American author Earl Nightingale once said: “You'll find boredom where there is the absence of a good idea.” Conversely, when a good idea is born, boredom ceases to exist and this is precisely how the Foldable Guys was born.
Comprising two designers (Taaneya Balaji and Dinudey Baidya), one engineer turned ad man (Rohan Amonkar) and a computer science graduate who now works for a design studio in Goa (Joash Benjamin), Foldable Guys is as fun as it sounds.
They sell designed paper- the idea is for the customer to fold and cut along the lines to make a foldable- thereby, allowing them to take time off and work on something interesting.
Joash recounts: “Foldable Guys started out as a hobby when we were bored at work. We all realised we had a similar passion for doing something different and wanted other people to be as passionate for something out of the ordinary. The idea was to instil creativity in people who are otherwise usually occupied with their mundane jobs. We've been working together for a long time, but we came together to form Foldable Guys in the first week of February.”
The team has made products based on various characters like superheroes, pop stars and other celebrities.
An interesting feature of their work is that these are not only models, but also work as storage for items like jewellery, coins, stationery, etc.
Customisation gives them a rush. Taaneya says: “We've received requests for a foldable couple for a wedding. We do custom based foldables resembling a person or based on their character.”
Explaining how they go about their craft, Dinudey says: “If we see something we like, we do it. It’s our own take so we really have the creative freedom to do what we like. We all had regular day jobs when this started so we only worked at night. A product usually takes three to four days to make, but ideally we would prefer it if we had a week or more especially when it comes to customised orders.”
The prices of their products depend on how much time and effort is spent on them. Generally, the products range from Rs.100 to Rs. 300 based on the complexity of the foldable. Customised ones are priced higher.
Ask them how viable a business like this is and Rohan says: “Other than just making foldables, we also do a lot of other design work. In an IT dominated city, people want to take time off and do something fun, even if it means sitting at home and folding! Our target customers are usually anyone between the ages 10 to 50. Kids love the superheroes and the older folk love our business card holders, jewellery boxes, postcards, etc.”
Looking ahead, Joash says: “we eventually want this to be the only thing we do. Of course, it won't only be making paper models, but it will be an all round design firm.”
Look up the Foldable Guys on http://www.foldableguys.com or https://www.facebook.com/
