05/14/2026
Thanks to our friends at the AKA! And thanks to all of you for the great memories over the past 46 years!
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐:
For many of us, the name ๐๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ has always simply been there.
Long before websites, Facebook groups, and online shopping, there were kite festivals, AKA Kiting magazines, mail-order catalogsโฆ and Into The Wind.
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ญ๐ต๐ด๐ฌ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐, Into The Wind grew from a small kite shop into one of the most recognizable names in American kiting. If you flew kites in the 1980s or 1990s, chances are you remember their catalogs arriving in the mail. Many of us flipped through those pages over and over again -- like a Sears catalog, circling dream kites, discovering new designs, learning about line sets, wind ranges, stunt kites, giant inflatables, and the rapidly expanding world of modern kiting.
And hereโs something younger fliers may not realizeโฆ
Back in the โold days,โ before the internet, there was something called the Yellow Pages โ thick phone books delivered to homes across America. Businesses fought for visibility there, and Into The Wind seemed to advertise in nearly every directory in the country. No matter where you lived, you saw their name under 'KITES'. ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ.
KiteLines magazine โ edited for decades by Valerie Govig โ helps document just how long Into The Wind has been part of the American kite scene. As far back as the early 1980s, the company appears not only in advertisements, but in reports about local kite festivals and community events in Boulder. Through the pages of KiteLines, you can actually watch the company grow alongside modern American kiting itself โ from early mail-order catalogs to one of the most recognizable names in the hobby.
But what may be even more impressive is this: ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ.
Through changing trends, through the rise and fall of kite crazes, through the transition from printed catalogs to websites and social media, Into The Wind kept showing up. Issue after issue. Year after year.
The broader kite community recognized that dedication in 2012 when Into The Wind co-founder George Emmons received the ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ . ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ โ one of AKAโs highest honors, presented for outstanding service to the organization and the advancement of kiting. It was a fitting recognition for someone whose company had already spent decades helping connect kitefliers across America through festivals, catalogs, education, retail support, and a deep, ongoing commitment to the community itself.
For decades, Into The Wind has also supported the American Kitefliers Association with full-page color advertising in Kiting magazine โ helping support the publication that arrives in our mailboxes four times each year.
That matters.
Because companies like Into The Wind are not just retailers. They are part of the infrastructure of kiting. They helped connect isolated kitefliers before online communities existed. They introduced countless people to their first real kite. They supported festivals, organizations, publications, and the broader kite community through both good years and difficult ones.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ โ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ท๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ.โ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐โฆ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น.
Today, their storefront on Pearl Street in Boulder remains one of the iconic kite destinations in America. People still describe walking into the store as an experience that makes them โfeel like a kid again.โ Others simply call it a must-visit stop whenever they are in Boulder. Surrounded this time of year by spring flowers and tulips, the storefront feels like a reminder that some things are still worth preserving in a fast-moving world.
So this Month, the AKA shines a spotlight on one of the longtime members and supporters of our extended kite family: Into The Wind.
https://intothewind.com/
๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ?
Maybe it was your first catalog.
Your first stunt kite.
A visit to the Boulder store.
A favorite purchase.
A festival connection.
Or simply seeing those famous ads in Kiting magazine year after year.
Share your memories and photos in the comments below. Letโs celebrate one of the companies that helped generations of kitefliers discover what it means to look up.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ โ George, Jim, every employee and your entire family, thank you for supporting AKA, and supporting Kiting magazine, and supporting the kite community for so many years.
- sf ๐
---
FURTHER READING:
https://www.kite.org/2012-george-emmons/
---
