Flying
High at Up, Up & Away Kites
Sunny
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When the wind kicks up during the last days of summer there’s
nothing more fun than flying a kite at the beach.
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel know just
where to go to find the best kites ever. From traditional, diamond-shape and
box kites…
to fanciful fish and even dragon kites...
the Up, Up & Away Kites shop in Seal
Beach has the perfect kite for you.
Located on 139 Main Street, just steps from the Seal
Beach Pier, Up, Up & Away Kites has every kind of kite you can imagine…and
more.
“We’ve got kites,
flags, toys, all the wind stuff…spinners and wind sox,” owner Jason Natanson exclaims, pointing out
the shop’s vast inventory.
You’ll find kites for kids and kites for the kid in you –
fun, easy, starter kites, advanced, “stunt” kites for competitive flyers and
all types of kites in between.
SurfWriter Girls couldn’t believe all the different types
of kites to choose from. There are Japanese fighting kites, trick kites, and
figure kites – from pirate ships to sharks – in an array of shapes and sizes.
And, to make sure the kites really do fly, the shop tests them first, says co-owner Melissa Natanson.
“We test every different kind of kite and know which ones
fly in which weather and are best for what age group. If a kite doesn’t fly we
send it back.”
Jason, who’s learned how to fly all the fancy kites and
do tricks with them, can often be spotted on the beach testing a kite or giving
a kite lesson.
He’s learned so much about kites since he and wife
Melissa bought Up, Up & Away Kites in August 2012 that he’s on the
committee helping the Pasadena Museum of
History to plan its Kites, Wings
& Other Flying Things exhibit scheduled for November 2013 thru April
2014.
To see the Natansons surrounded by all the colorful
kites, flags and toys, helping customers, and trying to find room for even more
merchandise on the jam-packed shelves or hanging from the ceiling, it’s hard to
picture them doing anything else.
But, running the kite shop wasn’t something they planned.
Melissa was a news anchor for NBC-TV in Bakersfield when
she decided she was ready for a change from pushing past CSI crime scene tape
and covering murder stories.
Plus she wanted to be closer to Southern California. So,
when she spotted a “Help Wanted” sign in the window of Up, Up & Away Kites
five years ago, she went inside and got the job. Later the owners offered to
sell her the shop and Melissa, with Jason on board as her partner, said “Yes.”
For Jason, who majored in business at the University of
Northern Colorado (UNC) and worked in marketing, taking over Up, Up & Away
Kites was just the right opportunity.
“Jason always
wanted to have his own business,” Melissa told SurfWriter Girls Sunny and
Patti. “Now he’s the Commander of the Kite Room. He flies, fixes, and teaches
people to fly kites.”
Melissa has put her reporter’s memory and international
relations degree from UNC to good use at the kite shop, too. Jason states
proudly, “There are 1,500 flags and she’s memorized all of them.” When it comes to knowing the shop’s inventory, “she’s
like an encyclopedia.”
Together the Natansons are the ideal ambassadors for kite
flying and eager to get people engaged in this activity that originated almost
3,000 years ago in China when silk fabrics stretched across bamboo frames were
sent soaring into the skies.
In addition to giving advice and helping customers to
pick out kites, they give free kite lessons on weekends and are involved with
the Up, Up & Away Kite Club and the annual Japan America Kite Festival, which will be held in Seal Beach on
October 20, 2013. This is truly an event to see since it is the largest kite
festival in Southern California.
“When people think of kites they think of flying them
when they were children,” says Jason. “That’s a shame. You should do it more.”
Melissa definitely agrees that kites are for people of
all ages. “We want everyone to come in here and be happy.”
To find out more about Up, Up & Away Kites, you can
call them at 562-596-7661 or visit their website at: Up, Up & Away Kites.
Then
pick out a kite… and let it fly!
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