At The Highwaymen, we supply ripstop nylon / polyester and carbon fibre frames to all sorts of customers.
One really interesting customer was the special effects company in charge of producing one of the Actimel drink adverts.
On this job we had to quote for enough cloth to build a 12ft high strawberry and some giant green vitamins.
Check out the results here
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Portsmouth Kite Festival
At the end of last month, August Bank Holiday, Southsea Common in Portsmouth held it's annual International Kite Festival.
We supported the event as we have done for the last 18 years, setting up our 30ft frontage stall and putting on a fantastic display of colourful kites for all ages and levels of ability.
Since this festival was the last one on our 2012 calendar we decided to bring a selection of our ripstop materials and also the full range of carbon fibre and fibre glass. This is really handy for us since some of our customers we only see at these events. And also it gives our new customers that we've never met, the opportunity to browse our products and have that touch and feel experience that just isn't available online.
Having dedicated one quarter of the stall to the materials and a large cutting table, we were able to get so many more kites repaired and back in the sky. Not to mention the countless re-framing jobs, most memorable of all was Alec Elliot's gigantic L.E.D covered delta. Wing span at a guess 15ft ?! It took over the entire end of the stall!
Portsmouth International Kite Festival 2012 from philmantuk on Vimeo.
Video Thanks to Phil Mant
The Highwaymen
01455 230 736
We supported the event as we have done for the last 18 years, setting up our 30ft frontage stall and putting on a fantastic display of colourful kites for all ages and levels of ability.
Since this festival was the last one on our 2012 calendar we decided to bring a selection of our ripstop materials and also the full range of carbon fibre and fibre glass. This is really handy for us since some of our customers we only see at these events. And also it gives our new customers that we've never met, the opportunity to browse our products and have that touch and feel experience that just isn't available online.
Having dedicated one quarter of the stall to the materials and a large cutting table, we were able to get so many more kites repaired and back in the sky. Not to mention the countless re-framing jobs, most memorable of all was Alec Elliot's gigantic L.E.D covered delta. Wing span at a guess 15ft ?! It took over the entire end of the stall!
Portsmouth International Kite Festival 2012 from philmantuk on Vimeo.
Video Thanks to Phil Mant
The Highwaymen
01455 230 736
Special Builds
This season has been really busy for us on our mail order.. it was half to be expected since we've done so much work on the website in the last 12 months.
But the mail order isn't just it for us - there doesn't seem to be any kite shops and makers with the knowledge, and capacity to make specific bits to order. This is where we've picked up on a lot of trade this year.
British Airways Olympic Themed Campaign - The framework has been created out of carbon fibre, bungee, and dyneema bridle line... letters were laser cut and then stitched by us over night into the early hours. Twin needle sewing for authentic detail... a lot of effort but the job looked great and BA used the work - we saw the ad in The Guardian!
Defected In The House - Defected wanted a series of four kites making in totally custom colours and printed graphics. These were for promotional purposes, and have been flying on the beaches of Ibiza every weekend since
Math Giant Triangles - Our latest project build was to create 84 giant triangles for creating geometric shapes in funky colours and quirky designs - Classroom activities generally involve students making shapes themselves, with a small number of triangles to start, using trial and error and discovery as they build in teams. Like with a puzzle, they are not given fixed procedural instructions as to what to fix where. They learn from the experience of building as a collaborative problem solving activity which develops their awareness of geometric features. They also experience shapes, and can examine their properties, from both the inside and the outside.
If you need to speak to us about creating a one off design or light weight structure then see our website and give us a call on 01455 230 736
Take a look at our Facebook page and keep in touch with us here
But the mail order isn't just it for us - there doesn't seem to be any kite shops and makers with the knowledge, and capacity to make specific bits to order. This is where we've picked up on a lot of trade this year.
British Airways Olympic Themed Campaign - The framework has been created out of carbon fibre, bungee, and dyneema bridle line... letters were laser cut and then stitched by us over night into the early hours. Twin needle sewing for authentic detail... a lot of effort but the job looked great and BA used the work - we saw the ad in The Guardian!
