NEW PURCHASE

Found the cutest little vintage shop close to my work... I'm for sure going back there. So many little finds to be found. Sure, so I was browsing, and then something just caught my eye cause it pretty much had my name on it. Actually, on the tag were the initials "R.T". A "T" is close enough to an "H" right? So, I bought it instantly. Well, no, I went to contemplate the purchase over a drink in the nearby creepy side-alley bar full of stray cats (which makes it hipsterycool) first, then purchased it. Either way, don't you love it? Doesn't it just say "R.H"?

Yeah, it's pretty cute. And a little pointy, so I've stabbed myself a couple times already. But it's worth it. I wonder how many crane-themed artifacts I will own by the time I die...

Oh, and in conclusion: vintage stores next to secret-full-of-stray-cat bars are going to get my business. I'm much more willing to fork over some of my precious cash for something awesome after a rum and coke.

UNPHOTOGENIC

Sometimes you just come across models that are simply unphotogenic. I mean, this thing's got plenty of fun geometry going for it, I just couldn't seem to capture it. Here it is anyways, a Cookie Cutter Dodecahedron by Victoria Babinsky. Five units come together to form a star. Between the points of each star, three units come together to form an inverted corner of a cube. Hopefully you can see for yourself in these messy-looking photos...

GEOMETRIC DICTIONARY

Simply put: I'm in love. I want these so bad, hung three in a row in my future dream home. I don't think I have to explain why either.

Lim Siang Ching's got way more up her sleeve too so check it out.

INTERSECTING PLANES

One of my first posts on this blog was a model of five intersecting pyramids. Intersecting polyhedra are really popular in origami, but so are intersecting planes. Both are daunting tasks, but I thought, I've already tried one so I may as well try the other, right? See what it's all about. Here's my first attempt: a TUVWXYZ star by Meenakshi Mukerji. Seven six-pointed stars intersect each other. Magical!

The coolest part of the model is that all seven points never fully intersect at one point. In the first image, six of the seven star points are intersecting but you can see one star is not (in that case, it's the light blue one). Yeah, I thought that was pretty funky.

ROBO-GAMI

What else can I say other than... Damn, this is cool.

OMEGA STARS

Cute and easy. Six sheets, eight creases each. That's it. They make me think of something galactic. I like 'em! John Montroll's Omega Star model.

I kept throwing them around since they're pretty sturdy... So tried to capture a shot. Too bad my camera sucks and this is the best I could get. 

ORISHIKI

Another thing to add to my wish list. I've wanted this for ages now but kind of forgot about it until recently. It's just such a beautiful idea. The name Orishiki comes from (ori)gami, the art of paper folding, and furo(shiki), the Japanese traditional wrapping cloth used to transport objects. The metaphor works so well. Please, can I has?

This delicious fashion treat by Naoki Kawamoto. I'm slightly in looooove.

PENTAGONS VS. TRIANGLES

Yup, more lovely geometry to drool over. Or at least I did, just a little. Rotate model: pentagon. Rotate model: triangle. Just another great icosahedron model to add to the collection. This one by Lewis Simon and Bennett Arnstein.

Some other interesting things... When I first saw the completed model, I didn't expect the units to look so rectangular. Sometimes you can't tell how the single unit is going to transform into the final result, so I guess I found this one extra weird/special. And, I thought the inside of the model looked pretty cool too while I was putting it together.

TOTORIGAMI

That's right. Two of my fondest things collide in this post. Sadly, my strengths lie more in creating geometric/modular forms rather than representational figures... So I can safely say this isn't my best work and it's actually got quite a few proportional issues. But it was still fun, so too bad! I highly suggest any Miyazaki fans reading this to go forth and fold a paper Totoro to add to your  little corner of Ghibli bits and bobs (because I know you'd have one if you're a fan).

PS, this post is dedicated to my little sister who turns 19 today. Happy birthday, you curly haired ruffian!

Japan, 2007

SERIOUS NERDGASM

I'm dying. These two videos are mind-blowing. And are fantastically opposite from each other. Nerd out a little and enjoy.

Self-folding origami using ink and light:

Self-unfolding origami using water and capillary action:

Flottille (detail) from Etienne Cliquet on Vimeo.

