Mummy Diaries | An evening of relaxation with Origami Est

Thursday 18 July 2019

We’re very lucky on our estate that there are so many amenities: we have the shops and a pub, my hairdresser and beautician, fitness classes, baby/toddler groups and I used to be part of a book club. But even more exciting than all of that – I went to a workshop. A couple of weeks back, there was an origami workshop held at the pavilion and of course, I had to go. I didn’t think I’d have the patience to fold, or be able to pick it up quickly, so I wasn’t holding out much hope for a finished item. But I proved myself wrong, had a fabulous time and came away with not one, but two beautiful products!

The lovely lady behind the evening was Est, the owner of Origami Est. I had previously followed her social media accounts (including this dreamy Instagram grid), but I also knew her prior to the evening, as we both have boys of a similar age and before I was working full-time, had a couple of play dates. As well as an amazing website, where you can buy products, DIY kits and her book, Est has run workshops in the past – so she was totally used to beginners! I’ve swooned over lampshades, plant pots and other decorative items, so I was totally excited to be making my own.

The workshop was priced at £25pp and Est provided all of the materials – not just the beautifully patterned papers, but the faux succulents too. There was plenty of stationery to aid with our folding and assembling and even refreshments and treats too. I couldn’t resist being the first to grab a doughnut, as I had finished folding first – but luckily everyone soon followed suit.

The first dilemma was to choose the paper. There were so many pretty designs, some more daring than others. I hadn’t even decided which room my plant pot would go in, so that kinda ruled out any too out-there. I went for a dark paper, with simple pattern, as it was the one most suited to most the rooms in our house with dark wallpaper. As everyone chose their smaller papers too, I went for the pale pink leopard print. I love leopard print and while there was a gold (and possibly even rose gold equivalent, which would have been more ‘me’), I was happy with my choice.

Est showed us how to fold the paper, into rectangles and with small triangles, eventually creating a crown shape and a zig zag. We had to apply these same folds to every bit of paper – there were 20 for the big plant pots and only nine for the smaller version. It was so therapeutic folding – remembering what the folds were and almost getting in a routine folding in the same way. I surprised myself with picking it up so well and actually found the folding fairly easy. In fact, I had finished all 29 sheets while some were still on the first 20. But then came the assembling...

...and then I remembered how cack-handed I am! I’m rubbish with anything fiddly so struggled a bit with the assembling. Thankfully Est was on hand to help and Bekki got it straight away, so she was going around the table helping others too! It was all about arms and pockets and finding the right pocket for each arm, so the pot took shape and eventually came together. I just couldn’t grasp what was supposed to go where, as in effect it was the same move going around in a circle. Still, I gave the table a laugh when I mentioned the stray and loose flaps – before learning it was arms and pockets! It didn’t matter that some of us couldn’t pick it up, or did it wrong... everyone in the group was so friendly and chatty. And of course, Est was an excellent teacher.

But when the pots came together, it was so rewarding – I mean how good does it look?! Although it’s on my living room windowsill in the photo, where it does look fabulous, I’ve put it out of Alfie’s reach (unless he climbs) on our dining table, where it makes a great centrepiece. The workshop was so relaxing and I left feeling good for having ‘me time’, but even better with something to show for it. Once we’d chosen our succulents and flowers, Est gave us paper bags to take our pots home in and there was the opportunity to buy a copy of her book, or any of the kits she had on offer.

Est has already revealed the date for her Christmas workshop on Newton Leys and I’ve invited my mum along this time. It’s to make decorative stars that look like they’d be fine for hanging all year round – super cute! This workshop is priced at £20pp and is on Thursday 5 December. I’ve linked the website above, but you’re able to find all of the workshop dates on there, as well as Facebook.

All that’s left to say is thank you Est for running a fabulous and successful workshop and I’m already looking forward to the next evening.

Love, Lucy xx

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