, OR, where the LC indoor kite festival was held. This is a combination of an Aerial Experience produced show, demos, and competitions.

I left from Raleigh airport Friday morning 6.00am to arrive in Portland at 1.00pm, where Jerry and Marcia Cannon picked me up and drove me to LC. Thanks again, guys!!

Upon arrival, rehearsals for the weekends’ show started and we were in the gym for the next 5-6 hours, trying to get it right. The name of the show was “Mystic Canyon” and basically told a story of native American tribes (represented by kite fliers, their kites and aerialists), living life and trying to achieve harmony with themselves and the universe around them.

Click Here to see a video of the Mystic Canyon show.

Some of the invited performers were Lee and Debbie Park, Kinsley Johnson (aerialist), Scott Weider, Lisa Willoughby, Penny Lingenfelter, Amy Doran, Tristan Underwood and myself.

Photo by: Steve Lingenfelter - In this photo:
Top from the left: Jeff Reed, Connor Doran, Dave Bradley, Paul de Bakker, Jerry Cannon, Scott Weider, and Lee Park
Bottom From Left: Amy Doran, Tristan Underwood, Penny Lingenfelter, Zach Colbert, Lisa Willoughby, Kinsley Johnson, and Debbie Park.

The shows came together beautifully. We did two on Saturday and one on Sunday. In between all this, we flew an AKA competition, a mystery ballet and a trickout, as well as flying various demos. Every flyer in attendance saw a LOT of floor time!

The AKA comp was (again, see Camas!) a close battle between myself and Tristan, with me edging out the win this time. I snapped a leading edge in the trickout, so that was pretty much that and on Sunday, I managed to finish first in the Mystery Ballet as well, with Jerry and Scott next to me on the podium.

All in all, as usual, we had a great time in LC, thanks SO much to Maggie for organizing the event and Lee & Deb for producing a wonderful show and providing us fliers with some valuable experience and fun times!!

Paul de Bakker
www.focuskites.com

The Skate in Taiwan

2009-04-06T15:59:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from Litsong Lu. Litsong and her mother, Shuan-Nu Chang, were visiting one of Taiwan’s most respected parks, Taroko National Park, and her mother captured these pictures of Litsong and her Skate. Litsong told us that being there with her mother and flying her Skate was a very special moment. She and her mother were kind enough to share these pictures.

Thanks for Sharing Litsong!

Smithsonian Kite Festival

2009-03-28T23:26:00.008-04:00

Marla and I attended the 43rd annual Smithsonian Kite Festival today. The festival is held on the National Mall next to the Washington Monument. What a place for a kite event. You have the Monument towering on one side, The White House on another and the Lincoln Memorial and WWII Memorial an the other side. The event is held the opening weekend of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and there are PLENTY of people around.

A view of the Monument (with the top in the clouds) and the crowds around the event.

Unfortunately the weather was not the greatest. The skies were overcast with a misty light rain much of the day making the fields quite muddy. Despite the dreary weather, all the kite fliers were quite happy to be here and the mood was very upbeat. The local kite club WOW (Wings Over Washington) did a wonderful job with the event and were very welcoming. It was great to see so many familiar faces and to make new friends.

The Local Club banner.

The event consist of a kite making competition, hot tricks contest and rok battle. There are many tents set up where people can build kites, a kite doctor tent and a kite history tent. The kite making competition is split into adults, kids and masters. It really was great to see all the kids and the kites they made. There were many really great kites from everyone. This event is really great at involving the public. There was even a poetry contest. The flies in the hot tricks contest put on a great show with rough conditions, ending with almost no wind. The Rok battle was quite a crowd pleaser starting in almost no wind and ending with a bit of a breeze.

The Rok Battle.

We arrived and set up the Focus Banner and a couple kites. The wind was very up and down but the Hydra and Manta did great. Later the wind died and I had an excellent glide session with the Manta. It really is cool to fly right by the Washington Monument. There were lots of great comments on both the Manta and the Hydra. Local flier Dave Soutar was there with his new Manta he had it up for quite a while. Great to see it flying Dave!

Marla flying the Manta. (Sorry for the spots in some of the photos. It was the flash catching some of the rain drops in front of the camera.)

Enjoying some gliding with the Manta.

Dave Soutar and his new Manta.

All in all it was a great event despite not so ideal weather. The people and the atmosphere made up for that by a long shot. Already looking forward to next year!

Hunter Brown

http://www.focuskites.com/

The winner of the People's Choice award.

Andrew Albosta and his 007 Rev. Great work Andrew!

Manual powered bubble machine. Really neat to see!

A striking kite that took a top award at the event.

Weekend Update

2009-03-28T08:00:00.003-04:00

Paul and I are both off at events this weekend. Paul is in Lincoln City, OR for an indoor event and I am in Washington, DC with Marla, my girlfriend, for the Smithsonian Kite Festival. The weather is a bit gloomy here but looks like the rain has moved out and the event is on. More updates on both events soon!

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com
Marla and I checking out the event site Friday afternoon.

Thank you!

2009-03-25T15:24:00.003-04:00

We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for the great response to this blog and our kites. If you are checking the blog and see something you would like to comment on, we encourage you to do so. You do not have to be a registered BlogSpot user to comment on blog entry’s here. We enjoy interacting with our customers and other kite enthusiasts so feel free to comment. We have lots more updates coming soon so keep your eye on the blog!