NATURAL CURVES

Something as simple as a few diagonal and horizontal folds can create the most interesting natural curvature in a flat sheet of paper. It's basically just a crease pattern of X's and some horizontal lines. How simple is that? I experimented with dividing the paper into 8ths, then 16ths. The 8ths proved to be the perfect number, while the 16ths were actually very tricky as the paper starts to try and curl into itself.

The next step is to stretch and compress the crease pattern by folding on papers with different dimensions (these were done on square sheets) and see how those turn out. Hurray, another glorious technique from Paul Jackson's Folding Techniques for Product Designers.

SHEISSE!

Ze Germans!! Zey have done it. A beautiful folded installation called Wandern im Wissen. It's just a simple fold technique, but enlarged and used as a projection screen. And I love eet! Scheiße!

 

Watch this video. It's in German, but you can kind of get the gist of how neat it is. Or read more here. Or watch this 8 minute video of colours and lights. Or get off the computer and go fold something. I don't know, it's up to you.

SPEAKING OF TOMOKO...

Very Tomoko inspired pyyyyyramids!

Fred Butler A/W11 from REZMAG on Vimeo.

TOMOKO x 36

My latest venture makes me think of a  cross between star fish and sea cucumber. That's basically all there is to say about the matter. 

Except, I guess I could also mention that I enjoy how this particular model isn't spherical but more cylindrical (which gives it that sea cucumber-y feel). There's some fun stuff going on between those square-based pyramids and triangle-based pyramids. Truncated pyramids, I might add. Pyramidal comradery. Aahhh, geometry at it's finest.

Okay, now these last two pictures make me think of Pokémon. If you're cool you'll know which one I'm talking about. Shut up, I'm cool. I'm kind of a nerd, if you haven't noticed. I'm allowed to make Pokémon references.

More from Tomoko Fuse from Unit Origami. (36 units)

MY ALIBI

I don't know if I owe any kind of explanation to my non-existent blog-readers as to where I was for the past little while, and why I'm back now... But too bad, I'm going to give one anyways. If not just to get the posts flowing again. 

Well, in a nutshell, I uprooted myself from my hometown of Ottawa, where I spent my entire life, and planted myself in this new and mystifying land they like to call Hong Kong. A land of crowds, neon signs, high rise buildings, and strange smells that waft around every corner. It's basically overwhelming. 

Anyways, moved in to an apartment, got an internship and have been hella busy, okay? No time to fold, and it's been pretty sad. On top of which, my job hasn't been all that fulfilling as I have very little responsibilities. I spent the larger chunk of my time there so far teaching myself 3Ds Max, a 3D modeling software. What was seemingly impossible at the beginning slowly became familiar until I was dreaming in the program (creating worlds out of cubes and spheres and manipulating them, it was freaky). It's crazy what you can teach yourself in a few weeks. Thanks to the magic of Youtube. 

So here's a bit of what I've done so far. I learned to create objects, make and assign materials to them, then light the scene that they were in. The Eames chair was done through a step-by-step tutorial. The kitchen scene and dining room scene I copied from images I found on Google, and that desk scene was just completely made up from my head. Minus the desk and chair which are some products I love from Blu Dot.

Some real design is finally happening though, so I've had to put my 3Ds Max training aside for a while. Haven't sketched in ages (and it feels like I haven't used my brain too much either, just letting it rot in front of a computer screen).

Simultaneously Illustrator-ing and sketching out layouts and elevations... Aaahhhh, I feel like I'm back! Using my brain and folding! So there. That's my story. Riveting, I know.

MONEY ON MY MIND

So here’s my situation: Opportunity vs. money. I’m currently debating between two jobs. One paid but going nowhere, one unpaid but an opportunity of a lifetime. Here I am, turning out my already empty pockets, and I’m considering going even broker. Oh and did I mention, I may be getting kicked out of my awesomely-cheap apartment. In times like this, I’ll turn to the thing I love most. Clearly, I’ve got money on my mind. If I had some dollah-dollah bills, I may be tempted to do some money-folding, but sadly, I think I'll keep them in my wallet so I can afford dinner tonight.

By Won Park for YIU Studio.

PS, I suppose now’s the time to quote some lil’ Wayne lyrics but... I think I’ll spare this blog from the profanities.