Shameless Marketing question

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Kyppit
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Shameless Marketing question

Post by Kyppit »

So like many around here I'm sure you've been working hard to make this most elegant, crisp and gorgeous origami possible with what you can buy off Amazon or at your local Target. Sure double tissue is great to work with but it just doesn't ever seem to match the beautiful pictures shown in the table of contents of your favorite book. Well I have the same frustration. The search for beautiful handmade paper at reasonable prices leads to even more frustration. So I have been researching how to make my own artisan quality paper, and have decided this is my next obsession. I just ordered my first batch of Abaca and hemp fibers and the frame of my first suketa is clamped down in the garage right now so the glue can dry.

Here come the shameless part.
My mom loves to knit. She gets lovely handspun yarn from small farm suppliers on a monthly basis at a great price through a subscription service. So I was wondering if it would be feasible to set up a similar service for handmade origami paper and how many people would be interested. I would like to do batch runs of particular recipes that are better for different styles. Like maybe one month would be paper good for insects, the next for wetfolding, the next for tessellations and so on and so on. Or do different colors and textures each month for things like dragons or birds or maybe even specific models like Kamiya's pheonix.

No I'm not going to start asking for your credit card info or anything, I'm just curious if there is a demand for this or not. I know this is just sort of a shot in the dark, but I'd be really curious to see if anyone would be responsive to this idea.
Thank you for your time
steingar
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by steingar »

Takes a long time for manufacturers to get established in knitting circles, and they must have really good product to do it. Some folks in Nelsonville Ohio tried exactly what you're proposing, they didn't get far, though I suspect their failures little to do with the market for Origami paper. I suspect a long road, though if you're really good at it and persistent I think you'll see some success in the end.
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Gerardo
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by Gerardo »

Sounds cool Kyppit. I suppose you'd start in your own country, right? Do you live in the US? I don't fold that much, especially during the pandemic, so I wouldn't really be a potential customer. Are you asking through other platforms? The Origami Forum hasn't been that active for a while now, and since you want various answers, it would be best to not just ask here. Maybe also do it on the Origami Mailing List and the Origami-dan Discord server. It could also be easier if you make a form with some concrete questions, for example using Google Forms.

Just a couple of suggestions. I hope they help ;)!
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shortloldude
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by shortloldude »

I might be interested in such a thing, but remember you have a lot of competition. There are quite a few amateur folders starting to sell their handmade papers through platforms like Etsy. Really, it would be helpful if you could show a finished product as well as example folds to show what the paper is capable of. I am always looking for different papers to try, but there needs to be a reason to choose you over someone else. A finished product to show would be a great start.
Please, add me on flickr and tell me what you think!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53465278@N02/
Kyppit
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by Kyppit »

Wow thx for the feedback guys. Like I said this is still in its infancy phase, I'll be sure to post my first batch of paper.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions Gerardo I'll be sure to look it those.
Do you remember that company you mentioned steingar, I'd like to see what they were up too.
Thx again everyone
steingar
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by steingar »

Kyppit wrote: May 7th, 2021, 4:57 pmDo you remember that company you mentioned steingar, I'd like to see what they were up too.
The Paper Circle in Nelsonville Ohio. Their product was/is called Origamido, and it was/is really, really nice.
bethnor
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by bethnor »

i think one thing to realize is that this is very niche. if you're doing it for the love of papermaking, you might do well, but making a profit might be hard. for example, even with super nice papers like origamido and ogami, bottom line those "great photos" have been heavily adultered (i.e., lots of glue, wire). nothing wrong with that, just facts. i.e., even with super expensive paper, the model isn't gonna look as good as those photos just by folding, you're going to have to do some adultering (glue, wire). as such, unfortunately, yes, usually i am happy with double tissue, and i'm often reluctant to pan out $15 for a great handmade sheet. you'll also have to contend with the fact that hanji usually sells for $5-6 USD, and i get a 25" square. again, makes it hard to justify putting down $15-20 for ogami or origamido.
Last edited by bethnor on May 17th, 2021, 7:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
bethnor
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by bethnor »

steingar wrote: May 13th, 2021, 7:57 pm
Kyppit wrote: May 7th, 2021, 4:57 pmDo you remember that company you mentioned steingar, I'd like to see what they were up too.
The Paper Circle in Nelsonville Ohio. Their product was/is called Origamido, and it was/is really, really nice.
to clarify, paper circle's product is ogami. origamido is michael lafosse's product. putting aside any differences in quality, bottom line is that ogami is the better deal--you'll always get a larger square from their sheets (most origamido is sold in smaller rectangles). nothing wrong with that, but me, personally, for super complex origami, i like the models to have some stature (i.e., the bigger the square, the better).

also, i don't know what the deal is, but this crop of korean designers must have easy access to huge paper. i mean, even with 50 cm square, things get small fast. (i.e., it's hard to plop down lots of money for a sheet that will yield a smaller square).
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Rez
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by Rez »

This idea sounds really good. Yeah, there's a lot of paper you can get on Etsy, but it's basically all just double and triple tissue. If you can make some really fine quality paper that's thick and in nice colors, I have zero doubts that this would work out in the end. I personally would like extra-large sheets, like 90 cm if that's possible. I know most people don't fold with such large sheets, but If you spend 16 hours folding a model with great paper, I like my results to be more than some small novelty toy thing. The price of the sheets has to be something reasonable though because most people ain't gon' buy no 20 buck 60 cm sheet [-X
Last edited by Rez on May 19th, 2021, 2:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
SunnyLeslie
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by SunnyLeslie »

Rez wrote: May 19th, 2021, 2:20 pm This idea sounds really good. Yeah, there's a lot of paper you can get on Etsy, but it's basically all just double and triple tissue. If you can make some really fine quality paper that's thick and in nice colors, I have zero doubts that this would work out in the end. I personally would like extra-large sheets, like 90 cm if that's possible. I know most people don't fold with such large sheets, but If you spend 16 hours folding a model with great paper, I like my results to be more than some small novelty toy thing. The price of the sheets has to be something reasonable though because most people ain't gon' buy no 20 buck 60 cm sheet [-X
Yes, now materials for any kind of needlework cost a lot of money. It takes a lot of time and money to embroider a picture.
steingar
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Re: Shameless Marketing question

Post by steingar »

bethnor wrote: May 17th, 2021, 7:24 amto clarify, paper circle's product is ogami. origamido is michael lafosse's product. putting aside any differences in quality, bottom line is that ogami is the better deal--you'll always get a larger square from their sheets (most origamido is sold in smaller rectangles). nothing wrong with that, but me, personally, for super complex origami, i like the models to have some stature (i.e., the bigger the square, the better).
I stand corrected, thank you. Ogami is really good paper, and competitively priced. I don't know if they're still doing it though.
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