ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608190076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER
KITES AREN'T CHILD'S PLAY for James Ervin. The Bedford man has turned his hobby into a business.
When Holly Ervin tells her husband to "go fly a kite," she means it.
Literally.
"I love kites, and that's it," James Ervin said. "They are the greatest joy in the world."
James Ervin was making and flying kites long before he married Holly two years ago. Although she's learning to fly kites, "I haven't picked up the bug yet."
Making and flying kites is "like trying to describe a new color," said Ervin, who spends about four hours a night in his basement working on them.
"Kites are a vehicle for creativity. They weren't things until I made them.
His life revolves around kites. Most days he leaves his job as Bedford's supervisor of parks, cemeteries and horticulture shortly after 4 p.m. and goes home to work on his kites until about 10 p.m. For the next hour or until Holly calls him, he's on his computer. He doesn't watch television, except to view a video on kite flying.
Ervin makes between seven and 10 kites a month. Each takes six to eight hours, and Ervin said he can only do about three a week "without losing a great amount of sleep."
He has won awards for kite flying, but now he is concentrating on construction. He and a couple of friends regularly spend Sunday afternoons flying kites.
Earlier this summer, Ervin won first place for his design of a Rokkaku, a Japanese fighter kite, in a competition in Rhode Island. He has about 100 kites, most of them custom-made, and he often trades with other hobbyists.
Kites, to the 31-year-old Ervin, are like computer games to kids: "You get one that's your favorite, and then you move on."
He spent $4,000 for a sewing machine to make his kites, but he can't sew an article of clothing. He also started his own business, Blue Ridge Kites, and has personalized license plates - KITE VAN - a World Wide Web site and an e-mail address - BLUEKITESxc2inmind.com - to publicize his catalog.
He enjoys giving demonstrations and quick lessons on the types of kites and the materials and fabrics - enthusiasts don't use wood anymore - needed to make one. He incorporates Northwest Coast Native American and traditional Japanese art into his designs.
He uses industry publications and computer programs to keep abreast of the latest in rod equipment and kite fabric.
In his catalog, he describes the Cathedral kite as "two panels of grace" and the Creature as "a small and lightning-fast creation."
If the American Kite Flyers Association has a competition within a 12-hour drive of Bedford, Ervin will be there; he attends at least two events a month. Sometimes, Holly, a bird and dog lover, travels with him.
Ervin said his stepfather, an engineer, tried to encourage him to get a technical education, but he majored in international affairs and adult education at Florida State University. And, although he has a tendency to agree with his stepfather, he said he has learned more with his hands-on approach.
"I wanted to make kites, so I bought a sewing machine. I learned to cuss a lot."
If sewing becomes an engineering thing, Ervin said, "I can figure it out.''
"I don't see myself as having a good eye for color," says Ervin, but Holly, who handles the business end of Blue Ridge Kites, helps.
After their marriage, Holly, an insurance agent, encouraged him to spend more time on his craft. "It was something he wanted. I try to do a lot of other stuff so he can go," she says of Ervin's travels to shows.
Although Ervin had about a $6,000 net loss on Blue Ridge Kites last year, he maintains kite-making is a hobby that "supports itself with a little help."
It's "a good home craft that we approach from an artistic standpoint. If wise, you break even; if foolish, you lose," Ervin said.
He said his job with the city of Bedford is flexible and enjoyable. He's somewhat of a computer whiz for the city and has sponsored kite shows and a computer club.
Ervin wants to fly kites until the day he dies. He said that when he retires, "I hope I get known well enough that I will be invited to [kite] shows. I would love to have a retirement made up of traveling around to shows."
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Stafif. 1. James Ervin flies a sport kiteby CNB(above) at Liberty Park in Bedford last Sunday. The enthusiast
builds most of his kites and owns a business called Blue Ridge
Kites. 2. He constructed this Rokkaku (right), a six-sided Japanese
fighter kite. color.