Hannah Nunn - Illuminate: Contemporary Craft Lighting

First published in Great Britain in 2012
A & C Black Publishers Limited
an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3DP
www.acblack.com

ePub ISBN: 978-1-408-18833-0

This electronic edition published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Copyright Hannah Nunn 2012

CIP Catalogue records for this book are available from the British Library.

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means(including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

Hannah Nunn has asserted her right under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Cover image: Zipper 8 Lighting, Spiky White Paper Pendant Light. Pendant light constructed from hundreds of hand-cut white vellum paper triangles, 50.8 x 45.7 x 45.7 cm (20 x 18 x 18 in.). Photo: Allison Patrick.

Title page image: Curiousa & Curiousa, Glass Pendants. Bespoke, mouth-blown glass pendants. Height from 12 to 16 cm (4 to 6 in.). Photo: Chris Webb.

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SARAH FOOTE, HYDRANGEA LAMP.

From afar, the Hydrangea Lamp looks like dozens of small branches grouped into a bouquet, 35.5 x 35.5 x 40.5 cm (14 x 14 x 16 in.). Photo: Kate Sears.

Hannah Nunns fairy lights in the Radiance shop at night.
Photo: John Siddique.

The author, Hannah Nunn.
Photo: Sarah Mason.

Hannah Nunn runs a successful practice as a designer and maker of paper-cut lighting. She sells her work widely in the UK and across the world through many craft galleries and interior design shops. Her lighting has appeared in national publications such as BBC Homes & Antiques, The Times and The Guardian Gift Guide and has featured on blogs such as Design Sponge and Apartment Therapy. This coverage, along with her website and Etsy shop, has helped her build a customer base across the globe.

Her own practice as a lighting designer sparked a passion for handmade lighting and in 2005 Hannah opened her shop Radiance in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, to showcase some of the exceptional makers using light to bring their craft to life. She has her design studio at the back of the premises and enjoys the balance between sourcing and making beautiful work for the shop. Hannah has always loved to tell the stories behind the designs. Writing Illuminate has given her the opportunity to do just that and further champion the work of many designers working in the field.

Hannah lives in Hebden Bridge with her partner, two children and three cats.

I would like to thank you Robert, Ffion, Euan, Rachel, Natalie, Wendy, Anne, Fiona, Matthew, Cathy and Rachel in a big way for all your encouragement and support during the time I have been compiling this book. I love you all and couldnt have done this without you. Special thanks to Ffion for taking the time to help me.

Thanks to Alison Hawkes who had the vision for the book and offered me the opportunity and to Kate Sherington for her patience and support in seeing it through.

Thank you to all my wonderful customers who have helped my business to flourish. I wouldnt be here without you and for that I am grateful.

A huge thanks also to all the designers in the book. It has been a great honour to get to know you. Your time and effort is much appreciated; without your beautiful lights this book would not exist.

Lastly, Mum and Dad: you have always encouraged me to follow my heart and do what I love, and for that I cant thank you enough.

GRAYPANTS, SCRAP LIGHTS JUPITER WITH MOONS

Spherical series of repurposed cardboard pendants. Spheres ranging from 2044.5 cm diameter (817 in.).
Photo: Jonathan Junker.

This is a book of stories. It captures 47 light-bulb moments, telling the tales of many designers, ceramicists, furniture designers, blacksmiths and illustrators, all of whom were going about their business when one day something happened: they discovered light. In their different ways, they witnessed just how light could affect the work they were creating and they couldnt help but explore its properties in greater depth.

I am often asked, Have you always wanted to be a lighting designer?

The answer is no! I hadnt considered this as a career path or that such a career even existed. I am an artist who happened upon light one day. I saw how well it enhanced my work and so invited it to come along for the journey. It seems to be a similar story throughout this book.

Illuminate tells the tales of many happy accidents. It recalls what happens when something nudges us to hold up our paper-cutting, our wood-shaving or our plastic-bottle end to the light. These are the golden moments (as eco-lighting designer Michelle Brand puts it) that have filled us with inspiration and taken us down the career path of designing with light.

And what was the great attraction? What was it that we couldnt ignore? In different ways, everyone describes a similar thing. The work was brought to life, animated, transformed. The light added another dimension, gave the work a personality, added magic. People discovered that it revealed hidden qualities in materials, like looking through a microscope at something.

The lights you will see in this book are essentially art and craft pieces. The work has been made for the love of the craft itself. This is not mass-produced design and many of the makers featured here are not particularly interested in getting their work made on a large scale. They would rather roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Its about loving clay or wood. Its about loving print or stitch, or making something beautiful out of waste materials. For some, the work comes from a passion to keep a traditional technique alive; for others, its paving the way for state-ofthe- art technology to become a part of the craft world. Whatever the pull, each piece reflects this passion and embodies the warmth of human touch.

ARTIST HELEN RAWLINSON PULLING A SCREEN-PRINT.

Photo: courtesy of the artist.

Many of the makers specialise in one craft but often delve into other mediums too. I have divided the book into eight chapters, each representing a different medium, but you will notice there are many crossovers. Where do I put a blacksmith who adorns his copper lamp bases with paper flower shades? Does someone making lampshades from old sewing patterns fit into paper or recycled materials? Please take my classifications lightly. Remember that what links together everyone in the book is light itself.