Foldable Origami Wood Crane

Story

Our story begins when I was very little, my mom would take me to our local library. There I meet a very nice Japanese librarian that love to make beautiful and intricate origami pieces. She shared that joy with all the kids that came to the library. She taught us how to fold and bend the paper to create beautiful pieces.

From that point on I fell in love with origami. I created thousands of origami designs out of little pieces of paper my mom bought me. I liked the cranes in particular, because I wished I could fly like them, and have their grace. I would even create a crane out of every napkin I could get my hands on.

Senbazuru

Senbazuru 千羽鶴 means 1,000 origami cranes. According to Japanese tradition, folding 1,000 paper cranes gives you the opportunity to make one special wish come true. The crane is believed to live for a 1000 years, which brings about the meaning behind the 1,000 folded origami cranes, one origami crane for each year of the legendary bird’s life.

As a tribute to this tradition, I want to share with you this beautiful bamboo crane. My goal is to make and share 1000 cranes with individuals like yourself, like Senbazuru has spread around the world, embodying faith, hope and peace. Also did you know when someone gives you an origami crane, it represents friendship, good health and world peace?

Design

The idea for this project came to me about 5 years ago. I started working on it every free moment I had. It has been a long journey, with many trial and errors. Although there were some moments when I doubted it was even possible. I finally finished my design to my high satisfaction. Everything had to fold perfectly for me to be truly happy with my design.

In my design process I tested different sizes and thickness of wood. Paper is much more flexible than wood, and thus it was hard to get the wood to fold like the paper does. Also, when you fold paper onto itself, it remains very thin, however with wood, the piece becomes quite thick and bulky, contrary to the grace and beauty of a crane.

I also had to test the flexibility and stability of many different fabrics. I found that ribbon provided a good amount of flexibility and support for each piece, without covering up the beautiful wood. I chose the cherry blossom ribbon design because it added to the beauty of the piece instead of seeming out of place. Every piece of ribbon is precisely cut and sealed by a laser to prevent any fraying.

I choose bamboo for its Eco-friendly nature and beautiful wood grain. Did you know that bamboo is technically a grass? Bamboo is an Eco-friendly material that grows 3 feet (approx. 1 meter) per day. To make the build stable I choose a MultiPly bamboo, which is lightweight, multi-layered, EPI (formaldehyde free), designed to offer increased strength and stability. To finish each Crane, I also use an Eco-friendly, non-toxic, 100% pure Tung oil following the Asian tradition of woodworking that dates back to 400 BC. This curing process takes around 3 to 4 weeks.

Each Crane is precision laser cut from a single piece of bamboo. Each Crane has its own unique grain of wood, thus making no two alike. To give some extra personality to the Crane, with the help of magnets, you can interchange the Crane’s head, in a resting position or getting ready to soar the skies.

Dimensions

Folded Crane

Width (wingspan): approx. 13in (≈ 33cm)
Length (head to tail): approx. 12in (≈ 30.5cm)
Height: approx. 8in (≈ 20cm)

Unfolded Crane (Flat)

approx. 19in x 19in (≈ 48cm)

You will be provided detailed instructions with pictures on how to assemble your beautiful Crane at home.

Thank You

Here is the link to my shop where you can purchase your own Origami Crane Kit or you can also visit my Etsy shop.

It means the world to me, your support in making this project come to life. My hope is that, like Senbazuru, we can spread faith, hope and peace around the world.

Keep an eye out for my next adventure. Thank you very much!

If you have any questions or a suggestion? I would love to hear from you. You can email me at hello@kandfdesign.com.