Kayya

Who received this grant?

Kayya was eight when someone gave her an origami book. She started with simple cranes and never really stopped, working her way through designs until folding became the thing she turned to for joy, for calm and for the pleasure of making something with her hands.

She had already worked out that setting her folds in resin turned a paper craft into something practical and durable, something a person could use every day. What she had not done was treat any of it as a business. 

That came through the Young Artists Centre, where she decided the thing she had been doing since she was eight could be her own.

What was this grant used for?

Kayya won a $500 grant through the Young Artists Centre. She planned to spend it on materials, particularly resin, on the essentials she needed to trade at markets, and on building a website so she could run the business properly.

WHAT THE $GRANT BOUGHT (itemised by Kayya)
Marquee, weights, tables, chairs and tablecloths
Higher quality resin and materials
Other stallholder supplies

What has the grant achieved in twelve months?

Since receiving the grant, Kayya has started a real business. She bought a marquee, tables, chairs, tablecloths and weights, which is what let her turn up to a market looking like a business rather than someone trying one out. 

She has since traded at eight community markets and events, including the Bohemian Bulla Market several times, the Craigieburn Festival, Carols by Candlelight and a run of smaller local pop-ups, reaching hundreds of customers and making consistent sales.

Importantly, purchasing better materials allowed her to improve the product line. She redeveloped what she was making and expanded from two ideas, keychains and magnets, to adding greeting cards, origami bouquets, glow-in-the-dark star jars, hanging decorations and mystery boxes.

Kayya also ran her first origami workshop, volunteering with Hume Youth's winter school holiday program. Tickets sold out and every single person turned up. For a business built on a craft she taught herself at eight, teaching it to a full room is the part that matters most.

How it happened

What does she need next?

Kayya is looking for councils, community organisations and venues willing to host a workshop, and for anyone who wants to bring origami to their group.