The Sunday After NASM

2009-03-22T15:23:00.003-04:00

(Updated 3/24/09 with Pictures)

Yesterday, I participated in a very special one day event affectionately known as NASM 09.

About 10 indoor fliers, mostly from the Washington area, were invited to fly routines to music inside the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. I was fortunate to be one of them.

I arrived to the DC area late the night before and got up at six to make it to the museum. It had to be this early because the marathon was being held the same day with subsequent street closures and all around chaos. So, at seven, the car was parked underneath the museum and at seven-thirty, my kites were set up and ready to go. What to do until show time at ten?

Well, that didn’t prove to be too difficult, as I made my way through the various parts of the (empty!) museum with a Skate in hand and Andrew Albosta with me, to try and make some unique pictures. So we played around for a good hour, hour-and-a-half until it slowly started to get busier. What a rush though, to be able to fly a kite in between one of a kind pieces of aviation history. I tried not to think too hard about what would happen if my Skate would accidentally take a piece of cloth off the 1909 Wright Flyer but my guess is, I wouldn’t be invited again. Having said that, of course I tried to be really careful and to stay away from things that looked fragile. Although, I might have a demo Skate with just a smudge of radar absorbing paint on it now….one of a kind itself…

Paul maneuvers his Skate through the unmanned aerial vehicle display. Photo by: Andrew Albosta

Paul finds a way to kill time before the event. Photo by: Andrew Albosta

Lisa Willoughby carefully flies her Skate by a lunar lander while remembering how thin that gold foil is.

At ten, the demo started and it basically was an all day rotational schedule for the fliers in attendance. If you were out for lunch, your spot was given to the next flyer in the line up so it was a very dynamic day, requiring some flexibility from the fliers. Some of the kiters in attendance were Scott Weider, Pauly Berard, Paul LaMasters, Lisa Willoughby and Archie Stewart, in other words, some of the cream of the crop of the East Coast indoor fliers. For me, it meant that I had the chance to fly my new competition routine a couple more times, as well as flying pairs Skate demos with Lisa to Sara McLaughlan’s “Angel”, that really came together well. The audience, sometimes 5 and 6 rows thick, loved the whole event and weren’t shy about it either! Aahh, what more could a kite flier want than to be given a venue and an audience.

Scott Weider captivated the audience as usual with his Rev performance.

Andrew Albosta putting on a performance.

"Top Dog" Jim Cosca from Sky Dog Kites flying a Rev.

After the event was wrapped up at three-thirty, a lot of the fliers, including Lisa and I, seized the opportunity to walk around the museum and to check out the fabulous displays of flying machines and the people behind them.

After six, everyone went their separate ways, I hopped in the car and got home before midnight. It had been a long day.

What a truly inspirational place the NASM is and I would certainly hope we did a little to entertain the crowds attending. Thanks go out to Margo Brown of NASM (It was SUCH a pleasure meeting you) and to WOW, for running the event the way they did.

Hope to be there again next year!

Pictures coming soon.

Paul de Bakker
www.focuskites.com

The Manta Flying Indoors

2009-03-16T01:03:00.004-04:00

We recently introduced our new kite, the Manta and so far the response to this elegant delta has been great. Its ability to sit rock solid in the sky when pretty much nothing else will fly, turned many heads at Kite Party a couple weeks ago. Since the Manta is based on our already popular kite the Skate, it did not take long for people to ask if it would glide like its little brother. Well we want to let everyone know that it glides wonderfully. We recently spent time indoors with the Manta and it is quite impressive to see a 10 ½ ft kite gracefully gliding around. It really makes quite the impact. Below are some pictures of the Manta from out latest indoor session.

Paul launching the Manta.

The Manta gliding up and over.

Another look at the Manta flying indoors.

Paul maneuvers the Manta around the gym.

Hunter Brown

http://www.focuskites.com/

Smithsonian Kite Events

2009-03-11T17:24:00.002-04:00

Focus Kite Designs will be attending the Smithsonian Kite Events in Washington DC!

The first event is March 21st and is an indoor kite event in the National Air and Space Museum. Paul de Bakker of Focus Kites, and current Indoor National Champion, will be there performing demonstrations for the public. For more information you can check out the National Air and Space Museum’s web site here: http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=1029

The Second Event is the 43rd Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival on March 28th. This event takes place on the National Mall in DC and has been a staple East Coast event for many years. I will be representing Focus Kite Designs for this event. I will have all the newest kites including the Manta and Hydra 09. I will even have a new one that has yet to be announced! Keep an eye on the blog for info on this new kite very soon! For more information on this event you can go to: http://kitefestival.org/

If you are at either of these events, please come up and say hello! Hope to see you there!

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Revs at Kite Party

2009-03-07T22:41:00.006-05:00

No doubt, there were lots of Rev's in the sky during kite party. They put on a great show during the event. Here are some photos of Revolution kites at Kite Party 7.

I believe this is quad team 180 Go!

Team 180 Go's Kites.

Rev on a light pole!

Revolution Masterpiece kites laid out for viewing.

Formation flying. Very nice!

And tighter! Crowds watch from the pier all weekend.

11 Revs with lines wound up. That is 44 lines! Don't mess up now!

Another shot of the line wrap.

Wrapping the lines up.

