Prism Kite Technology

Mark Reed

Competitive sailing, rock climbing, photography and building his own airplane round out a few of Mark Reed’s passions. Oh, and did I mention he designs award-winning kites and founded a little company called Prism Designs back in 1992? Yeah… that too.

With an artistic eye for striking designs and a patient attention to detail that would shame a Buddhist monk, Mark has been bringing innovative, unique, and, most of all, fun dual, quad and single-line designs to the kite world for over 17 years. His fascination with wind and flight keeps him away from a desk as much as possible, but from time to time he can be found fulfilling his duties as CEO - making strategic decisions, signing paychecks, or sweeping the warehouse floor.

Sandy Streeper

Sandy, our Business Manager and on-call river guide, navigates our operation on a clear course through the daily challenges and complications of a happening small business. There’s almost no job she hasn’t taken on to keep things running smoothly, and she has an exceptional talent for making those tough ‘executive decisions’ while letting Mark take all the credit. An all-around awesome gal and outdoor enthusiast, she took to kiting like a duck to water and makes sure our customers get the best products and service around.

Justin Edwards

Justin loves making things, and as our chief product manager it’s his job to get our stuff built and built right. When he’s not working in our factories to set up tooling and production processes, he’s tweaking our latest CAD model or prototyping next season’s new products (no, he’s not allowed to talk about ‘em). In his spare time he restores vintage mopeds and is currently building a custom bike to break the world moped speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Brent Carlson

Brent’s the guy to know if your kite ever ends up in a briar patch after being attacked by a pack of wild dogs. He handles repairs, spare parts, warranty issues, flight training, and pretty much anything you might encounter as you take your equipment through its paces. When he’s not messing with kites you’ll find him either in the gym or on his bike, training hard for yet another winning season on the road racing circuit.

Daniel Beltrá

Daniel's award-winning photojournalism has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, Time, Business Week, Der Spiegel, Geo, Paris Match, Stern, and many others. In 1990, he began his collaboration with Greenpeace and has become one of its main assignment photographers. He has documented expeditions to the Amazon, the Arctic, the Southern Oceans, the Patagonian Ice Fields, and many imperiled corners of the globe, while taking Prism kites to some of the most remote places on earth. When he’s not dangling from a helicopter or facing down venomous spiders in the jungle, Daniel recharges in Seattle and helps brainstorm our next kite and photo adventures. www.danielbeltra.com

Nick Martinez

Without Nick our daily operations would grind to a halt in a hurry. As shipping manager he handles the logistics and planning that get our products and materials to the right place at the right time, no small challenge for a company with customers and suppliers all around the world. As multi-talented outside the shop as he is at work, Nick plays more instruments than we can count and follows his passion for music as a composer and performer, managing his own record label and peforming regularly in four bands.

Ken Conrad

One of the kite industry’s early pioneers and a key man on our development team, Ken has been kiting since the early 70’s and opened Great Winds Kites, Seattle’s longest-running kite shop, in 1976. A passionate single-line kite artist and mad scientist at heart, his fascination with non-linear fractal mathematics led to his development of printing technology to produce the brilliant dye-sublimated patterns in the fabric of our Stowaway Diamond series.

Chris Buchanan

As our lead project manager, Chris navigates complicated supply chain logistics and schedules that make the rest of our heads hurt, and always seems to do it with time to spare. This is one gal who understands the critical path, and if you’re in it you’d better be on time and on budget. An avid cyclist, rock climber, pilot, and outdoor adventurer, she’s never too busy to stop for a cup of tea and a good book.

Jannie Anderson

With a lifetime in the film industry and a wagonload of awards, Jannie has seen more of the world through a lens than many of us will see in a lifetime. An avid kite pilot and utter perfectionist at anything she tackles, she’s got a rare eye for the design behind our products and a gift for conjuring light and shadow to reveal the spirit within. Jannie’s imagery has become part of the soul of the company over the years and she awes us regularly with her vision.

Phil McConnachie

Check out Phil’s brilliant designs and you’ll have to conclude that some folks are just wired a little differently. Kite designer since the age of eight and proprietor of Australia’s oldest and largest specialty kite shop, Phil is known around the world for his outrageous and ingenious flying creations. His latest work, the EO (Expandable Object) series of tumbling box kites, is our hottest single kite line-up and Phil is hard at work on more new ideas. When he’s not traveling to festivals, teaching kitemaking to kids, or running his store, he can be found ripping it up on a kiteboard in the shark-infested waters off Adelaide. Visit his shop if you’re in the neighborhood or go to: www.kitefactory.com.au

Scobie Puchtler

Co-founder of Prism and friends since childhood with Mark Reed, Scobie’s passion for things that fly is matched only by his prodigious talent for finding elegant, out-of-the-box solutions to the most challenging design problems— not a bad guy to have on the team. A fellow private pilot, woodworker, and musician, he continues to play a creative role at Prism while designing and manufacturing high performance radio-controlled gliders for his latest company, Liftworx. Check them out at www.liftworx.com

Team Cutting Edge

If you’re new to kiting or live in a cave, you may not have heard of Team Cutting Edge. But everyone who’s been involved in kites over the years can sure tell you who they are: Two-Time World Champions. To say that we’re proud of these guys is an understatement. Jim Barber, Rick Wolcott and Jerry Cannon (Team Cutting Edge) flew their custom Quantum Pro’s in back-to-back World Championship titles 2005-2006, a first in world level competition. In the process, they worked closely with Mark Reed on the development of the QPro to make it the best competition kite in the world. Want proof? Stop by the Cutting Edge Kite Shop in Ocean Shores, WA and check out the big, shiny trophies while Jim sets you up with the latest and greatest new gear. www.cuttingedgekites.com

Ron Kramer

Pro photographer, videographer, web guru, and sport kite fanatic, Ron doesn’t get into anything halfway. Our on-call source for great photography, video, and many of the training tools on the website, Ron has the speed of a leopard and the tenacity of a Chihuahua when it comes to solving technical problems. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he and his wife Joy have run a high-end portrait studio for more than 30 years. www.houseofphotography.com

John Welden

John has a brilliant mind for design and mechanics matched only by his talent for running the CNC machines that let him realize his ideas. A gifted kite pilot as well, he brings our brainstorming sessions to life with out-of-the-box concepts that keep our products and manufacturing on the cutting edge of innovation, then uses his prodigious skills as a machinist to create the prototypes we test in the real world. At Prism, building impossibly cool stuff is the fun part of our job, and for John that’s just another day in the shop. See one of his personal projects at: www.johnwelden.com

Jeremy Wilson

Jeremy has an infectious enthusiasm for everything he does, so it’s no wonder that when he was bitten by the kiting bug he couldn’t help but pass that energy on to everyone he meets. Prism ambassador, accomplished private pilot, gifted teacher, and pied-piper for anything with wings, if he’s at the park you won’t pass by without him putting a kite in your hand and a grin on your face.

Tom Windham

Talented graphic designers are hard to find, never mind ones who have been flying kites their whole lives. Our go-to man for graphic and web design, Tom was marketing director for Dagger Kayaks for 7 years before starting his own company to serve clients who share his interests in a wide range of outdoor sports. Tom’s sense of color and proportion complements our products beautifully, and he’s never short on fresh ideas or the energy to make them happen. Check out his firm at: www.windhamdesigns.com