Defected In The House - Defected wanted a series of four kites making in totally custom colours and printed graphics. These were for promotional purposes, and have been flying on the beaches of Ibiza every weekend since
Triumph - One of our local friends and printers urgently needed help with some banners he needed to make for Triumph Motorcycles. The deadline was for an hour later than we were first asked about the work. Yes... we got it sorted!
If you need to speak to us about creating a one off design or light weight structure then see our website and give us a call on 01455 230 736
Take a look at our Facebook page and keep in touch with us here
Introducing System 30
Exel Composites’ System 30 offer a self-assembly system for building frameworkds and lightweight structures for a wide range of applications. The lightweight structures are combination of glassfibre tubes 30/26mm (1.18"/1.02”) and wide variety of connectors made of injection-moulded plastic. These non-corroding structures can be utilized both outdoors and indoors.. they are non conductive, and do not react to temperature changes in the same way that common metal frames do.
The most common use for System 30 is for creating banner frames.. This range of connectors allows the user to assemble a huge range of shapes and structures. From the example here of the Swiss banner, to vertical structures with printed banners all round, and illumination on the inside. Versatile is the word you're looking for!
Some of our recent customers are using it to trial some flexible scientific isolator containment tents, and also for building wheel barrows that will not interfere with metal detection on archaeological sites.
We've been using it ourselves for a client who has asked us to create a one off photography hide that needs to be effectively a storm/bomb proof temporary building.
Take a look at the range of connectors here
The Highwaymen
01455 230 736
Some of our recent customers are using it to trial some flexible scientific isolator containment tents, and also for building wheel barrows that will not interfere with metal detection on archaeological sites.
We've been using it ourselves for a client who has asked us to create a one off photography hide that needs to be effectively a storm/bomb proof temporary building.
Take a look at the range of connectors here
The Highwaymen
01455 230 736
Want ripstop sail cloth cheaper?
Several months ago in The Highwaymen office we decided we needed to get a better supply of Ripstop Kite and Sail cloth in.. and most importantly we wanted access to it on the same day that we get a customer enquiry. It's not easy to find, but after much digging... we found our product.
It's a 57g/m² 1st quality Ripstop Polyester - this cloth has all the traits that kite flyers and model makers need, but since it's now in a Polyester, rather than Nylon, there's a new reason to consider the cloth. Dye-Sublimation Printing - Basically it's perfect for photo quality printing on a large size! Should you need anything printing specifically for a job, then please let us know.
We also did some work with a major house music record label and built them a series of large sled kites that had custom colours and printing involved. Typically they wanted it "yesterday" and there was three of us working late nights to get the work completed, but we made the deadline! This is one of the four kites being flown in Ibiza doing it's job nicely.
If you need any work doing that requires specialist knowledge, sewing skills, or light weight carbon frame work solutions please visit our website for more information
Price wise it's still the cheapest cloth that we offer, and because of our new fantastic supply that we have discovered, we can offer these in roll quantities of 120m with a massive discount! See here for prices and availabilty
Latest update for The Highwaymen Kite and Spares Specialists
As you can imagine we've had some teething problems... for instance, our mail order screen was unable to find any new products that we had made available. That, and also our internet connection being more temperamental than our summer weather.
For many of our customers who use the phone, you will no doubt have been greeted with "Hello, Ben speaking...", he's our latest team member. Ben started with us at the beginning of July and has been pretty much dealing with all of our mail order and phone enquiries. Ben has come from a very different back ground to kites, but his knowledge and practicality for finding solutions to our customers' challenges is fantastic.
Should you need anything, or need any advice on framing, light weight structures, or technical fabrics please give one of us a call in the office and we shall help you out. Alternatively please see our website www.thehighwaymen.co.uk for our full range of products and services.
The Highwaymen
Telephone : 01455 230 736 or 01455 234 728
Email : sales@thehighwaymen.co.uk
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