A shot of the line wrap with some of the pilots in view.

Kite Party Monday Update

2009-03-04T21:51:00.003-05:00

Kite Party 7 ended officially on Sunday but…..since it is so much fun, usually, a bunch of people stays longer to enjoy some more flying on less crowded beaches.

So Hunter and I packed our things in the morning, checked out of our hotel and drove down to the beach, only to find a group of kite fliers sitting around and talking, for lack of wind! Of course, we whipped out the Skates and in no-time, a number of fliers were seen gliding and flying the Skate around.

After about an hour of that, we really had to go. We needed to check up on our flight status due to the severe weather conditions on the East coast and we also wanted to drive down the famous Pacific Coast Highway, looking for photo opportunities.

And photo opportunities we found! After we left KP7 and made sure our flights were still on, we drove down and found a couple of beautiful spots along the coast to fly some more and make some great pictures and video. Video and more pictures to come!

Hunter flying the Skate outdoors off the Pacific Coast Highway.

The flights home were largely uneventful but we did manage to sneak in a nice indoor Skate session in one of the airports. We shot some photos and video that we will put up soon. Keep an eye out for that.

Paul passing time in the airport with a little Skate flying.

Despite the sore legs and the sunburn, after 4 days of flying kites in beautiful Huntington Beach, I think I can speak for Hunter as well as myself and say that KP7 was fantastic!

A wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, great people (a lot of them new to us and us to them), great weather, a beautiful location for an event like this and an organizer, Dave, who in his own laid back but passionate way ties the whole event together. Thanks to everyone there for making us feel so welcomed.

Thanks very much for having us Dave, we hope to see you again next year!

Keep an eye on the blog over the next week. We are processing photos and will be putting them up as we get them done.

Paul de Bakker

www.focuskites.com

Sunday Kite Party Update

2009-03-02T03:11:00.009-05:00

Sunday is the 2nd and the last “official” day of the event. The day started much like Saturday with breakfast at the restaurant on the end of the HB pier. They were having tryouts for the Huntington Beach ocean lifeguards by the pier today. It was interesting to watch the contender’s race out and around the pier and with no wetsuits…. Brrrrr…….

Hopeful lifegaurd tryouts line up about to hit the cold water.

After breakfast we hit the beach. The wind was light again this morning. We put up 2 Mantas and a Skate in the single line field and anchored them for the morning. They just sat so solid in the sky and were the only single line kites up much of the time.

Two Mantas and a Skate anchored on the single line field.

The wind picked up and kites filled the skies. Dave had many of the same fliers do demos again today to entertain the large crowd watching the event. All the demos went great and were well received by the spectators. As the wind increased so did the number of kites in the sky.

Jon and Marianne Trennepohl launching one of their tall kites.

One of the major events of the day was for 7 year old Ben Lummas. Ben is the son of Mark and Jeannette Lummas, former members of the legendary kite team Sky Dance and well known fliers. He was diagnosed with bone cancer some time ago and has had treatments and surgeries over the years. Dave had Ben fly a demo for the crowd and then came onto the field and told Ben’s story with the help of Ben and his dad.

7 Year old Ben Lummas flying for the crowd.

Dave talking with Ben Lummas and his dad Mark.

Then boxes containing 100 diamond kites, donated by Premier Kites, were brought onto the field. Dave asked the spectators to come onto the field and buy one of these kites for $20 and fly them with the help of the Kite Party attendees. This is the one time of the whole event that the general public gets to participate. People came out and all the kites were sold rather quickly. They were immediately assembled and flown, which was a wonderful sight. There was even one person who came up to Dave and said he did not want a kite but wanted to donate $100. The overwhelming participation and support was inspiring. Once all the kites were gone, Dave handed the bag of money to Ben’s father. Every penny goes to Ben and his family to help with medical expenses. It was truly a great moment of the day.

Diamond fill the sky.

As the day went on the wind picked up even more. We probably had the most wind today that we had all weekend. The Hadzeki brothers of Revolution came out and did free Rev lessons while the Rev fliers put on a great show again. They were playing with the spectators on the pier and flying team maneuvers.

Revs positioned in front of the Kite Connection Shop on the pier.

The crossed lines formation. There were 11 kites in this formation.

As the afternoon ran on the people started to pack up and Dave gave big thanks to everyone who attended as he signed off the mic, closing Kite Party 7. It was another beautiful evening on the beach. A large drum/bongo session had formed on Pier Plaza and was quite entertaining to watch and listen to. As we packed the bags into the car we admired yet another great sunset over the Pacific. We don’t fly out until Monday evening there will be more flying tomorrow. Many fliers hang around for more relaxed flying so we look forward to it.

The daily sunset picture to close out the day.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Kite Party Saturday Update

2009-03-01T01:48:00.008-05:00

Friday night ended quite late due to John Barresi, Dave Bradley, and Lisa Willoughby all hanging out in our room. The night was filled with lots of great conversation, laughter and I think we solved most of the world’s problems. Ha ha ha….. Spending time with friends you don’t see enough is one of the highlights of events like this.

Surfers off Huntington Beach Pier enjoying the morning waves.

