Okay, here comes another country chiming in (oh wait a minute, I'm a native Quebecer)... and I've enjoyed "How It's Made" very often.
This has been a thread with quite a lot of rumor in it and I'll try to -not- introduce any more.
First... I thought the segment was pretty decently done. Unfortunately, it clearly comes across with the feeling of advertising as it only focuses on one manufacturer and states prices and trade names. That is not unusual for HIM, but I never noticed it before because I wasn't being critical.
Since they collected all of their information from the same source (presumably that seamstress or her employer or both) they're materials list and names are not general; they are specific to that maker and model.
According to
HIMs site (Series 5 - Episode 65), the kite maker is:
La Cerf-VolanterieA phone call to the shop earlier this year established that the business moved from the Old Port section of my city (Montreal... that's my home) to the East End a few years ago and has closed down in the last couple of years.
I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that the woman in the video is the owner/operator and her name is listed at MadeInMtl as Celine Henry.
I think my pal Jambo101 has a kite from her shop and I'll try to steer him to this thread.
When I started in the hobby in July, I surveyed the local kite scene and have found
Normand Girard (see Norm Design) who is pivotal in our city's kite culture. If you want to know what Celine is up to, I bet Normand could connect you with her.
"Nocks" in french are called "
Encoches"; I would consider the translational error of that detail to be the producer's and not the kite maker's. It's an interesting point to note that the use of the French language in my province contains many, many, many imprecise terms and anglicisms... that being the case, it is possible that Mme Henry may have mentioned arrows in her description to the HIM (purely conjecture on my part).
