This is John.  John comes to us twice a week while he works on his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at Western Washington University.  He mostly helps us cut carbon and move things around, but it’s sure nice knowing that there is a computer expert in the room.

This is Derrick.  Derrick technically has a full-time job across the parking lot at a screenprinting company, but he likes us better, so he comes over to help out when he can.  He’s been a great help cutting carbon and keeping us entertained with riddles.

We are fortunate at Goodwinds to have some of the best employees in the world.

We set up a marvelous booth with the focus on ourselves and our two computers – after all, porting endless amounts of carbon and fiberglass rods and tubes to the show was inadvisable, and the kite stores and manufacturers know all about our products without needing to see them.  We demonstrated the ease of ordering through Goodwinds.com, but the most fun and important part of the trip was putting faces to names and building relationships with our valued customers.

Not only do we provide carbon, fiberglass, connectors, flying line, fabric, tapes, and other kite parts to kite retailers for repairs and kite building, but we also supply several manufacturers with carbon and fiberglass as raw materials.

We had a great time, and we enjoyed meeting some of the greats in the kiting industry.  In two weeks, we’ll head to the NW Model Hobby Expoin Monroe, Washington, and we plan to attend iHobby in Illinois in October.  Not to mention the American Kitefliers Association’s convention in Seaside, Oregon in October and perhaps the Washington Kiteflier’s Association Fort Worden event in March.  Phew!  It’s going to be a busy year.  Perhaps we’ll see you at a show?

While we haven’t seen the below freezing temperatures of most of the country these past weeks, we have been hit with rain, howling wind, flood advisories, and the winter blues up here in Mount Vernon, Washington.  Fortunately, the Kite Trade Association International’s trade show in Primm (outside of Las Vegas) is next week, and we’re going to give our bones a chance to warm up.  We’ll be out of the office from Tuesday through Friday, January 19 through 22, but we will answer emails and return urgent phone calls.  We will have limited capacity to ship orders, so be sure to tell us if you need something right away.

If you’re planning to attend KTAI, we would love to meet you.  It’s always great to put faces to names, and we look forward to learning more about the kiting industry and seeing all the ways in which the carbon we supply is used in the industry.

And, hey, it’s Roger’s birthday on January 20th!  He’ll be sixty years old, and Leland and I are planning on celebrating dad’s six awesome decades with an extra day in Las Vegas.  We’re going to let him choose all the activities, which means we’ll be going to every car museum and eating loads of buffet food.  A great time!  Happy birthday, dad.

But what is it, exactly?  Are there different types of carbon rods and tubes?  How are they made?

Carbon rods and tubes are made up of carbon fibers (mostly carbon molecules bonded together and woven or twisted to form a long fiber or fabric) that are pultruded (or pulled) through a resin that binds the fibers together (called a composite, because of the two products).  The fibers are uni-directional, or all oriented in the same direction, the length of the rod or tube.  This creates an especially high strength-to-weight ratio, which is what makes carbon rods and tubes popular choices for a variety of applications.  The properties of carbon fiber are high tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion.

The resins used on the carbon rods and tubes that Goodwinds buys are epoxy and vinylester. Vinylester resins form a chain of molecules around the carbon fibers to essentially “wrap” the rods and tubes.  Epoxy, on the other hand, forms a sticky “weave” of molecules around the fibers to bind them together.  The properties of the vinylester and epoxy carbon rods and tubes that Goodwinds sells are close enough that for kiting purposes, they might as well be the same.  However, in many industrial purposes, the added strength of the epoxy “weave” is important. In the near future, we will be denoting the vinylester and epoxy rods and tubes as separate in our catalogue so that, should you have specific requirements, you can make an informed choice.  Watch for that change soon!

Goodwinds purchases carbon rods and tubes from an American manufacturer, Diversified Structural Composites, in large quantities – we are then able to sell smaller quantities to wholesale and retail customers alike.  We keep lots of carbon stock on-hand to make sure you can always get what you need, and we are able to offer attractive quantity discounts.

