When did you first join BOS and why?

In 2010, after my daughter was born, I was suffering with very poor mental health.  Whilst in hospital I started to fold an Origami frog that I learnt when I was a child, with my brother, and in a short time I had a frog jumping around the table. The patients there quickly asked me to do a jumping frog for them to which I replied ‘I will teach you how to make one’. In that instant, we shared a moment of clarity, and my passion was reignited. After leaving hospital I decided that I wanted to learn more Origami and decided to join the BOS in 2011.

What do you like most about BOS and can you share any moments/events that you have really enjoyed?

Since joining BOS, I have found a lot of support and formed a lovely friendship with Penny Groom who was the Membership Secretary at the time.  I greatly enjoy going every year with my daughter to the BOS conventions where I always meet likeminded people and have an fantastic time folding with others!

Tell us an anecdote, fact or news involving origami

A year later, in 2012, I was back at the same hospital but this time as a volunteer teaching Origami to the patients. I also developed a love for other crafts, later becoming a craft tutor. Origami has always been my first passion and I regularly teach it to the vulnerable in my community. In 2017, together with Origami friends and fellow BOS members Angela Loveridge and Dr Lizzie Burns, we set up a social enterprise, Origami Pulse CIC, with the mission of  Improving Life, one fold at a time.