Biography
A San Francisco native and Third Generation Japanese American, Linda Tomoko Mihara began her lifelong origami journey at age 5. She is the granddaughter of Tokinobu Mihara, author of two of the first books on origami written in English in the early 1950’s.
Linda is an award-winning designer of complex origami art. Her ground-breaking designs include the ‘Peace Sphere’- a three-dimensional sphere of 18 cranes folded from a single sheet of paper- inspired by origami techniques dating from the 18th century. Her ‘Star Tessellated Dress and High Heels’ won the 2009 Innovation Award at the California State Fair Fine Art Competition, the first time Origami was recognized as Fine Art in the history of the Fair. She was also honored with the Asian Pacific American Heritage Award in recognition of Creativity in Design. Her artworks have been on display in Museums around the world, including most recently at the Asian Museum in San Francisco.
Her intricate designs and paper sculpting works have been featured in commercials for Mitsubishi Motors, Febreze, McDonald’s and Clear Haircare. Her clients include Pixar, Disney, Industrial Light and Magic, Visa, Chanel and Hermes.
Linda also owns and manages the Paper Tree, a San Francisco Legacy Business, now in its 53rd year. The store offers one of the largest selections of Origami on the planet, as well as hand-crafted papers from Japan. They offer Origami classes as well as beautiful custom gift wrapping service.
In addition to her many commercial projects, Linda has volunteered her time to community projects such as the World Tree of Hope- the largest Origami tree in the world that is adorned with thousands of origami cranes and stars. Linda has also been an integral volunteer to the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival for the past 52 years and has donated her origami art to fundraisers for Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Center For Ecosystem Survival, Nihonmachi Little Friends, and Kimochi Senior Services.