Saturday, the first official day of the event and boy did it deliver. The day started sunny and warm with no wind. We hit the beach and greeted new arrivals such as Jon and Marianne Trennepohl with Sky Burner Kites and Mark Reed of Prism Designs. There wasn’t too much in the sky at first so we quickly pulled out the Skates. We had so much fun gliding them around and putting them in the hands of other fliers including Mark Reed and Ron Despehado. It was perfect Skate wind. It is wonderful to see the Skate bring smiles to so many people who are itching to fly. The wind stayed light for the first half of the day so ultra lights were the call. Rev’s were all over the place again today. We flew the new Manta in our Focus house colors and used it to raise a small camera for the LA Times.

Paul and Lisa catch up with Mark Reed of Prism Designs.

Ron getting to know his new friend, the Skate.

Dave Bradley playing the one of our demo Skates.

Paul taking the house color Manta out for a fly.

At 10:30am Dave called a flier’s meeting to go over the plan for the day. Basically there are very few rules at Kite Party contributing to the relaxed feel of the event.

The fliers meeting.

Dave conducting the meeting.

As the day went on the wind picked up a bit and more kite went up and everyone was really enjoying themselves. The event attracted quite an audience all around and especially on the Huntington Beach Pier. With the good wind and the crowd Dave called for a few demos. John Barresi performed his famous Bugs Bunny routine twice with one of them featuring a one handed 360. Lisa Willoughby and Paul de Bakker (of Focus) performed their award winning pair’s routine and Ron Despojado put on his Rev routine. It was great to see the crowd on the pier watching these amazing fliers.

John performing for the crowd. Notice the number of people on the peir watching.

Lisa and Paul captivate the audience with their pairs routine.

Ron caps off the demos with a stunning quad line routine.

On the single line field Brian Champie had up quite a few large kites and Ron Gibian had many of his pieces of art out and flying. Jon Trennepohl was flying his awarding winning tall flat and bowed kites which sat solid all day. We spent some time there with the Manta as well.

Ron Gibian flying one of his kites.

The day on the beach came to an end with some Rev’s playing with spectators on the pier. I grabbed Lisa’s Rev and joined in. Crowd interaction is one of my favorite things to do with Rev’s and the crowd seems to enjoy it also. There was another stunning sunset which makes you feel quite lucky to be here.

Jynx Rev basking in the glow of the afternoon sunset.

For Saturday night there is a dinner and auction at a local pizza restaurant. There were some great auction items donated and people scored some great deals. Paul and I both agreed that is was one of the funniest auctions we have been to. There was lots of razzing and laughter all evening and like the event, there was little structure.

The gathering for the dinner and auction.

From Left: Paul de Bakker, Lisa Willoughby, Hunter Brown, & Jim Cosca

The thing that makes Kite Party so great is the relaxed feeling of the event. There is really no set plan or events to worry about. It is all about flying kites and having fun. The people here are great and very welcoming. Everyone really seems to be enjoying themselves.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Kite Party Friday Update

2009-02-28T00:27:00.005-05:00

Today was a beautiful day here in Huntington Beach. The day started with sunny skies and light winds. Surfers were enjoying some nice waves by the pier and people were out early flying on the beach. Paul and I had a great breakfast at the restaurant at the end of HB Pier as we waited for the call from the airline with news of our kite bag. We finally got word that the bag was here at 11am, so we raced to the airport to pick it up.

The Host Kite Shop, The Kite Connection.

Today was an unofficial day of the event. Kite Party really takes place Saturday and Sunday but lots of fliers come early and it is known that Friday and Monday are great flying days. Today lived up to it that reputation. There was plenty of space on the beach and a really relaxed friendly feel. I would say Rev’s dominated the beach today. Guys were doing team Rev flying which entertained spectators on the pier. There were quite a few dual line fliers enjoying the beach also.

Rev team flying.

Once we got to the beach with the kites Paul got out the 09 Hydra for its first appearance at an event. I got out the Manta and flew it for just a bit. It did not take long for both kites to draw attention. The Hydra stayed on the beach all day. The winds were perfect and the kite was performing excellent. Lots of fliers got to give it a go and the reviews were great.

Paul Chatting with John Chilese about the 09 Hydra.

There was a group dinner at Coach’s with somewhere around 50 people there. It was a great time to catch up with old friends and make new ones. All in all, it was a great day. Tomorrow really kicks off the event so time to rest up.

Lots of kites on the beach already.

Dave Bradley poses a Rev for the camera.

Paul gets putting in some quality time on the 09 Hydra Sport Kite.

John and Mike play with the Huntington Beach Pier and spectators.

View of the sunset right across the street from the hotel. Not a bad view!

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Kite Party is a go and we are here!

2009-02-27T03:02:00.003-05:00

I just arrived in Huntington Beach, CA otherwise known as Surf City USA. It is also home of the Kite Connection and Kite Party 7. Paul arrived earlier in the day and scooped out the scene. Our hotel is right across the street from the beach and within walking distance of the famous Huntington Beach Pier and the Kite Party event site. Overall, things went well with both our travels except our kite bag did not make it tonight. So it looks like we will be making another trip to the airport tomorrow to get the bag. Or let’s hope we will! As you can see, we have a good internet connection so we should be able to do updates throughout the event. Check back often to see the action at Kite Party.

On my trip out I flew through Las Vegas. Well if you have never been to the Vegas airport, there are slot machines right in the terminal. As you can see from the picture below I could not resist testing my luck. Do you think Paul will miss that quarter from the nose of his Skate? In case you are wondering, I did not hit it big in Vegas. Bummer.

