About Us

OriCraft is a one-person operation, so "About Us" is actually about me, Ayako Brodek. I learned origami when I was a little girl, on long ferryboat rides to my grandparents' house. My mother would chase away my boredom making origami cranes and boats from candy wrappers. I love origami, and the more I fold, the more I'm fascinated by this wonderful art form.

There are so many amazing origamists. Some follow traditional rules of origami – no cutting, no pasting – folding a simple piece of paper into a beautiful, detailed object. Some incorporate complicated mathematics to solve high-tech, real-world design problems. Amazing! But neither approach works for me. I don't have a great math brain, and would rather improvise than follow directions. I get a headache when the origami instructions tell me to make 100 folds, and then tell me to unfold the paper completely to do fold 101 - beautiful designs can be created with simple folds. I cut paper if necessary, glue paper for durability and sometimes use a pencil and ink, too. I fold untraditional materials, like fabric. My finished creations are coated for durability.

I enjoy creating things we can use in our daily life. My desk drawers are organized with origami boxes. Origami flower pasted to my letters make them a little more special. I make frogs with funny faces to make my friends laugh. I am fascinated by origami because it can be so close to our life. OriCraft's mission is to keep creating origami crafts that can be loved and used in our everyday life.

I am married and have two wonderful sons. My sons know some origami and fold paper very well, but they would rather play soccer, baseball or basketball than fold. My husband is clueless about origami, and can only fold a very basic paper airplane. They are no help when it comes to making origami crafts, so I make all my crafts myself. But they are my biggest supporters. They encourage me when I get disappointed after a slow show. They know not to bother me during the busy show season, when they see steam coming up from my head, and they help a lot around the house. When there are no soccer games, they come and help me to set up and break down my booth. I also get a lot of help from my in-laws. They watch my boys when I have a show and my husband has to work. My mother-in-law always has a dinner ready for us when I come back from a show. My parents, who live in Kobe, help me to get hard-to-find paper.

I am also very lucky to have a lot of wonderful regular customers. They always come to see me at shows, and tell me how they and their friends/family loved my crafts. Chatting with them is a big part of the fun at shows. Sometimes they give me great ideas for my next creations, and always give me energy to keep me going

Even as a one-person operation, OriCraft is supported by lots of wonderful people.
Thank you all!!
- Ayako

September, 2004