You might have also noticed that we offer tapered and/or wrapped carbon tubes.  Tapered carbon tubes are just that – the tube changes diameters from one end to another.  This is useful for archery arrows, some kites, and R/C sailboats, for example.  All of the tapered tubes we sell are wrapped tubes, but not all wrapped tubes are tapered.

Wrapped carbon tubes are created by wrapping carbon fiber tape around a mandril and then binding it with epoxy or vinylester.  Wrapped carbon tubes can be tapered or straight and are extremely light – the carbon wall is much thinner than that of pultruded carbon tubes and has more torsional strength.  We sell two brandsof wrapped and tapered carbon: SkyShark and G-Force.  Wrapped carbon tubes are used in archery arrows, kites, sailboats, and other hobby purposes.

We would love to talk to you about your carbon needs.  In many cases, fiberglass rods and tubes are a lower-cost alternative to carbon, but they are heavier and more flexible.  Give us a call and we’ll help you choose!

Who are we?  Well, if the “about us” page of our site didn’t give you enough information, then here you go:

My brother, Leland, and I purchased Goodwinds (with a little help from our parents) in 2008.  I was still working at the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce for a time, and my brother and dad got the business moved up to Mount Vernon from Seattle.  You see, Goodwinds is a spinoff from Goodwinds Kite Store, owned by Kathy Goodwinds (great person and a great kitemaker).  She and her son, Todd, ran a small parts business out of a back room of her retail shop.  Originally, they had ordered all sorts of parts and pieces for making kites, and quickly found out that a kitemaking “general store” was just what the industry needed.  They expanded to include lots of different manufacturers’ pieces and lots of carbon and fiberglass, but Todd eventually wanted to move on and Kathy wanted to get back to her roots in the kite store business, which is now called Gasworks Park Kite Store.

Leland and Buster, Greatest Dog Ever

We saw quickly, through our connections in the kite business (Leland and I grew up in Long Beach, Washington, and our mom is the Chair of the Washington State International Kite Festival) that this would be a great business to own and build upon, and my brother was looking for a way to build his business acumen, having recently graduated from Central Washington University.

The first big change was to a bigger warehouse space – and then, within six months, we moved again, to an even bigger space!  We have expanded our stock to be able to supply LARP merchants and players, hobby stores, various industrial applications, luthiers, and kiters.  We source carbon and fiberglass directly from American manufacturers and have found that our ability to buy these materials in quantity and inexpensively means that our customers get great deals.

I had a baby boy in November of 2008 and made the decision to move from my full-time job to a more flexible (if not less time) position as a partner in Goodwinds in early 2009.  We have been working hard ever since, trying to even out inventory, make connections in the various industries we serve, and have a little fun at the same time.

Charles, Amelia, and Tony in August, 2009

In addition to my family, I am an avid reader and an aspiring chef.  I try to find the time to run with my big dog, Buster, but most of my days are spent enjoying my family and bringing up baby Charles.  My husband, a CPA, is also a partner in Goodwinds and guides me through the bookkeeping.  My mom and dad still work with us on Goodwinds all the time, my dad claiming that it is “the most fun he’s ever had in business.”  He’s a little bit crazy, though. 

Leland spends a lot of his time trying to make Goodwinds the best possible business.  He is quite customer-focused, but he also likes to sleep in.  In his off time, he rides his road bicycle long distances in the beautiful Skagit Valley, and watches Seahawks football or Mariners baseball, depending on the season.  It’s a good thing that our UPS man, Garrett, knows a lot about sports – he and Leland rehash football like nobody’s business.

Ahh, yes, and you’re likely to talk to our dad, Roger, or mom, Jane here on occasion.  They are pretty fun people and try to help out when they can.  Suprisingly, they are quite busy these days, even though they are retired from their former careers as hotel owner/operators in Long Beach.  They spend lots of time helping out at their local Humane Society, where they are both on the board of directors, and they have hobbies galore.  We sure enjoy it when they come to visit.