Hunter Brown
www.focuskites.com

Sneak Peak! 2009 Hydra Freestyle Kite

2009-02-25T20:54:00.009-05:00

Introducing the 2009 Hydra! We were already very happy with the original Hydra when it came out in 2008. It was both Hunter’s and my favorite freestyle kite, period. For 2009 however, we wanted to take this already solid kite and push it even further. In doing this we were able to increase overall performance, achieve even better balance and a LOT more attitude!

The Hydra utilizes more mylar this year, tightening the sail and moving the centre of gravity down. This gives the kite improved balance and results in better overall freestyle performance. Oh, and we believe it looks cool, too. The Hydra will use the new Skyshark P2x tubes for their very nice balance between durability, weight, and flex characteristics. Because the kite as a whole is balanced more efficiently, we were able to remove some of the added weight. Finally, the bridle has been beefed up to be able to withstand a Ron G. session….

More detailed information will be up soon!

Come see us at Kite Part 7 in Huntington Beach this weekend and be one of the first to take the new Hydra for a spin!

We’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Paul de Bakker

Closer detailed shot of the 09 Hydra. Notice the double layering of the fabric. This enhances the color and achieves other construction / design goals. More details on this soon.

Same closer detail shot but of the back of the sail.

Sneak Peak! New Kite - The Manta!

2009-02-21T17:02:00.007-05:00

We wanted to give you all a sneak peak at the newest kite from Focus Kite Designs, The Manta. The Manta is a larger version of our popular Skate single line kite. This elegant kite has a 10.5ft wingspan and will fly when nothing else will. The sail is 1/2oz. ripstop polyester and it is framed in .157 pultruded carbon tubes. Early response to the Manta has been amazing.

More info will be up soon and we are already taking orders. Contact us if you are interested! The first batch is just about done!

Look for the Manta to be flying at Kite Party next weekend!

The Manta in flight

Hunter launches the Manta for one of the final test flies.

The Manta flying with it's little brother, the Skate. The Skate is slightly closer making it appear slightly bigger than it is in comparison to the Manta.

Going to Kite Party 7, Feb 28th & March 1st, 2009

2009-02-02T09:21:00.001-05:00

Kite Party is put on by Dave Shenkman at The Kite Connection in Huntington Beach, CA. This year will be the 7th year of the event that has gained a reputation of being one of the most fun events of the year. Paul and I have made the decision to fly out to CA for the event and we are very excited! We fly out on Thursday 2/26/09 and fly back home Monday 3/2/09. If you are coming to the event we look forward to seeing you there. We will have the all new 09 Hydra, 09 Jinx and the all new Manta. Come check out the new kites and give them a go! See you on the beach in Huntington!

Hunter Brown

Treasure Island Kite Festival, FL, Jan 17-18 2009

2009-01-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

The first kite festival in the new year on Focus’ agenda and really, what’s not to like about the opportunity to travel south and get a tan at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico?

This festival was an opportunity for Focus give a new kite in the line-up its first flight and to test a couple of redesigned kites from last year’s line up.

Lisa Willoughby and I were there to represent Focus. Over the course of the weekend every wind was encountered, from 18 mph to absolutely nothing. This meant that all the kites Hunter and I wanted to test came out of the bag and were put through their paces. I was pleased that all the kites did what they were supposed to do and are ready for the final stage of their development; redesigning the graphics.

On Sunday morning, the new addition to the Skate family took its maiden flight and successfully so. In 0-2 mph winds, the Manta took to the skies and stood like a rock, evoking many questions from the other kite fliers. The Manta is essentially a very large version of the Skate, developed for static one line flying when nothing else flies.
The first orders have been placed and we expect them to be in production in a couple of weeks. More pictures of the Manta to come soon!

All in all, it was a very nice weekend. Old friends were met and new ones made. A lot of new people have been introduced to Focus and the weather conditions were great for the intended test sessions. I even got sunburned!

Thank Sherri and Steve for organizing the festival!!

Paul de Bakker

Join our Group on Facebook

2009-01-18T09:30:00.003-05:00

Focus Kite Designs has created a Facebook group. This group is another way we can connect with our customers, friends and fans. All you need to do is search for Focus Kite Designs and then click Join the Group. We look forward to seeing you there!

Camas Indoor Festival, WA, Nov 8-9 2008

2008-11-10T09:09:00.001-05:00

The conclusion of a long month of travel, the Camas Indoor Festival was luring competitive fliers with no less than 4 (!) indoor competitions in one weekend.

So, Paul packed his bags (which hadn’t really been empty for a month) and traveled across the country to Camas, which is a suburb of Portland, OR.

The event was organized by Theresa Cornelius, owner of The Kiteshoppe and friend of Focus Kite Designs.

That alone would have been reason enough for him to travel to Camas but add to that the awesome friendliness (awesomeness?) of the Northwest fliers and the opportunity to really practice my new, untested competition routine against some of the best indoor fliers in the country and it makes for a not-to-be-missed event.

Paul was coming freshly off his first place finish at the Nationals in September and retired his old competition routine there. Time for something new. For 3 competitions, he battled it out with NW prodigy Tristan Underwood, who hadn’t lost in an indoor competition there for a number of years. Tristan took it twice, by the smallest of margins and Paul once, you guessed it , by the smallest of margins. The 4th and final competition, Paul made a few mistakes and finished outside the podium.

