Our Story
About Paper Punk
Paper Punk is an innovative paper-based building toy that provides endless imaginative and creative play for humans of all ages. With a few simple folds, colorful 2D flat shapes transform into bold 3D geometric pieces to create spectacular looking paper toys and art forms. It was founded with a simple ambition – to enable people to exercise their creativity and make things with their hands.
Why Paper Punk Matters
As we increasingly rely on technological tools to discover, seek and share information, there is also a growing disconnect with the tangible world. Through the act of making, people not only change the way they think, they change the way they behave. Making has a magical, transformative power because you're using your hands to think. Paper Punk is a creativity tool thatʼs as much an art form as it is a toy.
This is how Paper Punk was born:
About the founder
Grace Hawthorne is an entrepreneur, artist, author and educator. She is the creator and founder of Paper Punk, a new creativity toy+tool for kids ages 6-99+ . Previously, she cofounded ReadyMade, the culturally groundbreaking design magazine for GenXY. As its CEO/Publisher she showed people how to transform ordinary objects into extraordinary design and turned the hip indie startup into a nationally recognized lifestyle brand. She led the sale of ReadyMade to Meredith Corporation (NASDAQ: MDP) and continued as its President/Publisher. She co-authored the award winning book, ReadyMade: How to Make Almost Everything (Crown/Random House). Grace is a Consulting Associate Professor at Stanford’s Institute of Design (aka: the dschool), where she spearheads Creative Gym, a course focused on honing design intuition and building creative confidence, leads a research project in collaboration with Stanford's School of Medicine on creative capacity building and a new course on failure and resilience. Her artwork has been exhibited in several national museums including the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum Triennial, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, PMCA Design Biennial in Pasadena, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco and was selected to be a TEDactive Artist in 2013. She graduated cum laude in Art/Visual Communication from UC Berkeley and also holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and an MFA from the UCLA School of Film and Television. Grace believes anything is possible and wants everyone to make cool things with their hands.
Press
”The love child of Lego and origami…”
—Wired Wish List
”New model kits designed by the cofounder of ReadyMade are part origami, part Lego, and 100% recyclable….(they) encourage “open play,” allowing the maker to remix them.”
—Fast Company/Co.Design
”Paper Punk….the Legos of the 21st century.”
—Marin Independent Journal
“…Paper Punk will empower both kids and adults to exercise their creative
mind with this little DIY design toy.”
—Coolhunting
“Paper Punk: a creativity tool of paper building blocks that allow you to
create super cool paper toys. Fun!”
—Design Observer
“The colorful geometric eco-toys are beautiful, fun, and educational — the
perfect creative hands-on experience for tots, teens, and adults.”
—Inhabitat
“Paper Punk is a triple threat: An eco toy, an art form and a learning
tool.”
—Inhabitot
“If Ms. Origami and Mr. Lego had a love child, it would be Paper Punk”
—SwissMiss
“Paper Punk is a creativity tool, a good-for-your-brain experience
disguised as design fun.”
—Felt & Wire
“Paper Punk is like origami’s tech-y, modern cousin”
—Nerdy With Children
”Top 20 Hot New Releases in Children’s Craft and Hobby.″
—Amazon
“…love of do-it-yourself creativity and tangible learning…blended with origami and LEGOS to create…Paper Punk…brilliant.”
—Kidrobot
“The Industrial Age shone with the metallic magnificence of Meccano and the Electronic Age was mesmerized with LEGO plastic wonders, then, the Digital Age could well take to paper baubles…Paper Punk, a modern day toymaker, with a difference.”
—Zouch Magazine & Miscellany
“Top 6 Kids Design Products″
—Inhabitat/Inhabitot
“Top 5 Holiday Toy Picks”
—Hemispheres, United Airlines in-flight magazine
“Bloggers Choice Award”
—NYIGF
” Paper Punk…a mash up of origami and Legos…is designed to foster hands-on, 3D thinking.”
—Trendcentral
“These colorful, sharp-edged little punks arrive in a series of pre-perforated sheets for you to construct your own, making you a part of the creative process…Dig this as much as we do?”
—The Cool List
