Design
Naomi Paul
Colorful crocheted lights.
Image courtesy of: Alun Callender Photography
Italian lighting designer Naomi Paul has dreamed up a collection of down lights that are beautifully stitch-knitted to perfection. Paul spent her childhood watching her ninety-year-old grandmother knit functional items such as socks; yet what stuck with Paul is the dedication and resolve that came with each and every stitch.
Navy blue pendant light.
Image courtesy of: Décortique
As artists and designers from around the world turn toward using eco-friendly materials and making sure they properly recycle their waste, Naomi Paul makes sure to ONLY use eco-conscious fabrics and organic materials. The lighting designer from London uses a technique that previously had only been seen when crafting pillow covers and blankets.
Paul’s collection of hand-knitted lamps is available in organic fabric that comes in a variety of colors… all hand-knitted and all of a similar style. These lighting fixtures are unique in that they create a great way to bring ambiance to an interior space.
In her London studio, Paul crochets a pendant around a wire frame.
Image courtesy of: Homes and Gardens, photographed by: Alun Callender
The majority of the lampshades are made with mercerized Egyptian cotton, a yarn with a slightly waxed finish that adds shine and architectural structure. The yarn is dyed in Italy and then shipped to Lancashire where a craftsman knits it into a cord. Paul says, “We’ve spent a long time developing that cord, to be exactly the right tension and rigidity to make the pendants hang and appear as they do.”
The frames are hand-rolled in coppered steel by one of England’s last frame-makers. When it returns to London, the team crochets the cord around the frame. Each piece is completed by one person with a continuous thread that is worked in 360 degrees.
It is a laborious process… the smallest pendants take five hours to make and the large, custom pieces can take three to four months to complete.
Bolts of colorful thread.
Image courtesy of: Image courtesy of: Homes and Gardens, photographed by: Alun Callender
Initially, Paul studied graphic design. It was when she was given the project of “making something bad” that she tried her hand at knitting. She ended up knitting a bathing suit, which actually wasn’t that bad. Following, she realized that perhaps graphic design was not for her. Paul took a trip to Japan where she visited traditional weavers in Nagoya. Their dedication and integrity to the craft sparked her interest in textiles. She soon transferred to the Chelsea College of Art and Design to study weaving and in 2012, Paul opened her studio.
Large dusty pink simple shade, made to order.
Egyptian mercerized cotton cord with a copper frame, copper rod with brass hook.
Image courtesy of: Naomi Paul
When she was starting out, Paul used industry surplus yarns from couture fashion houses. But as the company grew and more and more orders were placed, Paul realized that she would need to source virgin yarn in order to keep with with demand. Sourcing from a family mill in Italy enables Paul to maintain a consistent color palette.
