A student at Shishya in Adyar who lives in Besant Nagar, Anu Elizabeth Alexander fashions paper and jute into ornaments and this artistry is manifested in decorative products she sells through her brand, Folded Flourish.
“I first got interested in origami when I was maybe seven or eight,” she recalls. “I found a book and I started trying out different designs. I really liked it.” Her fascination matured into a deliberate practice: selecting designs she loved and imagining how they could adorn Christmas trees. “I thought they would look great on a tree,” she says.
Some of the Christmas decor-based origami works of Anu Elizabeth Alexander. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Her speciality is modular origami, a technique where multiple folded units coalesce into a single, intricate form. Her festive repertoire includes eight-pointed stars that gleam under tree lights, paper wreaths, modular diamonds and Kusudama, a spherical, multi-petalled centrepiece that commands attention. “My favourite part of the process arrives while making more complex folds and adding details,” she says. “I like to make it look a little more complex than it already is.” Depending on the design, creation can take 15 minutes to an hour. “The sheets of paper I use are rarely the same size,” she admits. “The biggest challenge is making the units stick together perfectly.” For this Christmas, Anu offers both single ornaments priced at ₹150, and sets of four stars, four diamonds, or four wreaths, each set priced at ₹500.
