About Blue Moon Kites
Blue Moon Kites is my "nom de fabrique". I'm Ken McNeill, and I guess you could call me an artisan kitemaker.
I've been involved with the business end of kiting for a little over 17 years, beginning with founding Aerie Kiteworks in 1992, in Rockford, IL. With the help of a talented staff, I had the honor of building several thousand kites for my friends around the world.
In '97 I accepted a position with a composites manufacturer in North Carolina, and handed production of the Aerie line over to Shanti Kite Co.
The kite bug bit again in 1999 and I started Blue Moon Kites as a part-time business. BMK became a full time venture in the summer of '01.
Kaizen...
I've always considered a well designed kite to be like a finely crafted tool. It should have a natural, almost organic feel that inspires confidence and allows the user to tap their finer talents. It should be neutral in balance, but capable of cutting like a scalpel or hitting like a sledge when needed.
While I'm not exactly what you would call a gifted flyer, I like to think I have a pretty good lay understanding of the physics and aerodynamics involved in making a high performance kite. It's been my honor over the years to watch some of the best flyers in the world do some pretty amazing things with my kites. I've even had the pleasure of watching a number of my kites being flown to national championships.
Just as important to me as the high performance capabilities of a design is its basic "feel". People often describe my kites as having the "Blue Moon feel". To me, this means that it just "feels" right at the end of your lines, whether you're a rank novice or a seasoned master flyer.
A well crafted kite will likely contain details that you may never even notice. Simple things, like chamfered ferrules, glued endcaps, and tough, minimalist, fittings. Reinforcements should be clean and effective, but not overdone. Thought will have gone into silly little stuff, like turning the hem on the bag out, instead of inward, so your standoffs don't snag. It should assemble intuitively and allow you to simply enjoy your flying without worrying about what might wear out or fall off.
Any craftsman that's worth his salt will practice kaizen, even if he doesn't know he's doing it, or even the word. Kaizen is a term that's thrown about in some of the most impressive companies in industry. Its roots are Japanese and come from the words kai, which means continuous, and zen, which means improvement.
Recently, as I was finishing up a small batch of kites, I made a tiny change in the way I did something. I honestly don't remember exactly what it was, because I make a lot of small changes all the time. Changes in the way two parts come together, or perhaps just turning the fabric a different way under the foot of the sewing machine. Tiny things that, over time, add up to a better product than I was making yesterday.
My hope, as a kitemaker, is that the best kite I've ever made will be the one I make for you tomorrow. That's kaizen.