Lost origami

Hi origami readers!
I am sorry for not updating the lost origami site but lets say that we had some technical problems. I even didin't update my Facebook profile, so it means that the problem was serious :)

The most important is that we are not lost, we are here and our spreaders are working hard all over the world. And they are more and more.
When I opened my e-mail yesterday I was pleasantly surprised because our spreaders are not having brakes. I cannot wait to show you the amazing stuff they have made.
So sit down and be ready for some serious updates in the next couple of days...
By the way, my pleasant surprise was even more joyful when I saw this in my mail (the real one, not the virtual).
I received this amazingly sweet letter from Gian Paolo. Inside there was a set with origami paper. Strangely, in Ruse there is no place from where a person can buy origami paper, so Gian Paolo, like a typical Italian gentleman, sent me this set. I am not sure what made me more happy - the paper or the "fake" post stamp I  lostorigami.blogspot.com
Lost origami loves you too Gian Paolo. Keep spreading love and tasty deserts everywhere you go!

Origamis continue travelling through Europe. This one is made by Yuya, who is travelling around the world almost a year now. Yuya is a Japanese so he is perfect for making origami. When you think for Japan (if you are not from Asia of course) the first associations which will came to you mind are: small Asians, taking a lot of photos and hi-tech. If you think harder in your mind will emerge images of origami, tea, karate and sushi. 

Well, Yuya is not fitting the profile - he has long rasta hair, wears wide jeans and sports jacket. He is not crazy hi-tech owner, but he does take a lot of photos. Still he cannot make sushi. Actually his first sushi he made with me, or at least he said so. But origami... oh, he is the master of them. And each one of his paper cranes just smiles at you. That's what I call the power of native maker. 

He really liked the idea for lost origami. He liked it enough to write about it in his blog, which right now is one of the most read blogs in Japan. It's on first place of some rating site for travel blogs. His blog is amazing, however it is in Japanese, so I have hard time reading it, and lets face it - Google translator sucks in Japanese. I hope that he wrote nice things about me and didn't share the color of my underwear for example. Whatever he wrote it was good enough because yesterday I have more than 700 page views from Japan. I really hope that origamis will start spreading in Asia soon...

So here are the first traveller from Yuya. He left it in front of Terror Haza  (Hous of Terror) in Budapest. It is a  unique house-museum, which is made to the memory of those held captive, tortured and killed in this same building, which, by the way, survived two terror regimes. I think Yuya choose a very Hungarian place for his first origami. A place sad but unique which represents the strength and will of Hungarians. 

The next traveler is changing his location fast, so that's why we won't be able to give you GPS coordinates this time. This story is written directly by Boyan, who probably wrote it in his phone. My digitized friend uses his phone all the time and, amazingly, he really uses it, and he creates some very good stuff with it. I use my phone only for checking my mail, Google calendar and of course Facebook. But Boyan - he writes, he blogs, he chats, he cheats with it...

And how do you think this little origami got lost in the vast world of carriages, locomotives, rails and power. Perhaps it needed some rest from its publicity and just grab the first machine to a land of unknown new people, places and possibilities. As it turns out this little cellulose bird has its origins in the world of railway transportation as it had been diligently and a bit shakily folded from a Maastricht – Vise train ticket. This did not make it any less willing to get picked up and caressed by likeminded travelers, who come to pass by it. But where was this enormous clunking and clattering machine taking this little, fragile being? Well, it seems that it was on its way to Brussels, Belgium, the capital of the European Union. But this is simply a stop along its way, ending at Belgium’s sea front- a town called Ostende, or the East End. There it will be greeted by peace and tranquility, interrupted promptly by the screech of seagulls and small children running around their parents and throwing sand on everyone’s towels. And I can agree and I think you would as well Mr/Ms.. Reader that it will have a marvellous time. Let us just hope it is being taken care of by that special someone, who picks him up and gives him a loving home in the palm of their hand. 