Mission accomplished, the new routine had been battle-tested, awesome flying was observed, good times were had and it was wonderful to see the amount of Skates that were flown inside and how the fliers with all different styles make the Skates do what they want. Special recognition goes to David Bradley who, just as he did at the Nationals, flies the Skate like no other. It literally brought the spectators to tears, in a good way, of course.. :)

Thanks Camas, for having us!

Hunter

Cape Fear Kite Festival, November 1-2, 2008

2008-11-03T08:58:00.003-05:00

Our very own home town kite festival held right her at the Shell Island Resort in Wrightsville Beach, NC. For a change, the festival terrain is about 10 minutes away, so there’s not much travel there. We love the trips but sometimes there’s something to be said for a kite fly in your backyard.

HQ’s new superstar Chris Schultz was Hunter’s guest for the weekend, so we got to hang out at nights, and show him how the Focus team plays pool…Always good times with Chris and we hope to see you again soon..;)

David Gomberg was also on hand at the event as well as local kite guru and festival organizer Mike Agner. Mike and his wife Judy always do a great job putting together the event and we appreciate all the work that goes into it.

There was also a large group from the NC Kite club The WACKOS. These guys have always made the drive down to support the event and put on a great show. The festival wouldn’t be the same without them. We even had a past NC Govenor in attendance!

Kurt Lisk came up from Florida and brought his feather banner displays. Each display has 30 banners that make one large image. Kurt sets these up in one long line and it really marks off the beach and is a sight to see.

This weekend must have had the BEST weather and wind conditions that we encountered in the whole year. Really, it could not have been better. Little bit more wind on Saturday for the big single line kites, little less wind on Sunday for the stunt kites. Sun and a wonderful temperature throughout the weekend. It was absolutely awesome. I don’t think you could have asked for a steadier wind. The large single line kites just sat so solid all day long.

We at Focus took it pretty easy throughout the weekend and mostly played in the perfect winds, we flew the Hydra (my favorite sport kite) and the Skates. We actually had a bunch of previous and new customers together at the same time, so we could do a multi-instruction session, as well as some Skate Team flying!

It can’t be said often enough, this was a perfect weekend and even though chances are that it (the weather, really) will never be this perfect anymore, we’re certainly going to try for it again next year! Hope you will come join us!!!

Paul

Photos from the Cape Fear Kite Festival 2008

2008-11-03T07:42:00.001-05:00

Enjoying some Skates!

A look at the sky

Paul discussing the Hydra

Hunter takes a break for a quick buggy ride.

One of Kurt Lisk banner displays

A new flier at the Cape Fear Kite Festival

Chris Schultz gets ready to buggy with Craig.

Jim Hodges came down to run the sound for the event.

Large soft kite with the hotel in the background

About to enjoy a Skate!

Carolina Kite Festival, Atlantic Beach, NC Oct. 26 2008

2008-10-28T09:32:00.002-04:00

For a number of years now, we have been a guest at what’s officially called the Carolina Kite Fest, affectionately known to us as “Atlantic Beach”. Don and Jeri Dixon of Kites Unlimited did, as always, an excellent job in hosting kite fliers from as far away as the West Coast such as the featured demo team the Bay Area Sundowners and Revolution Manager Ben D’Antonio.

For Focus, Hunter and I made the short trip up the coast on Sunday for the event and we had a blast. The size of the beach (narrow) and the direction of the wind (over the dunes) was more than made up for by the atmosphere and enthusiasm of the fliers and audience alike.

The Carolina Kite Fest is a very relaxed festival which gives a new definition to the phrase “kite time”, if that’s at all possible. Yeah, demos are being flown and yeah, there are roped off areas but really, the atmosphere is very nice and laid back.

I did some demos with the Jinx and both Hunter and I caught up with old friends. The Skate proved to be a hit yet again on this confined space with sometimes very low winds, a lot of people got their hands on it for the first time this weekend.

This is one of the nearest kite festivals for Focus and is ALWAYS worth it. We hope to see everybody again next year!

Paul

The Hydra with the Sheraton Pier in the background.

Paul flying the Hydra at the Carolina Kite Festival.

Outer Banks Stunt Kite Competition, Oct. 18-19th

2008-10-20T07:30:00.000-04:00

Fresh after the Nationals in Gettysburg, PA, we attended the Outer Banks Stunt kite competition. Other than the cool people and the organizer who provides every competitor who wants with free lodging, the big thing about this event is the location. The competition is held literally ON the birthplace of motorized aviation, on the airfield that Orville and Wilbur Wright used for their first flight. To be able to fly kites on that field, with the Wrights’ workshop on one side and the huge monument on the other side of the field is magic and inspiring, every time again.

Focus Kites was represented by Lisa Willoughby and Paul de Bakker, both competing in Masters Ballet Individual. Due to the challenging weather conditions, the competitions on Saturday had to be canceled and the whole program had to be crammed into one day. Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t much better and the whole field of fliers found themselves trying to fly a kite in 32 mph winds on average, with gusts up to 40 mph. A number of competitions had to be canceled due to the strong winds but the MIB competitors had to give it a go. Needless to say, nobody reached their normal level and the flier who managed not to break his kite or not to be drug along the field had the biggest chance of victory. This turned out to be Paul, who left the field with his arms two inches longer than before he entered… Lisa flew a very smart ballet, avoided big risk but stuck to her choreography and also took the podium, 3rd.

