The Origami Forum

Hi i am new I just joined yesterday.
I have bin doing origami for a year and a half now and I think i am getting good at it so I thought of selling it but no one wants to buy it. I was wondering if any could give me some hints.

I've never tried selling any, but I think that perhaps people who don't do origami would look at a model and think "That looks nice but I don't know what I would do with it". I would recommend keeping it fairly simple, and going for something that people could consider "useful" (in a broad sense). You could make boxes, or greetings cards. Or think about the way that you present the models - instead of doing a single flower, maybe do a whole bunch and put them in a nice vase (paper or otherwise...). Or make several different models (perhaps birds) and put them together to make a hanging mobile.

Good luck with it!

chris_t wrote:...and put them together to make a hanging mobile.

Good luck with it!

thanks I will try that.
My mom thought of making a travel bag with simple little animals so little kids could play with them in long car rids and in the air plain

Like chris_t said, people would be more inclined to buy something useful. If you made origami into jewelry, that would probably sell better too. I share the same feeling that stand-alone pieces may not attract a lot of attention. To "origami outsiders," paper does not seem to command the same presence as other media.

I just completed some research along the same lines recently, and "practical" and/or "useful" definitely wins. At the simpler level, I saw people doing designs with traditional models such as 1000 cranes (senbazuru pictures) and for weddings on the cheap (wedding bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, wedding table decorations, wedding invitations). Also lampshades. And jewelry. Joseph Wu and others have been quite successful with folding for commercial applications such as restaurants and animated commercial ads. Then there is Robert Lang at his level with the folding of telescopic lenses and airbags. There is Tomoko Fuse and her famous boxes and books. In other words, I think it depends on just how sophisticated or committed you want to become to the art. It appears that what you can dream up, you can do, just as with any other pursuit. Have fun and good luck!

Pamela

i was going to a long time ago but then i got caught up in folding again

i've been looking into selling stuff also. from asking people, it seems that they don't want "just" origami, depending on what it is.

what i found out is that people will be willing to pay a lot more money for origami incorporated into a sculpter. for example, you could make sea animals (make sure they are simple, so they can be small. one i recommend is a stingray by Hoang Tien Quyet. very pleasing result but only 2 folds!) and then carve a nice piece of wood into a stand, stain it, and make an ocean seen, with sea turtles (maybe Satoshi Kamiya's) and seaweed. people i have talked to would pay over $100 for that!

another thing people would like, maybe for their kids room, would be an origami dinosaur skeleton, or just a dinosaur.

If you are making insects, then put them in a shadow box, and make them like an insect collection.

above all, if people want to buy your models or not depends on the quality of paper, and beyond that, your fold. take you time, buy expensive, good, handmade paper, and make sure you model comes out really nice
once i get them done, i will post pictures of what i will be selling on my flickr. i haven't really been putting anything on there besides my not so good folds, i have a lot more i just need to take good photographs of.

phillipcurl wrote:i've been looking into selling stuff also. from asking people, it seems that they don't want "just" origami, depending on what it is.

what i found out is that people will be willing to pay a lot more money for origami incorporated into a sculpter. for example, you could make sea animals (make sure they are simple, so they can be small. one i recommend is a stingray by Hoang Tien Quyet. very pleasing result but only 2 folds!) and then carve a nice piece of wood into a stand, stain it, and make an ocean seen, with sea turtles (maybe Satoshi Kamiya's) and seaweed. people i have talked to would pay over $100 for that!

another thing people would like, maybe for their kids room, would be an origami dinosaur skeleton, or just a dinosaur.

If you are making insects, then put them in a shadow box, and make them like an insect collection.

above all, if people want to buy your models or not depends on the quality of paper, and beyond that, your fold. take you time, buy expensive, good, handmade paper, and make sure you model comes out really nice
once i get them done, i will post pictures of what i will be selling on my flickr. i haven't really been putting anything on there besides my not so good folds, i have a lot more i just need to take good photographs of.