Here comes our first origami from the land of weed - the best place for a crane to fly easily. Boyan is pretty new to making origami. Actually his experience is at the level of "I kind of tried once and it kind of happened". He is a typical student, who studies a lot, parties a lot and kind of drinks a lot. But being a Bulgarian - it is part of his culture. He really liked the idea of becoming a spreader, so much so that he sent me the photos while he was still at the crime scene. Unfortunately, I couldn't upload them that fast. Actually he made the origami after having exam. And considering that he had slept only 4 hours the previous night  because he was studying up to the last possible moment, he is definitely getting into the group of people who embraced the idea.
The first Netherlands origami is in Maastricht. It is lying on the shoulder of a very interesting statue of a young boy, who sells cigarettes. When I saw the photo I thought that the statue represents a poor boy, selling matches (like in Hans Christian Anderson's story "The Little match-seller"). I was pretty close, but you know that Dutch people are always connected with either tulips or cigarettes (weed preferably). So as soon as I got the GPS coordinates I could Google it and found out that our little friend is really poor but he is selling cigarettes, instead of matches and his name is Pieke oet de Stokstraot. And as guessed, he is a character from a novel by Dutch author Ber Hollewijn. Our cranes are free, so don't hesitate to take them.

The paper for Number 3 comes from a little squared print which GP "borrowed" from the paper cake cafe. The boys had a beer there with some guy they met online.
I really like this one and it looks so natural at the place where GP put it. I actually wonder if it is possible for it not to be discovered at all.
It's very possible for that to happen in Bulgaria. I used to work for an advertising company. All my colleagues were male. And (nothing personal or sexist) men prefer to have "artistic chaos" on their desks. I left that place more than one and a half years ago but one week ago I had a call from one of my ex-colleagues. He said, "Itso (my ex-boss) decided to clean his desk (apparently my desk was his now) and he found a copy of a diploma and its not his, or at least he doesn't remember knowing a girl named Marina. So, my question is - do you know some curly girl with the name of Marina?". I started laughing of course. Yeah, I knew this girl and the copy of the diploma was left by me on that desk. However this piece of paper stayed there for more than one and a half years before being discovered. I really hope that it won't happen with the cranes. The good thing is that it was discovered and they searched for the owner, so as the proverb says "Better later, than never".

Origami Yoga is the name I chose for the second crane, which Gian Paolo left in Sofia. GP is getting more creative with every new crane he makes. This one is made from a yoga class brochure, which he found in one, I quote, "cool bar/bookstore where we entered also because the bartender looked super cute". I know for sure that on my next visit to Sofia I will go to this cool bar/bookstore, where the bartenders are super cute.
Its funny that the crane is made from a yoga brochure because Gian Paolo's husband Bryan is actually very good at yoga. Actually after they finish their Euro trip, Bryan and GP are moving to England, where Bryan will probably start teaching yoga.From Sofia the boys will switch countries and I am so excited to see what is the next thing GP will find to make origami.

GP is working hard. Yesterday he spread three paper cranes around Sofia - the capital of Bulgaria. He continues to use whatever he finds to fold them - from newspapers to maps. This time the crane is s made of flier for a  Free Walk Sofia Tour upon which Gian Paolo and Bryan stumbled after wandering through the city for 5 minutes without a map. The origami rests on the fence of St Aleksandar Nevski cathedral. 

The name of this little fellow is St Nicholas. His name originates from GPs subconsciousness because he named the picture that way. Why? He is not sure. Nor am I. But nothing is a coincidence so I decided to name this little traveller St Nicholas. If someone is lucky to find and keep him, he/she will have a saint-origami, maybe the first one from his kind. And not to forget - the very useful flier for free tour in Sofia.      

The first post is with Number Two because Number One is still somewhere travelling in Bulgaria and hasn't stopped yet.

Sweet green Number Two was made by me in one sunny afternoon, when I was not sure why I am making it.  Still I decided to give him a name (yes, Number Two is a boy). So his name is 이 (pronounced Yi), which actually means "two" in Korean.

I was drinking coffee outside and the sun was shining so nicely. I listened to this new amazing Swedish girl I recently discovered Likke Li and she was singing how she will follow her man everywhere, like a river - till the end. And since I was waiting for a girl, not a man, I decided to make myself a nice boy, who can fly and follow me. I really hope that Yi won't get lost and will find someone who will like his story and take care for him.

I gave Yi to Gogo because he is one of the luckiest people I have met and I was sure that my crane won't be lost if he leaves it somewhere. Gogo has the ability of forgetting on strange places so many important things - from keys and wallets, to his all photo equipment. Fortunately, he always finds them. He left Yi at one coffee shop in Ruse, Bulgaria.