All in all it was a great weekend, not because of epic flying conditions but the atmosphere on and off the field and the awesome venue. We’re already looking forward to return next year, hopefully with some sun and 8 mph winds….

AKA in Closing

2008-09-28T15:42:00.000-04:00

Sunday came and it was time to make the drive back to Wilmington, NC. Paul and I said our goodbyes to our friends and fellow kite fliers and hit the road after a quick stop at the Gettysburg Battlefield museum. All in all the week had been full of good times, lots of kite flying, reuniting with old friends, making new friends and lots of work. Paul and I were both very pleased with the way Focus Kite Designs was received at the event and the overwhelming positive response to our products. Thanks to everyone who helped make it such a fun and rewarding event for us!

AKA Auction

2008-09-28T15:41:00.001-04:00

Friday night was the night of the AKA Great Kite Auction. If you have never been to an AKA, the auction is a great place to see really unique, beautiful kites and kite related items. At Focus Kite Designs we wanted to do our part to help the AKA raise some money so we donated a special Skate to the auction. We built a Skate with a midnight blue body and alternating red and white tips and tail panels. So it was red, white and blue which are popular AKA colors. By the time the Auction came around we were completely sold out of Skates. This made the Skate that was in the auction the last one that someone could get and take home with them. When the Skate went up for auction the price steadily went up and ended up selling for $200. Paul and I were quite happy with this price and happy to have contributed to the AKA.

Sport Kite Competition at the AKA

2008-09-28T15:40:00.001-04:00

Friday rolled around and marked the end of the Sport Kite competition. On this day Paul was slated to compete in both Masters Individual Ballet (MIB) and Experienced Pair Ballet (EPB) as half of the Pairs Team Fusion. To make things worse, these two disciplines were scheduled to run at the same time on two different fields. Paul was able to talk with the coordinators and inform them of the conflict. First up was Master’s Individual Ballet, one of the most anticipated competitions of the event because you get to see the best fliers in the Nation perform their routines. Stunning routines were flown by Josh and Zach Gordon, Ron Graziano, Shawn Tinkham and many others. Paul competed with the Jinx UL and was flying his routine to the song Rhapsody in Blue by Cershwin and performed by Bernstein. He flew the routine really well and received a lot of praise for the performance. Once done with MIB Paul had to literally run with his kites over to the EPB field and join Lisa Willoughby, the other half of team Fusion. With little time to catch his breath they were up to fly. Lisa and Paul also flew the Jinx but to the song Elephant Love Medley from the movie Moulin Rouge. The routine is unique in that they do not do a lot of mirrored maneuvers or follow maneuvers. Although there are some, Lisa and Paul spend a lot of time flying individually but making the kites interact with each other to the piece of music. Paul basically flies the male parts of the song and Lisa the female parts. It really was a beautiful routine to watch and was very well received by the audience.

When standings were posted for MIB we learned that Paul placed a very respectable 4th place. Many of the top fliers told him they felt he should have placed higher which in many ways is better than getting an award. When the standing for EPB was posted, Fusion was listed in the top 3 which is “TBA” (To Be Announced) at the awards banquet. Saturday night at the awards banquet Lisa and Paul were pleased to be awarded First Place in Experienced Pairs Ballet.

Kite Making Competition at the AKA

2008-09-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

Wednesday marked the beginning of the kite making competition. At the last minute Paul and I decided to enter a stock Focus Hydra in the competition. This was one of the kites we had brought to sale. I ran the kite over to the hotel where the craftsmanship of the kites were being judged. The kite was entered into the Sport Kite category but because it was built by two people (Paul and I) it was ultimately put in the cooperative category. As the judges came, around I pointed out all the features of the kite including the internal weight system, variable external weight, integrated batten pockets on the leading edge, use of Mylar panels and the use of white thread to showcase accurate and clean stitching. Thursday was the day the kites were to be judged on their flying and performance. When the time came I left Paul setting up the Fly Market booth and ran out to the field to fly the kite. We had to fly the kites for 5 minutes and show what they could do. We were given the signal to launch and that we did. All the kites entered in the sport kite division flew at one time on a rather small field. The winds were pretty strong and did claim one kite when a rod broke in flight. I believe Will Sturdy broke one of the boundary poles but did so without a scratch on his kite. The Hydra performed great and I was pleased with the showing. Now we had to wait for Saturday night and the awards banquet. When the banquet came around, we were honored that our kite took first place in the cooperative category and our score would have won the sport kite category. It made both Paul and I proud that a stock kite, built how we build all our kites, won in its divisions. So if you have a kite by Focus Kite Designs, or are thinking of buying one, you have a kite that is built to national award winning standards!

