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Wednesday 11am - 4pm Thursday 11am - 4pm Friday 11am - 4pm Saturday 11am - 4pm

Flying Smiles Kites

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Corolla, NC
Flying Smiles Kites

Come in and visit the kite pro-shop on the Outer Banks. We specialize in kites, games, and puzzles!
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12/07/2024

The wait is over! You can now buy your tickets on our website for kite #500! (As always, we'll drop a link in the comments.)

Tickets are $10 each. When you purchase a ticket, you're not going to have anything shipped to you. For each ticket purchased, your name will be added to a physical raffle ticket and put into the drawing bucket here at the shop. The winner will be drawn on 12/26/24 at approximately noon (eastern). Shipping is included for anyone within the US, but if you live outside of the United States, you will be responsible for international shipping.

International customers - our website has limitations, so please message us if you want to buy tickets.

The winner will receive kite #500 only. Kite #1 remains ours!

12/06/2024

Hey friends! One more update today!

Not to steal the thunder of kite #500 (because let's be real, that's impossible), but Cassie made more tie dye shirts! We removed the sold shirts from the site to clean it up, and then there's: 1 - medium, 6 - XL, 4 - 2XL, and 1 - 3XL added. Yes, XL and 2XL folks, this was mostly for you!

Link in the comments to pick yours up!

12/06/2024

Eliot's finishing up kite #500 so that we'll be able to post the raffle tomorrow, so let's fill in some more fun facts on the updates that the CR Mesh Quads have seen over the years!

In 2014, there were a bunch of upgrades, including tabs to reinforce the fold spots in leading edges, the vertical reinforcement strip was added (often called the wear strip), a "no fray" finish to the ends of the leading edges was implemented, and the second template was made with the 4 kites that were currently in production.

In 2017, Eliot spoke to Andy from Ocean Shores Kites and adopted the a-holes that you see on the leading edge of the kites now, replacing the screen that was industry standard for so long. In 2018, Eliot made the first mesh stack. Also in 2018, the knots on the ends of the leading edges were hidden so they wouldn't snag lines. And finally, the last update we've seen was in 2020, when a new template was created to include the 175 and 240.

A few kites of note - #222 was the 75% F**k Cancer kite that was made in honor of one of our biggest supporters, Rich Comras. #333 was the CRII F**k Cancer kite that was made for our friend Phil Broder in honor of his sister, who also lost her battle. #482 is special to us, as it was made with fabric that Cath got from Michel Gressier. This kite represents the personal growth that we've all made in the last 18 years, taking us from an idea that Cath had to international kite festivals celebrating kite builders in which Cath, Eliot and Cassie are all recognized by some of our heroes in kite building.

Well friends, now you're caught up on the story of the CR Mesh Quads! Envisioned by Cath, built by Eliot, and loved by so many! Here's the breakdown of how many kites have been made in each style:

57 40%
166 75%
111 100%
82 135%
10 175%
46 240%
28 CR-II

Tomorrow, the raffle will open up. Tickets will be $10 each and will remain open through 12/25. We'll draw the winner on 12/26. It's a 100, and we will include a frame and standard bridle with the kite, as well as free shipping within the United States. If you live outside the United States, YES, you may participate, but please know that you will be responsible for shipping. Questions? Comments? Let us know!

12/05/2024

Only a couple more days before we release kite #500 to the world! So let's keep going with the kites' origin story! Today, let's talk about when the different styles came out!

After kite #1 was built, we got some notes and started building more kites. This is when Eliot learned to use a sewing machine, even attending the MKS kitebuilding workshop in early 2008 to learn from some master kite builders such as Jon Burkhardt, Harold Ames, Paul Lamasters, Andy Burchfield and Phil Broder.

As the first dozen or so kites were built, we started to notice some of the features that the kite provided that many would come to love over the years. Our initial reaction to the mesh was how much smoother it was than a traditional vented quad. The traditional quad has a "pop" as the wind goes through its body, while the mesh spreads out the pressure.

For the first few years, Eliot built 100s and 40s as a builder for the Rev Masterpiece designer series. The 100 had roughly the same venting as a full vent, and the 40 was roughly equivalent to a mid vent. But! Fun fact! Eliots' eventual favorite, the 75, was actually developed at the same time as the 40! The first 75 and 40 were made in 2008 as #15 and 16, respectively. But he only built 100s and 40s through the summer of 2011. In June of 2011, kite #63 was the second 75 built, matching #15 so that Paul Dugard could fly them together (one in each hand).

The others came along over time. The first 135 was built in 12/2013 ( #129). The first 175 and 240 were built in 7/2020 ( #322 and 323).

Come back tomorrow for more of the story and details about the raffle! To answer the most frequently asked question, tickets will go on sale this weekend and will be available for purchase through 12/25/24. We'll draw the winner on 12/26!

12/04/2024

Did you know that Cath built kite #1?

She had an idea in 2005 after flying one of Willi Koch's large single line deltas (the first photo isn't the kite she flew, but the homage to Willi that lives in the shop). The kite was huge and the winds were gusting to 45mph, but the pull was minimal. All the other big kites were lifting people off the ground, but she was able to manage this huge delta!

She suggested to Eliot that they should try that on a quad. (Fun fact! Eliot didn't think it would fly with all of those holes! 500 kites later and we can confirm he was wrong!) In January of 2006, Cath sat down behind the sewing machine and got to stitching. While we still had a lot to learn about how to build quads, IT FLEW! With that, the CR-100 was born (shown in the second photo).

And that's where it all began.

Come back tomorrow for more of the story behind the CR Mesh Quads, and drop any questions you've got in the comments!

