I have been doing origami for over 40 years now! I first discovered this magical art  at school, making paper aeroplanes and throwing them round the play ground. The Rupert Annual around then always contained an origami fold or two, and I recall trying to fold some of these - not very well at the time! When I was about 9 or 10 Robert Harbin had a TV programme on Anglia TV, and brought out his Teach Yourself Origami (Origami 1). I borrowed a copy of the book from a school friend, and later on my parents got me more books as they came out. I became a member of the British Origami Society around 1975 and have been folding paper ever since!

I am currently serving as Public Relations Officer on the British Origami Society’s Council. This is my second stint in this particular post, the first being 1998-2002 during which time the British Origami Society participated in the Japan 2001 festival inter-cultural festival.

From that involvement has grown a fascination with Japanese culture, which has resulted in a  visit to Japan in 2003 as part of an origami trip. There are some photos from that trip on the Photo Gallery page.

  Creating my Own Origami Designs

Creating my own origami designs is one of the great joys of this art. I started creating my own origami models when I was a teenager, and many of my early works have been included in the BOS booklet: "Tony O'Hare - Selected Works 1983-82". This includes some of my favourite ever creations: The Welsh Dragon, as I was living in Neath, South Wales at the time of creation 1976; Frog - simple and cute, and my infamous "Nude" - which appeared on page 3 of the BOS magazine. Evidence of a mis-spent youth? The booklet was put together when I had moved to Bristol by Dan Mason, who was one of the "Bristol 4" creative folders in the late '70's and '80's. He sadly died in his early thirties, and there is a dedication to him in the re-print of the booklet. Gone but not forgotten, mate.

Over the years I have created over 150 of my own origami designs (and still going strong) & have had my work published in books, magazines & other publications. You can find a list of my designs on the Diagrams page. These include: