UK Stars
The Kite Festival is a fantastic place to see the best in 'home grown' talent - here are just a few to keep an eye out for!
Nick James – Bristol
Nick from Bristol is well known around the international kite circuit for his inspirational artistic designs. Having started out making bats and birds he moved onto angels and devils and ghosts and flying giant arches of mini kites. For added impact Nick often flies his designs en masse as flocks, trains or arches. Nick also regularly runs kite making workshops with schools in and around Bristol. www.nickjameskitemaker.com.
Martin ‘Legs’ Lester
In the kite world Martin is the very essence of the Bristol Kite Festival - having started up the event with friends Avril Baker and John Payton (now sadly deceased) some 21 years ago. He lived and ran his kite business in Bristol for many years before moving down to Cornwall, but still takes a keen interest in the organisation of the event. His distinctive jogging legs kites and flying people kites are a well known feature at festivals and events at home and abroad. Martin’s kites are fully three dimensional, using the wind to inflate them and to create the shape. The earlier designs which included a wonderful swimming shark, various birds and even a jumbo jet, have frames, but the more recent ones are totally soft (NO STICKS = NO ASSEMBLY!).
Carl Robertshaw
www.kitestudio.com
In recent years Carl has won virtually every national and international sport kite championship and competition going whether as a member of the former UK sport kite team ‘Airkraft’, as the pair Evolver with his brother James and also as an individual dual and quad line flyer. Carl, a graphic designer, has turned his talents to designing and making his own kites, banners and structures. He and his team produce the Fury, one of the leading sport kite designs in the world. Carl’s talents don’t stop at kites. The 3D design side of The Kite Studio were involved in the 'biggest, most ambitious theatrical production ever staged' - by jointly constructing the impressive Balrog for ‘Lord of the Rings’ stage musical. They have even adapted a dress designed by Hussein Chalayan to be both worn on the catwalk by Naomi Campbell and flown as a kite!
The Decorators
The 'Decs' are the world’s most famous quad line display team and Bristol is honoured to be one of the few festivals where they still fly. Formed in 1988 their name ‘The Decorators’ came from their original uniform of painter's overalls. They have been regular guests at Bristol over the years and their routines are one of the most popular performances with both flyers and the public. Having started out flying two line sport kites in competition, the Decs decided to quit competitive flying to concentrate on performing and turned to flying quad-line Revolution kites (bow-tie shaped kites, with four lines arranged in pairs at the top and bottom of the kite, enable the flyer to execute controlled moves and manoeuvres flying the kite up, down side to side and even holding it still in the air). The Decs exploit these attributes to the full - performing breathtaking routines with synchronised moves when bring the kites together and hold them motionless in lines, pyramids etc.
Andrew & Kathleen Beattie
This dynamic duo are in high demand at festival and events. They have amassed a large collection of spectacular display kites many of which are designed by Peter Lynn. They are part of Peter’s experienced team which fly the ‘World’s Largest Kite’ - a vast 3D Kuwait flag. Andrew is also renowned for his kite photography.
Team Spectrum - Ipswich
Team Spectrum is a father (Bryan) and son (Carl) team based in Ipswich, who have over the past eleven years displayed their skills as a 'pairs' kite display team. They mainly fly two line sports kites in a demonstration of synchronized kite flying, choreographed to musical accompaniment. Carl breaks away to fly solo routines using up to three 2 line sports kites flown totally independently in synchronisation. His multiple kite flying display is done by the use of two control bars with the third kite connected to a body harness around his waist. In the right wind, they attach up three sets of 35M tails to the kites, which adds another dimension to the displays. http://www.teamspectrum.org.uk/
Kelvin Woods
Kelvin crafts kites from shades of fabric to create images of iconic people. ‘The Greatest’, an Edo with an image of Mohamed Ali was kite was runner up in the 2005 International Kite Builder, Kite of the Year competition. The next year Kelvin took the first prize with, ‘The Man in Black’, an Edo with an image of Johnny Cash. Johnny's brother Tommy Cash liked the image so much Kelvin made him a replica. His latest creation is a tribute to Debbie Harry. Kelvin is also famous for his butterflies – each representing a real butterfly (Swallow Tail, Monarch, Red Admiral, Painted Lady) to create a kaleidoscope of colour.
Stafford Wallace
Stafford is the Indian kite master. Each year he entertains the crowds at Bristol demonstrating the skills of flying these delicate Indian fighter kites. Although only single line kites in the hands of an expert he can make the kite fly in different directions and even perform tricks such as catching a balloon.