Also, just a few other details for anyone who's read this far.
1 - we're going to raffle off kite #500. More details to follow!
2 - we've reloaded the website with everything that was excluded from the Black Friday sale. So if you were eyeing anything that disappeared over the weekend, it's back!
3 - Cassie made a couple more small batches of tie dye. Later this week, we'll get more XL, 2XL and 3XL tie dye shirts posted.

12/03/2024

It took almost 20 years to get here, and what an adventure it's been! We've been hinting at what's going on in the kite studio, so here it is!! Kite #500 is in progress!

Eliot's putting together the center panel, and in the next few days we'll share some stories about kites #1-499.

12/02/2024

While you're shopping the Black Friday Cyber Monday sale, Eliot is working on the next kite in queue. This one is pretty exciting, he's been planning it for months!

12/01/2024

Have you wandered the site to see what's available? Someone picked up a Vertigo package, and the 4D has a new home!

Prices will go back to normal on Tuesday, so get them while they're 15% off!

Use coupon code BFCM24 to get 15% off your whole order through Monday (12/2) at 11:59pm eastern.

11/30/2024

Looking for some gift ideas for the person that's hard to shop for? Of course we'll recommend kites, but what if you want something else? Check out our Stocking Stuffers and Gift Ideas on our website! We've put a bunch of items that are $25 or less in that category, and through Monday you'll get 15% off with coupon code BFCM24

And don't forget! We're giving away a gift with all purchases this weekend $75+ We've got items from all the major shop categories picked out to give away, ranging in value from $15-$35!

We'll drop a link in the comments to the stocking stuffer and gift ideas section of the website.

11/29/2024

Happy Friday, friends! It's time for our Black Friday / Small Business Saturday/ Cyber Monday sale! As you're doing a lot of holiday shopping this weekend, please consider supporting small businesses like ours.

Good through 11:59pm on Monday 12/2 (eastern time), use the coupon code BFCM24 to get 15% off your order on our website! And then, anyone who spends $75 will get a gift with purchase! This year, we're including gifts that range from games to hand crafted items. Be sure to let us know if there's a little kid in the family, and we'll send a gift for them!

11/29/2024

Time for details on the Black Friday sale!

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! We are thankful for our family, our friends, our shop, and the beautiful overlap of the three together.

Flashback photo from our trip to Artevento in April!

11/27/2024

If you're on our email list, check your email!

If you're not on the email list, we'll tell you about the weekend sale on Friday.

Yup... that's right. The email list gets a head start on our 2024 Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale!

(Pic is a peek at some of the gifts we've picked to send out with qualifying purchases!)

11/26/2024

This isn't kite #499

11/25/2024

Happy Monday, friends! As a small business, we are thankful for each of you who supports our happy little shop throughout the year!

To anyone on the Outer Banks this week, yes, we're open! Today, we'll be here til 3ish, then we're here Tues, Weds, Fri, and Sat from 11-4. We're starting our annual "end of year" sale in the shop, and those discounts will be extended this coming weekend to folks online. Be sure to sign up for our email list on our website if you want to be the first to shop the sale online!

11/22/2024

Happy Friday, friends! Next Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the United States, and then that weekend is Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday! We're rolling all three shopping events into 4 days of savings and gifts!

Next week, we'll email out the details, but we've got a plan that we think y'all will like! We decided that this year, we're going to give a discount on almost everything on the website, and every order that meets a minimum value will also get a gift with purchase! Instead of giving everyone the same gift, we've got some cool and unique items picked out to put into packages!

We'll share the sale details here on the socials next Friday, but if you want to be first to know so you can shop first? Get on the email list!

And to anyone wondering... Yes! Cassie is revisiting the website over the next week to add some of our favorite non-kite items that would make great holiday gifts!

11/21/2024

Update - that was FAST! This kite has been claimed!

Our second kite for you today is a gorgeous 13' Flo Tail by Premier Kites. This kite is in very good flying condition (no visible damage, sand on the sail), but there is red dye transfer on one of the white sections (see second photo). It looks like it's only been flown a few times.

Link is in the comments to pick this up!

11/21/2024

Wow! Y'all have loved the tie dye! There's only one more XL shirt left, but the other sizes still have a good selection left. (Note to self - order twice as many xl shirts next time!)

Today, we've got a couple of previously loved single lines for you. First up is an 11' 3D Shark Kite! This kite is in very good flying condition (no visible damage). The 3D portion of shark mouth was folded in storage, so a few teeth have crease marks, but we refolded it to try to get those creases out!

We'll drop the link in the comments so you can pick this up!

Address

1159 Austin Street
Corolla, NC
27927

Opening Hours

Wednesday	11am - 4pm
Thursday	11am - 4pm
Friday	11am - 4pm
Saturday	11am - 4pm

Website

http://www.FlyingSmilesKites.com/

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Videos

Time for details on the Black Friday sale!

Come see a Friday afternoon kite shop visit!

Let's do a Saturday walk through!

Happy Tuesday! Let's do a shop walk!

Here's the video we filmed for the new quad line winders! They fit perfectly on your handles and make wrapping and unwrapping on the fly SUPER fast! We'll drop a link to the product page on our website in the comments! #flyingsmiles #flyingsmileskites #kiteshop #nostalgia #originalmeshquad #familytime #outerbanks #vacationtime #corollanc #worldwidewindtribe #shoplocal #shopsmallbusiness #familybusiness #shopfamilyowned #goodvibes #custommade #goflyakite #kiteshopswag #peaceloveandkites

Saturday walk through! Updates on shop hours, plans for the website, and a visit to the single lines!

I'm gonna need to practice the unboxing video concept, but here's Frank! I'm gonna update the website now. Watch for a post in about half an hour that Frank is available for purchase! 💜🪁💜