Built on Curiosity,
Folded with Love
PaperFunTinker began in a small Vermont kitchen with a stack of colored paper, a borrowed bone folder, and the stubborn belief that making things with your hands is genuinely good for the soul.
How It All
Started
It was 2021 and Clara Jensen had just moved back to Burlington after a decade in New York. Between packing boxes, she rediscovered her grandmother's origami book — a dog-eared copy of folding patterns she'd loved as a child. She made a crane, then another, then twenty more.
She started posting her projects online. Within weeks, strangers were asking: "Where do I get the paper? What tools do you use? Can you make a kit?"
So she did. The first twenty kits were assembled at her dining table, wrapped in kraft paper, and shipped from the Burlington post office. They sold out in a weekend.
Three years later, PaperFunTinker is a small-but-mighty studio team of five, shipping thousands of kits across the country, with a physical studio space where the community gathers every month for free tinkering sessions.
Our Values Are
Folded In
Sustainability
Every material we use is either recycled, FSC-certified, or sourced from responsible suppliers. We offset our shipping footprint and use plastic-free packaging.
Accessibility
Craft should be for everyone. We price fairly, offer school partnerships, and donate kits to libraries and community centers quarterly.
Quality Over Quantity
We release 12 kits per year — no more. Each one is tested, refined, and made to a standard we're genuinely proud of. Slow and intentional always beats fast and forgettable.
Community First
Our makers community is the heartbeat of what we do. Every kit design is influenced by their feedback, and every drop celebrates their creativity.
The Hands Behind
Every Kit
Clara Jensen
Founder & Head DesignerOrigami purist, morning baker, dog mom. Designed every kit from the first fold to the final wrap.
Marcus Reyes
Materials CuratorPaper obsessive with a background in printmaking. If it folds beautifully, Marcus found it.
Priya Nair
Illustration & Guide DesignVisual storyteller who turns "fold the left corner" into something you actually want to read.
Ready to Tinker?
Your first fold is waiting inside a box. Browse the kits, find your level, and make something you'll be proud of.