鶴の芸術
2nd Grade- Where it all began...
It all started in 2nd grade when my older sister brought in this paper boat. Me and my small 7-year-old brain was so fascinated by the fact that just by folding a simple piece of paper you can make something like a boat. So I asked my sister, "Hey, how did you make that?" She told me that there was this after-school program that teaches origami at our school for free. Then the next day I signed up for this class not knowing that this class would change everything. When the class started we didn't make a boat at first, we made a crane! And I was so psyched to have made something as cool as a crane. And as the class moved on we made other things like ninja stars, boats, airplanes, water balloons and the more I made things, the more interested I became in origami. I was so good at it too, I was the first one always done and I was probably the only one who was the most interested. Then mid-year the instructor couldn't do the classes anymore but I still continued on my own.
7th Grade- My First Mentor
Fast forward, 7th grade and I was still doing origami whether it was on YouTube or finding library books about origami but it wasn't getting me very far. Why you ask because, on YouTube, there were videos that were either to fast, the person would use words and terms that I didn't understand at the time, and on top of that the actual quality of the video was terrible or their fingers would be in the way and I would miss something important. And if you thought YouTube was bad the books from the library were even worse! The sketches on the side weren't helpful at all because before I had no idea what they meant plus most of the books I rented the pictures were very misleading and I had to figure out most things on my own. I was almost to the point of just giving up but then my mom found me this mentor who goes around, library to library teaching kids origami and leaving cool masterpieces on the shelves. So my mom found a time for him and I to meet one Saturday evening and that was the turning point in my origami career. I got so much better at origami, I was making modular cubes, roses, fireworks! And then later something truly amazing would unfold.
8th Grade- The Start of a Business
During 8th grade, my little brother and I were homeschooled and I was still doing origami and still progressing ever still. But then my older sister created her own business making jewelry which was something she had found interesting at the time, then I thought to myself,"Hmmm, what if there was a way for me to make money while doing something I loved (hint hint)". But I didn't know what I could do to make money. But then one entrepreneurship class with my dad he and I thought up a way for me to sell origami as a business (you know because I loved it so much and I was really good at it). At first, I was a little skeptical because in my head I'm thinking,"Who would buy paper crafts?" Then I said why not and gave it a shot. We came up with a business plan model of what I would sell and whom I'd sell it too, but the most important of all things was coming up with a name for this great business idea. We tried everything, A Thousand Cranes, OrigaME, but then I thought of the name Art of the Crane at first I didn't think I liked it but it grew on me and it wasn't taken on the web so my dad bought the domain and thus Art of the Crane was born.
11th Grade The New Art of the Crane
After years of Art of the Crane and its growth, somewhere along the journey, I slowly lost interest in Art of the Crane, not so much of origami but of the making and selling process. I had lost that spark that created the business in the first place and I got bored. All that changed however when my sister went to the Japan for her senior project. I asked her to look out for origami museums since origami was a huge thing in Japan. The I though about origami museums in the US and wonder if there was anything here. Sadly there wasn't and I knew I had to step in and change that. People needed to see how awesome and creative origami and origami artists are. In that moment I got excited, I had found that spark and realized that this is what I wanted Art of the Crane to be. A completely origami themed museum that showcased origami from people all over the world and inspire others to try origami for themselves and love it just as much as I do.