Abigail Kempe started making Bermuda kites as a kid with her dad, Toby.

Once she was old enough to do it on her own, she set a challenge of making “really big ones” and was thrilled when they actually flew.

And then she really got serious about it.

One of her designs greets travellers at LF Wade International Airport. She has made five this year, they are all on display at Alexander Mosher Studio Jewellery, the design store she works for that sits on the corner of Par-la-Ville Road and Front Street.

“I’ve always done one a year but then this year I wanted to be able to display some so I made five and they are on display at Alexandra Mosher. There’s a whale, a cedar sprig, a palm tree, a kite and a bee.”

The 2½ft “roundies” are “slightly smaller” than the kites she typically makes. Two of her larger kites are also on display, one decorated with a Gombey, the other a fish.

Ms Kempe, who has worked at Alexandra Mosher “for a long while”, said she approached the jeweller about doing an exhibit and she gave her the green light.

“She loved the idea. And so they’ll be up until mid-May. She thought it was a great idea to give me a space to be able to show them. She just loved the idea of doing that for me.”

Ms Kempe began making “more complicated kites” in around 2016.

“The first one flew and I've flown one more since then, but then, because I was making 4ft roundies they were too big for me to fly and then it became something where I put so much work into them I ended up just hanging them up.

“And so when the airport was having a competition for kite designs in 2019, I think, I submitted that one and they picked it! It was the first big one that I made. It looks like a wave. And that design is one of, I believe, the ten kite designs they picked that are hanging at the airport.”

Her love of kites is such that she has “a big kite tattoo” on her leg. She is disappointed that young people today don’t seem to be as interested as she is in keeping the Bermuda tradition alive.

“I’ve found that kids are not making kites the way they used to. I enjoy the challenge and I enjoy doing it – but only at this time of year. I think trying to do something like this year round, I would get sick of it. But I love gearing up at this time of year and getting excited to make one although this year with five, that was obviously a bit extreme making that many.

“But I'm hoping that people see them and potentially get inspired to make their own. It’s just a part of Bermuda tradition that I love and I fear that it's getting lost a little.”

The five kites took her about three weeks to make. The one she intends to fly tomorrow will be “smaller, with a simpler design”.

“I find I enjoy the making process more whereas guys seem to enjoy the challenge of flying them more. I will fly one of the kites I have on exhibit at the studio one day. I like the idea of flying my ‘kite’ kite, but it's going to happen in May when they come down.

“They tend to be more works of art. I have nothing against flying them – I like the idea that kites don't last for ever; I like the idea that it's something that I make. They're made to be flown, they're made to be part of Good Friday. To see everyone's kite designs out, I love that. It's just that mine tend to take me so long to make, I end up wanting to enjoy them a little bit.”

The one thing she is certain about is that there won’t be a “birdie” at the end of her string.

“We don't do plastic,” Ms Kempe said.