This has been an incredibly busy and exciting holiday season for Taro’s Origami Studio.

Several months ago we were approached by Muji, one of the flagship stores on Fifth Ave in Manhattan right across from the NY Public Library. There were about 2 months worth of planning, but after many weeks of work and installation, the holiday display is now up for everyone to see.

Here is a step-by-step behind-the-scenes look at how we brought it all together.

1: BRAINSTORMING

First The Taro’s team went through exactly what holiday scene Muji was looking for and came up with some ideas.  We also drew inspiration from another of our installations in NYC. After creating some renders of different sized snowflakes and trees, Muji selected a few options and we went off to visit the site in person.

Muji already had an extensive rigging network for displays so the Taro’s team went about figuring out how to design models as large as 3 feet across that can also hang safely from the ceiling.

There were several weeks of trial and error on different designs and options but eventually everything worked as needed.

2: MODEL PRODUCTION

From there we only had about 2 weeks to score and create about 400 different sized paper snowflakes. Each model was designed to be created out of several different sheets of folded paper to ad rigidity and structure. This also meant that the models could be disassembled and flattened for future storage and use at different stores.

The Taro’s Origami Staff worked i several locations across the East Coast to make sure everything was produced on time. All told there were over 300 total hours of work done on making sure it was all created on time.

3: INSTALLATION

Over the course of about 5 business days, the Taro’s team drove into Manhattan and dropped off the entire line of 400 snowflakes. From there they assembled the larger snowflakes on site and got to work stringing and hanging the entire installation. By working before business hours and then after closing at times, they minimized the impact on any guests to the store and transformed the space into a winter wonderland.

4: FINAL DISPLAY

Take a look at the final results of the installation, which can be seen in person for a limited time at the Bryant Park Muji on fifth Ave in NYC. Every project has it’s own set of challenges and hurdles, but the entire Taro’s team is quite excited about the final results of their work. Happy holidays!