Papershades

I'm an artist with a passion for paper. I love tearing up all kinds of paper to create my work. I went to art school to learn how to paint in oils but couldn't help sticking paper to my canvases. Eventually I ditched the paints and stuck with paper. Then, after a show of big blowsy tissue paper florals, I decided I wanted to do something other than cards or posters. I wanted to create a product. I looked around my house and thought my lampshades looked really dull and boring. Why couldn't lampshades be made of paper and become a canvas for my art? That was the lightbulb moment! It took a while to develop a way of holding panels of printed paper together but I eventually created a robust, flatpack paper lampshade which could take any design I desired. Then, I thought, could others do this? I invited friends to sit around my kitchen table with great piles of paper and, after a little bit of instruction, everyone managed to use fragments of paper to make great designs. I printed those designs onto special Papershades paper and, voila!, everyone went home with a beautiful and totally unique paper lampshade. So that's when I set up Papershades workshops. I love inviting people to sit around the table in my north London studio. It's a fun, relaxed and very creative workshop. And that moment at the end, when everyone switches on the light to illuminate the shade they've created is magic. I'll never tire of seeing those happy faces!