The sweetest people Lindsey Norberg ever met moved here from Hawaii. They aren’t Hawaiian natives, she said, but they learned that warm, laid-back culture at its source and brought it back to the chilly Pacific Northwest, and to Norberg. “I fell in love a little” with a different way of life, she said.
So when Norberg, a graphic designer, signed up to help create an origami Christmas tree for Divine Consign’s annual charity raffle, she envisioned decorating it with island life and gleaming teal green, “the color of Hawaiian waters,” she said. Her classmates and origami teacher Holly Williams loved the idea, and they all worked for two months to cut and fold paper into approximately 350 colorful flowers, fish, sailboats and other tropical delights.
“I really wanted something that, when you look at it, it just makes you happy,” Norberg said.
The Maui Christmas tree created by Norberg, Williams and their fellow origami crafters is one of four you can view and buy $5 chances to take home, with all proceeds going to local charities. Maui Christmas raffle sales will support mental health clinic Children’s Center; the other options are a barnyard-themed a Friends of Hospice tree, a pet-themed Humane Society for Southwest Washington tree and a classic, shimmery, silver-and-gold tree that supports the charitable efforts of Divine consign, a nonprofit furniture resale shop.