“Origami meets Lego.” That’s how Paper Punk describes themselves and I couldn’t think of a better description. Paper Punk offers kids paper crafts-building toys for makers of all ages. In a world where we’re connected to phones and tablets all day long, Paper Punk asks us to set those aside and simply make something with our hands. Paper Punk has something for everyone; there are simple building kits, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle characters to make and abstract robots to construct. When you let your imagination run wild the possibilities are endless.
I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with Paper Punk’s award-winning Urban Fold kit. A recipient of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, this paper city is refreshing modern in its design. There are lots of stickers to choose from and bright colors to build with, but the overall design scheme is that of today’s modern city.
The Urban Folds set comes equipped with 48 ready-to-make building shapes, 697 stickers and a planning mat.
The building pieces are a breeze to assemble. No glue, tape or other adhesive is required to build an Urban Folds city. The die-cut pieces easily pop out of their protective holders. A quick light fold of the scored edges helps form the piece and make it ready for assembly.
Each side and tab is numbered in order of how it should be assembled.
After putting together the first piece it becomes very easy to get into a rhythm to assemble the whole kit in no time.
I love the stickers that come with this kit. There are flags, house numbers and doodles to use to decorate the building pieces. But there are also modern-day people to add to your city as well as graffiti-like drawings. Paper Punk does a great job of creating a product that not only appeals to a child but to their parent, too.
I had our family friend, an eighth-grader at Royal Oak Middle School, check out the Urban Folds kit. It takes a lot these days to draw him away from a video game. I found him intently designing a small city scene as he declared the kit “pretty cool.” Not a bad endorsement!
Urban Folds retails for $24.95 and suggested ages for the kit are 6 to 99. Follow #PaperPunk to see lots of paper-crafting inspiration. Visit Paper Punk’s website to pick up one of their kits for your family to try; it won’t be long before you’re all happy to call one another Paper Punks.
