New Trends in Handmade Paper Lighting

If you've been watching the hit TV show Making It, you may have enjoyed (as I did) the Faster Craft Challenge in Episode 5 that featured natural lighting - no spoilers here, but wow! Paper and lamps have long gone hand in hand since shades are often made of paper, thus lighting is something I've featured fairly frequently here on All Things Paper, however, it's been a while since we last visited Etsy to discover the latest examples. Let's go!

Maria Fiter of CreaReDesign in Barcelona, Spain found her calling as a designer of useful home decor made of eco-friendly materials. These two modern lamps are representative of her fondness for a minimal, industrial look. First up, the Pluto floor lamp has a base of wood and the shade is paper pulp that she makes by upcycling newspapers.

The stylish Mizuko desk lamp also features paper maché and wood, and like the Pluto, the shade is available in a dozen attractive colors.

 

Hugo and Teresa of OWLpaperlamps are architects in Lisbon, Portugal with a fun knack for describing what they make in the best possible light... lamplight, of course, ha. Even better is the fact that each papercraft animal model comes as a DIY kit with a pre-cut 160g paper model in your choice of eight colors and a lamp base that includes a light bulb socket, electrical cord with switch, and plug options for your locale. In addition to an assembly guide, they thoughtfully provide a practice model.

The pair of vivid parrots are sure to be noticed and how cute would these mama and baby elephants look in a nursery? Very! You'll also find an emperor penguin, barn owl, tortoise, cachalot (had to look that one up), and an adorable rabbit.

This Aurora Borealis LED paper night lamp is the only item listed in Stanislav Mikov's The House Is Bright shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, but oh boy, how cool it is! With a celestial body of varnished paper and a wooden frame, it's a conversation piece. Colors in the northern lights palette change slowly to create a cozy and calm atmosphere via a USB power source.

Roberto Celada and Raquel Esteve of BuoKids in Valencia, Spain create pendant lights that bring joy to a child's room. All of the shop's products are designed with respect for the environment too; that's always a plus in my book. The heavyweight paper has a metallic sheen and some of the designs can be customized with a child's name or two. Choose a design for the top and a color for the bottom.

I'm a fan of the happy whale and the buzzing bee is mighty cute too. U.S. readers, a recent reviewer linked to a Westinghouse kit from Home Depot that works as a conversion for the bulb socket.

Because I've noticed in my travels that Halloween items are beginning to haunt store shelves, it's not too early to give a shout out to these spooky card stock luminaries by John Dollar of LunaMothStudio [edit: shop has closed] in Florida... seriously, they are pretty scary! For example, the vellum windows are shaped like a werewolf's mouth, fangs and all.

Lastly, artistic floral lamps by Pamella OConnor of HanjiHome can be displayed all year round, but these two examples look quite autumnal. The shape of the round flower lamp above reminds me of a jack-o-lantern... albeit an elegant one. Pamella calls it Whimsy and used varied paper techniques including torn petals and twisted paper buds to create it.

In this Five Tulips arrangement, red paper that is embedded with dried leaves covers acetate flowers. The stems and leaves are covered with black discharged paper that has had its color lifted to impart a bronzed effect. She even made the hypertufa rock base by hand.

Can you tell I'm a fan of paper lighting? I call it sculpture with a purpose!