My most recent hyperfocus:
🌹🌹🌹 Origami roses! 🌹🌹🌹
Contact me about custom creations for events or for your altar. They also make wonderfully special gifts!
I currently have a small selection of roses for sale in the following local gift shops:
Mizu-Usagi (みずうさぎ)
13 St Augustines Street
Norwich, Norfolk NR3 3BY
I’ve been into origami since my early teens, although I wouldn’t call myself advanced level; more like intermediate. In recent years, I’ve been a little obsessed with making roses.
Of course, I have tried and tested a ridiculous range of origami paper for this (as one does for a good hyperfocus), and my favourite paper is traditional Japanese washi paper, made from long plant fibres. Yuzen or Chiyogami paper in particular have bright patterns with golden highlights; a personal favourite. These paper types hold their colour and shape extremely well, so the creations are very durable. This often comes in traditional designs, including floral and geometric patterns.
I first saw these roses in the Japan Centre in London, on the desk near the toilets, and it was love at first sight! I asked about them and was told they’re called ‘Fukuyama Rose‘. On the train home, I looked up a tutorial video on YouTube, did my best to tear a square of paper out of the paper bag I was given my tea in, and started practicing. It took over an hour with a lot of rewinding and rewatching, but I managed to make my first prototype! I felt so accomplished ☺️ I couldn’t wait to get home and make more.
When I first got into origami as a kid, my grandparents gifted me some origami books and a large selection of origami paper. This remains to this day my Favourite. Present. Ever. Several decades later, I still have the leftovers! There were a few packs of premium paper in their gift, and I finally found a… worthy way to use it up.
After finishing my old stash of premium paper, I started looking for more. I really wanted to use the most ethical, sustainable, traditional paper from a UK-based company. I found several online, but I’m aware that search engines aren’t exactly unbiased. It all depends on SEO and I decided to dig deeper and check more pages and different search engines (I always use Ecosia first) to find the right suppliers. Here is what I learned.
Roze
The company that resonated the most was Roze, founded in 2004. It’s a small, independent business, with very reasonably priced hobby and craft products, including origami paper.
My order:
- Yuzen Chiyogami paper
- Floral patterns
- Assorted colours
- 15x15cm
- 70gsm
Pros
WEBSITE:
- The website is relatively straightforward to use, search and buy.
PAPER:
- Great selection and variety of paper with beautiful patterns and colours! LOVE.
- It folds and holds creases well, and it back-folds well, too. Pleasant and easy to work with.
- It has a hint of fragrance, but it’s not too much (for a sensitive like myself).
Cons
WEBSITE:
- The website layout is a bit dated, and the text is quite small.
PAPER:
- The paper t is packaged in an ‘offset-stacked’ way, meaning you can see all the patterns because each sheet sticks out behind the sheet above it. That’s great, but also it means that the overall package is bigger than it needs to be. In addition, the paper was held in place with 4 paperclips per package. I found this can indent the paper somewhat so that’s not ideal. I have told them about this. They said it is supplied to them in this way. The paperclips didn’t leave marks in the paper.
9/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Would definitely order again!
Lavender Home
The second company I found was Lavender Home, established in 2011 as an oriental art and stationery shop in London. The shop is online now but they do offer origami workshops.
My order:
- Yuzen Washi paper
- Geometric & floral patterns
- Assorted colours
- 14x14cm
Pros
WEBSITE:
- The website is modern and easy to use, search and buy.
PAPER:
- Beautiful selection and variety of paper with floral and traditional geometric patterns.
- They have selections of base colours with different patterns, as well as assorted colours.
- The paper was packaged stacked, and used minimal packaging material.
Cons
WEBSITE:
- [none]
PAPER:
- The paper is VERY fragranced, almost off-putting (for a sensitive like myself).
- The paper holds its shape well but feels a bit more rigid and less easy to fold than Roze’s paper. It doesn’t back-fold well and often I have to sharpen the creases for this.
7/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I would order the geometric paper again if I couldn’t find a better quality elsewhere.
The third company I ordered from, The Color Tree, has stopped trading in March 2024. They also stocked Korean origami paper, and Indian paper (too thick for origami, but stunning!).