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Some of you may know me, some of you may not….Let me introduce myself.
I am a transplanted Canadian – born in the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec which is a land rich in music, artists and harsh winters. As far back as I can remember, I have always made things, but not kites…. That came later when I was living in Montreal. Out flying one day, I met Daniel Remillard who was making his own kites. After a few conversations, I decided to design my first boll -- a 15' (5 meter) in diameter boll! I cut the fabric and Daniel sewed it together for me. After that I bought a used Singer sewing machine and a passionate kite designer was born.
At the AKA convention is 1997, I entered my first competition with a fanciful cow. While I won third place and gained a lot of great experience at this convention, I was not satisfied and knew I could do better. At the AKA convention in 2003, I entered a guitar kite and won first place with the highest score in both visual appeal and flight performance. I was very happy. This same year, I also won best handmade kite at the Georgetown (KY) international kite and culture festival.
I have been designing and flying kites for around 15 years now, and have touched all aspects of kite making -- traction, buggy, one line, 2-line, 4-line, big and small inflatable -- name it, I have done it.
Even if my kites are more for adults, I still love to see the twinkle in the eye of a child looking at my kites. I have been invited and shown my kite collections at the Oak Ridge Museum of Science and Energy as well as hosted boy scout troops, school groups, and girl scouts in my kite making shop.
Over the last few years, I been mainly designing for New Tech Kites as well as running my banner company called Bellwether Banners. But more importantly I have worked to be a good father to my little girl and a good husband for the love of my life. Now that Bellwether Banners is up and running and my daughter is older, I have more time to return to my passion –kites. I also am looking forward to attending more festivals.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about me and visit my site.
A special thanks to:
Daniel Remillard: who guided me through the first steps of kite making;
Rob Cembalest: who gave me the opportunity to work with New Tech Kites, has been a true fan and friend. I know I owe Rob a lot. I consider Rob as my manager. If Rob say so, I do so.
New Tech Kites: who sells my designs all over the world;
David Gomberg: who gave me my first opportunity in the kite business;
Friends like you who buy and fly my kites. Without you, all this adventure is not possible.
Now let see how far we could go!
Martin Blais
phone: 865 235-7890
e-mail:info@martinblaiskites.com
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