Interview with Frank Schwiemann

„My Kites Should Work from a Great Distance and Shape the Sky.“

Interview with kite designer Frank Schwiemann.

How did you first get interested in kites?

I remember flying kites often as a child with my parents. One was a plastic kite with an eagle design, and there was also a kite shaped like a plane with spinning wings. That one reminds me of a wonderful holiday at the North Sea coast.

The real turning point came later, on the Rheinwiese in Düsseldorf. There I saw my first stunt kite, making big circles in the sky and producing crazy sounds. I wanted that too, and soon after, I visited a kite shop for the first time. After that came years where I spent all my money on materials and sewing machines, and all my time building every kind of kite I could think of.

I quickly met other kite enthusiasts and started traveling to kite festivals around the world to show my own kite designs. I also soaked up the many different kite cultures, shapes, and ideas like a sponge. I had found my own theme, a space where my creativity could be free. I tried out as much as possible, especially experimenting with unusual materials and shapes.

I thought a lot about what a kite means to me and what it represents in the sky: it’s about „shaping the airspace“. One part of that is that my kites should work well even from far away. That’s how the Pyrodelta was born. It’s a large, classic delta kite with two very long, flowing tails. Very simple, all in white, but a striking sight in the sky. This design is perfect for night flights and fireworks shows. With a whole group of them, you can make a real statement in the sky.

What I find fascinating is that the simpler something is, the more room it gives the viewer’s imagination. The Pyrodelta has many names: veil-tail, ghost, ghost-delta, and more. Everyone can see something different in it.

What else do you work on?

During my design studies, it quickly became clear that I had already found my material and my style. Everything I create relates to lightweight construction, just like in kite building. Together with Christine, I first organized kite exhibitions for museums, where we showed traditional kites alongside modern artistic kites. That meant thinking about how kites move into indoor spaces, and how to present them in a way that’s both striking and true to their nature. A bit later, we started our company, airformance design, which designs and creates fabric objects for events, theater, music shows, TV, and trade fair displays.

What do you value most in your design work?

Working closely with materials is very important to me. Many of my kites and objects only came about because I experimented with the material and gave chance a real role in the process. Giving color, shape, and movement their own space – I love that!