Tsurus by Akemi

This was a tough llittle business to find. No website and no major advertising, but her work speaks for itself.
I asked for a recommendation from my wedding coordinator for someone to assemble my framed cranes for my wedding. There aren’t a lot of vendors that do this type of work but the two that I know of predominantly here, I wasn’t really thrilled to do business with. My coordinator recommended Tsurus by Akemi.
I saw Elsie Akemi Shimokawa at one bridal expo and spoke briefly with her husband while I flipped through her catalog of sample work. It looked great. When I was finally ready to book, I called Elsie. She is just the sweetest lady to work with. She showed me exactly how to fold the cranes properly and even gave me a great insider tip: Shirokiya has the cheapest double-​sided gold origami. Whoodathunkit?! Shirokiya! $ 3.95 a pack for double-​sided, compared to a whopping $ 6.99 a pack at Ben Franklin! I paid her a $ 400 deposit, which is her standard requirement for reserving your time.
She brought her books and I got to choose a design that I liked but tweak it to put my own touches on it. She told that she would need my cranes by a certain date, which I missed completely by more than a month – Hey, don’t judge me! This is how wedding planning goes.
Still when I was finished, I called her and she didn’t give me a hard time at all. She had just a month to complete my framed artwork. I met her at Art Attacks on Kapahulu, where some of her work is displayed. There I chose my framing and glass. She set a date a few days before my wedding that she would have my work done and we went on our way.
Right on schedule, she called me a few days before my wedding to let me know she dropped off my completed cranes to Art Attack and that he would frame it and call me when its ready. She also left my invoice so I could leave a check for the remaining balance there.
She really is so easy to work with and very accommodating. When my cranes were displayed at my wedding so many people complemented me on the work. I took full credit, but really, it had little to do with me and so much more to do with Elsie’s fabulous attention to detail in her art. What sets her apart from the other «crane people» is that she uses every single crane as part of the design and even adds some three-​dimensional effects to it. The pics will never do her enough justice, but I’ve uploaded them anyway. My groom’s single crane that he folded is separated from the rest as a special touch of sorts, in the corner.
I found her work to be very affordable… of course, I did all of the crane folding myself, though you can pay her to fold your cranes for you.
From having a conversation with her about the quality of the velvet she uses, I respect very much the attention to detail and quality she has for an art piece that has to last a lifetime.
I would highly recommend Elsie for weddings, anniversary, yakudoshi or any other reason you might need crane work.