Paper Punk

When I was in my early 20′s I spent part of a late summer afternoon observing an elderly couple quietly feeding ducks at a pond in Germany. It was at the tail end of a very long trip I took backpacking through Europe. I had traveled thousands of miles from home looking for adventure. My theory was the farther away I went, the sooner I’d discover something new and transformative. This couple seemed so happy, simply at peace. It’s because they’re old…I’ll probably be happy feeding ducks when I’m eighty, I dismissed to myself. It was envy’s way of justifying my restlessness. Fast forward twenty plus years later and here I am, at the tail end of another summer, without a heavy backpack, tugging a hand that is in search of that pond. The pond represents a peace of mind, knowing that you already have everything you need to be okay/whole. And this pond isn’t a place, it’s a reflection of you, so don’t look away. I want to show this hand that we don’t need to search outside of ourselves to find our way, we are enough. The undiscovered resides within us– in the way we view, give, and share this world and our lives. This picture is the pond. See with patience, breathe deep and realize you are already (and still are) here.
PS: I’m standing right next to you.

AH-HA (2013) paper blocks, plastic, ink, 48″ x 48″

We just found out that Paper Punk won a Parents’ Choice Award this year!

“…..Aside from the terrific quality and visual design of the product, what really stands out about these Paper Punk products is the tangible challenges it offers to children as they explore form, function and creativity while making their own toy. In a world so dominated by video games and apps, it was truly refreshing to watch our testers absorb themselves in this project and walk away with something with which they can continue to play.”

Serious WOW. I’m talking about the really cool stuff people made and placed on the 25 foot long Paper Punk wall at TEDactive just over a week ago. What would YOU make with all you could fold Paper Punk shapes? Here are some highlights in case you didn’t catch it on Unbeige or TEDactive.

Under the gun and getting ready for the PAPER-PUNK-A-THON at this year’s TEDactive conference in Palm Springs. We’re setting up a spectacular buffet of Paper Punk shapes for participants to activate into “expressions of a word”. The expressions of a word activity is something I regularly run in the Creative Gym class I teach at Stanford’s d.school where students express a given word only using circles, squares, and triangles drawn on a piece of paper. But at TEDactive, instead of drawn lines/circles/squares/triangles, participants will use paper blocks they construct and customize to express a given word. Whoa…right? I cannot wait to see the outcome. The constraint of the 3D paper blocks will indoctrinate this activity into another stratosphere! To inspire the potential of using paper blocks, I’m installing a few large panels to kick things off. Below is a small glimpse (without giving anything away) of what attendees will be seeing.

Cheers to great things for everyone in 2013!

A sneak peek at our newest family additions to get you psyched for the new year…available this APRIL! Paper Punk familia, please meet our resident ape and unicorn with little vampire+werewolf as sidekick.

We have to confess, Paper Punk is a secret agent. That cool, customized paper toy you just made is really awesome, but the bigger/better takeaway is that you did something good for your brain. Little did you know, but by making a Paper Punk you just exercised the creative muscles in your brain. It’s a use it or lose it situation people…so keep those hands moving!

We’re dancing under the mistletoe because the savvy folks at WIRED magazine included Paper Punk in their annual Holiday Gift Guide this year! You’ll also see Paper Punk on display at their NYC WIRED pop-up holiday gallery opening in a couple days.

Got an early intro to Barry McGee via the fine folks at Giant Robot (always on the leading edge of pop culture) long ago, saw his stuff as part of the LA MOCA street art show last summer, but the exhibition I saw today at the Berkeley Art Museum was nothing short of amazing. Brought back my docent days there when attending Cal. Words and images don’t do it justice. You’ll have to make a trip to see it for yourself. The museum front doors are tagged by one of McGee’s collaborators…the “sell-out” debate written on the door (in one of the pics below) is from the public…funny.

Paper Punk sighting at Ariel Booksellers in Sydney, Australia! Just beneath the Eames pencils….Nice!

Paper Punk was in full force this past weekend at the East Bay Mini Maker Faire in Oakland, CA. There were over 4,000 people populating a little over 4 acres jam packed with incredibly fun science/craft exhibits and activities. We absolutely adored everyone who came by our outpost to check us out because their enthusiasm was off the charts! A crowd favorite was most definitely our very cool Paper Punk gals (Tyler and June) representing throughout the fairgrounds. Paper Punk’s Lego + Origami mash-up got some rave reviews from a group of middle school kids– “This is RAD!”