BMK Sport Kite #XXX

Thank you, to all of the folks who have been so gracious and patient these last several months, as I’ve been wrapping up the sport kite part of my little business. I hope you enjoy your kites. It’s been a pleasure and an honor creating them for you.

The last Ken McNeill / Blue Moon Kites sport kite is on its way to its new owner! For most of the past three decades, it’s been my honor and pleasure to craft kites for flyers around the globe. For most of that time, the overwhelming majority was sport kites. I keep getting the same question – Why? Well, it’s simply the right time for me.

At the beginning of my life in kiting, I found myself torn between focusing on sport or single-line kites. Practical considerations, such as market size and nature, and the need to jump in the deep end to create a viable business quickly, led me to focus on sport kites. Don’t get me wrong, I was also a stunt kite nut! I loved flying them, but even more, I loved flying with other people who were passionate about kites. Kiting has taken me from coast to coast and brought me many of the dearest friends of my life.

When we lived in northern Illinois, I’d drive an hour and a half every weekend, to a field in Schaumburg IL, called Ned Brown Meadow. Ned Brown was the hot spot for all things kiting in the Chicago region. I was blessed with sharing that space with a large group of exceptional people, many of whom were also exceptional kiters. We had national sport kite champions, as well as a couple of single-line legends. In the early days, I was still working a real job, so I’d have to leave early for the drive back to Rockford for my shift. One Saturday, as I was throwing the kites in my truck, a flyer who would become a dear friend over the years, asked me  ” Why do you come all the way here to fly kites? Don’t you have places to fly closer to home?” Her question stopped me in my tracks. My answer was a simple and honest, ‘I don’t come here to fly kites, I come here to fly kites with you guys’.

Thank you, for letting me be a small part of your world, and for being a major part of mine. I’ll miss some of the things we’ve left behind, but cherish and hold dear, the things we carry forward. I’m at that point in life and my career as a kitemaker, that I need to focus on that which challenges me, and brings me joy. I’ll see you out there. Leave a little corner of the sky for me and mine. Be well, be happy…