2008 AKA Fly Market

2008-09-28T15:24:00.000-04:00

Part of introducing the Focus Kite Designs brand at the AKA Convention was to have a booth in the Fly Market. Historically, the Fly Market has been a highlight of the event. Set up started Thursday. Paul and I were pleased to join other Fly Market vendors such as Gomberg Kites, Brooks Leffler, Sky Burner Kites and many others. As we set up the energy in the room was great. Everyone was excited as their booth came together and watches their neighbor’s booths took shape. We were pleased to have our friends at Sky Burner Kites right next to us. Final touches were put on the booths and the Fly Market opened that evening. We were really pleased with our display of Skates, Hydra, Jinx and Reflections. We have Focus T-Shirts laid out with stickers and lanyards as well as the Focus Demo video playing non stop. Lisa Willoughby joined us in the booth for most of the Fly Market. As they opened the doors people began to flood in. It did not take long for the Focus booth to fill up with curious kiters. We stayed busy the whole evening with many people taking kites home with them. We were honored that many notable kite builders were so impressed with our kites that they were buying one for themselves. Overall the Fly Market was a big success and we totally sold out of Skates. Thank you to everyone who visited us in the booth and who bought one of our kites.

Fly Market Pictures

2008-09-28T13:31:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the booth at the Fly Market.

Evening Skate Session at the AKA

2008-09-24T23:22:00.000-04:00

One of the highlights of the AKA Convention for Paul and I was Wednesday afternoon. As the day was winding down and people were packing up and heading back to the hotel we noticed the wind was dying to almost nothing. Paul and I looked at each other with the same idea. Time to break out the Skates! We quickly assembled 2 Skates and started gliding them around the field. We both were having a ball playing with the kites, seeing how far away we could glide them and seeing how high they would fly as a static kite. The air temperature was warm, the sun was setting and it was the perfect way to cap off another great day at the AKA Convention.

The Mysterious Lost Package

2008-09-23T17:20:00.000-04:00

There was an indoor seminar scheduled Tuesday morning of the AKA convention. Scott Weider and Lisa Willoughby were conducting the seminar and requested a Skate and Reflection to use in it. Paul and I were not going to be at the event until later on Tuesday so we shipped up one of each kite to be used. The box was shipped to Scott at the hotel and was suppose to be delivered Friday before the event. During our drive up to the event Tuesday morning we found out the box was not there. Scott was hunting all over and could not locate it. We tracked the package and found it was listed as delivered Friday as we expected. We got on the phone to the hotel staff and gave an accurate description of the box. We had written, “Attention Scott Weider” very large on the box. After numerous calls and exhausting efforts from Scott, the box could not be found and the seminar went on without the kites. Once Paul and I arrive to the hotel we found the person in charge of storing the packages shipped to guest at the hotel. We were told all the packages from the other facility were just brought up and they had looked them over with no luck. They took us to the storage room so we could have a look ourselves. We walked in the room and on the first quick glance what did we see………. our box leaning up against the wall plain as day. We were both relieved and amazed. Now we know to paint the box bright orange so it will stand out next time we ship a box to a hotel. Ha ha ha.

AKA Indoor Competition

2008-09-23T15:17:00.002-04:00

The finals to determine the Indoor National Champion were held Tuesday evening. Focus designer and co-founder, Paul de Bakker, had qualified for the event so we headed over to the indoor facility early to get some fly time in. While people arrived to fly and wait for the event we had out some Reflections and Skates. People got to try both kites and they were very well received. The Reflection turned heads with its presence and overall performance including great throw and catch maneuvers. The Skate stood out with its graceful flight and ease of use.

Once the competition began we enjoyed amazing performances by all the competitors including Amy Doran, Dave Bradley, Shawn Tinkham, Torrey Lindemann and many others. It was really a great line up of competitors. Paul was slated for last to perform and he delivered a stunning routine ultimately taking 1st place. After the competition a few other fliers did some demonstrations. Paul and Lisa Willoughby did an impromptu pairs demo each flying a Skate.

All in all the indoor competition was a big hit. There was a large crowd watching the event and some really great performances by the top indoor fliers in the country.

New Web Site Launches!

2008-09-15T21:26:00.000-04:00

On Saturday September 20th Focus Kite Designs launched our new web site. If you have not seen it, take a look at www.focuskites.com. The new site features information on all of our current products, demo & instructional videos, photo gallery, background information, online purchasing and our innovative kite carousel. We have plans for many more exciting updates so keep an eye on the site!

New Focus Banner

2008-09-11T21:48:00.000-04:00

9/21/08 Take a look at the new Focus banner. It has a unique 3D shape having two panels pulled back and tensioned. Look for it to show up at an event near you!

Going to the 2008 AKA Convention in Gettysburg, PA

2008-08-30T14:59:00.000-04:00

Over the past few years we have been developing our products, putting them in the hands of fliers, getting input and refining each design. We began offering many of our products for sale in early 2008 but had not officially announced the brand to the market. With the AKA (American Kite Fliers Association) National Convention and Competition approaching, the decision was made to officially unveil the brand at the event.

We quickly began planning and preparing for the event including travel plans, building kites and brainstorming effective ways to introduce Focus Kite Designs to all the attendees. After some intense marketing meetings we came up with the idea to sponsor the lanyards used at the event to hold the name badges. This would put our brand name in front of every attendee at the event and save the AKA a bit of money. We cleared it with the convention manager and became the first company to sponsor the lanyards at the AKA Convention.

Welcome to our Blog

2008-08-29T17:03:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Focus Kite Designs blog. Here we will be posting news and updates on events we will be attending or supporting, new products we are developing and new promotions. We look forward to interacting with you here on this blog so feel free to comment on any of our post. Thanks and lets get started!

Paul de Bakker & Hunter Brown, Focus Kite Designs