Last week I typed about my next giveaway. I’m hoping to tempt you to make and share one of the projects in my book, Playing With Paper (a spin-off from a project qualifies too – creative twists are encouraged)!
To enter the giveaway, just e-mail a picture of your project to helen@helenhiebertstudio.com. You will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of the book and an Interchangeable Ring – a featured project in the book. BTW, I’m teaching a workshop in Indianapolis August 10/11. We might sneak in a project there as well.

If you are willing, I will add your image to the Playing With Paper Project page on Pinterest!
The deadline is September 1, 2013 (which gives you time to get a copy of the book, grab your supplies and whip out a project). Please pass the word on to all of your paper loving friends! Last week I received an e-mail from a reader who purchased two copies of the book and gave one to a friend. The two of them are going to get together and make a project.
The paper topper on the ring (which is made of 8 origami circles connected with double-side tape) is attached to a magnet, which connects to the metal ring base. I love attachments and connections. In fact, I taught a course one semester called Attachments & Connections at the Oregon College of Art & Craft in which we created joints by welding, wood joinery, magnets, stitching, stapling and everything in between.
In a similar vein, I love things that collapse and expand. Have I shown you my latest book, Handle With Care? It is an inflatable paper structure. That’s right – it is filled with air. I constructed it flat and then inflated it. You can make all kinds of shapes – not just circles! Check out some of the crazy shapes that you can make and inflate on this website (sorry, it is in Spanish).
 

I have a book called Collapsible: The Genius of Space Saving Design, by Per Mollerup, published by Chronicle Books. I love to thumb through it for inspiration, and it has inspired many a project.
 
This book features everything from panty hose to backpacks, and folding chairs to pocket knives. There are even a few paper items in it as well!
Maps are an obvious one. I observed a workshop at the Paper and Book Intensive one year in which Pam Spitzmueller taught the group how to create book pages using map folds. I just happened across this video which shows some of the book structures she teaches:

Bett’s portable globe is collapsible and was designed in the 19th century by the Englishman John Betts. It has a similar construction to Handle With Care, although his brilliant design incorporated an umbrella-like collapsing/inflating mechanism.

There are collapsible lamps & lanterns, and Isamu Noguchi is probably the most notable designer of the Akari lights that package flat for shipping. One of my favorite spots to visit in NYC (actually Long Island City) is the Isamu Noguchi Sculpture Garden, which is housed in his old studio and features many of his stone sculptures along with curated exhibits.

Here’s a great video showcasing how his Akari Lights are fabriated. In my workshops, we use foam core for the armature building.

There are paper umbrellas and paper fans, and I’m sure you’ll be able to add many other items to the list (please do by leaving a comment below).
Just the other day, I was thumbing through Sunset Magazine and found an origami kayak. Now this kayak isn’t made from paper, but the fact that it folds up and can be stored in a NYC or San Francisco apartment is pretty incredible. And I’m sure that the designer made his first model in paper.


 
The following words line the cover of the book Collapsible that I referred to above: compact, compress, condense, contract, deflate, decrease, reduce, implode, wrinkle, pucker, bundle, enclose, break down, ball up, draw in, fold, collapse. Now, go forth and put one of those words in action, and be sure to share your results with the rest of us!