WOW people pay that much
I will try it out. but where can you get good, handmade paper on the inter net?
is there any instructions on how to make the stingray

Another way of saying it is that People like quality artwork, not folded pieces of paper. However, be careful what you sell, because it is against copyright regulation to sell models that you fold without the written permission of the artist that designed the model, CP, or diagrams. So, before you sell a model designed by HT Quyet, Kamiya, Lang etc., you have to get their permission. Inability to contact them is no excuse.

Sorry to rain on your dream, but when you talk about money, you step from the hobby world into the real world. This is a good reason to learn how to design your own models.

HankSimon wrote:Another way of saying it is that People like quality artwork, not folded pieces of paper. However, be careful what you sell, because it is against copyright regulation to sell models that you fold without the written permission of the artist that designed the model, CP, or diagrams. So, before you sell a model designed by HT Quyet, Kamiya, Lang etc., you have to get their permission. Inability to contact them is no excuse.

Sorry to rain on your dream, but when you talk about money, you step from the hobby world into the real world. This is a good reason to learn how to design your own models.

Thanks I did not know that I have bin designing my own models in fact I just designed a seal today want to see it?

yes i would like to see it!

OrigamiGeek wrote: WOW people pay that much
I will try it out. but where can you get good, handmade paper on the inter net?
is there any instructions on how to make the stingray

i'll list the supplies that you need. you kinda get accustomed to a paper, like a trademark. but remember, one kind of paper isn't right for everything.
paper:
origamido paper probably the best choice for super complex models. satoshi kamiya uses this paper a lot. there is new colors all the time. if you live outside of europe you get a 20% discount.
o-gami paper another great choice for super complex models. these are a lot larger but slightly more expensive than origamido. they are also more readily available.
sekishu papera Japanese paper. it does not come sized. you have to add sizing, but once you do that, it is definitely a good choice for complex models. and its bigger and cheaper than o-gami and origamido!
some more great choices of paper
methylcelluloseyou'll need this to shape the models and size your paper!

and for the instructions for the ray:
http://www.origami.vn/forum/showthread.php?899

HankSimon wrote:Another way of saying it is that People like quality artwork, not folded pieces of paper. However, be careful what you sell, because it is against copyright regulation to sell models that you fold without the written permission of the artist that designed the model, CP, or diagrams. So, before you sell a model designed by HT Quyet, Kamiya, Lang etc., you have to get their permission. Inability to contact them is no excuse.

Sorry to rain on your dream, but when you talk about money, you step from the hobby world into the real world. This is a good reason to learn how to design your own models.

actually, it is not illegal to sell another persons artwork without their written permission. there is no law in the united states going against that. think of it like an art reprint.

what would be illegal is selling bootleg copies of their diagrams or crease patterns, or claiming that their artwork is your own.

OrigamiGeek wrote: Thanks I did not know that I have bin designing my own models in fact I just designed a seal today want to see it?

i would love to see it.

"Q: I have instructions for one of your compositions. Can I sell my folding of your composition?
A: No. The original compositions are protected by copyright (see here for more details), and the permission granted above does not extend to commercial use. Contact me with your desired use; I'm usually pretty reasonable about rates. "

from Lang's website, source http://langorigami.com/faq.php

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54228408/SAM_2771.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54228408/SAM_2772.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54228408/SAM_2773.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54228408/SAM_2774.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54228408/SAM_2775.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54228408/SAM_2776.JPG
hear are the pictures

shortloldude wrote:"Q: I have instructions for one of your compositions. Can I sell my folding of your composition?
A: No. The original compositions are protected by copyright (see here for more details), and the permission granted above does not extend to commercial use. Contact me with your desired use; I'm usually pretty reasonable about rates. "

from Lang's website, source http://langorigami.com/faq.php

That is only Robert Lang, and he is very easy to contact.
Satoshi Kamiya has nothing against selling his models in his FAQ, and I already know that Shuki Kato doesn't have a problem with it.

there is already a thread about this where a bunch of people listed their opinions on this, so go read that.

and Origamigeek, you really need to use something other then printer paper...
try wetfolding or using foil paper.