Abigail McMurray, yeiou paper objects, standing in workspace holding finished framed paper sculpture

sharing the joy of making since 2014

Why yeiou? Because vowels are important! Because making things up is fun. Because sillyness is underrated. Because the domain name was available. Because it rhymes with “Hi, you!” and I am all about enthusiastic greetings. Because why not?

Hi, I’m Abigail. I make things out of paper.

I have always believed that to be human is to be creative, and have done my best to live that and share that for as long as I can remember. In 2014 I decided to make it official and launched yeiou paper objects at a local arts fair in Somerville, MA with a handful of products, mostly fold-it-yourself paper gift boxes, that I designed on my computer and “manufactured” at home with a computerized cutting machine. 

Over the years I’ve added more products, more color, and made everything more fun. I still work primarily with paper and my computerized cutting machine. I still explore the tension between the digital world and the tangible world, and between the 2D world and the 3D world. I still look for ways to spark creativity and delight. I still show up for the same local arts fair in Somerville, MA.

In 2018 my work changed pretty dramatically when I returned to another childhood interest. As a kid, when I wasn’t folding origami boxes or playing with paper dolls, I was building massive apartment towers out of Legos or spending hours designing virtual homes. Nowadays I create custom three-dimensional paper house portraits based on a photograph of a home or building. These pieces are framed keepsake paper sculptures based on a digital drawing of your home. I transform the drawing into the components I need in order to build the paper house, and then use my computerized cutting machine to cut the pieces I need, ensuring accuracy. 

It has been an adventure to develop this new process and also to hear so many stories of what home means to people. In the first two years of offering custom house portraits I completed about 60 of them, and I feel like I’m just getting started!

I work out of my home studio outside of Boston where I live with my husband, who you’ll often see by my side at craft fairs, and my feline studio assistant, Bash, who keeps things interesting.

Values

yeiou paper objects and I, as the sole-proprietor, am committed to anti-racist action and to working to create a more just world for everyone, regardless. I am doing this by:

  • Financial giving to organizations that work to dismantle racist systems and support people who are vulnerable because of those systems, including monthly giving to Housing Families and sales-based giving to Arlington Eats.
  • Educating myself intentionally on the history of racial oppression, and the economic, environmental, and other ramifications of systemic oppression.
  • Evaluating my suppliers and sources to make sure I’m supporting just systems, sustainability, and as much as possible, businesses run by Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

In the news

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