- Art & Design
Bare pendant lamps, traditionally the most sober lighting option, are now being warmed up with cosy crochet work. English designer Naomi Paul modernises the age-old craft of crochet into contemporary lighting designs. An initial design eventually resulted in her eponymous studio in London, where she and her team make all the lamps by hand.
For Paul, handwork is a hugely liberating form of material construction, as there are no restrictions on tools or specific structures. You build the stitches like bricks on top of and next to each other. The designer believes in the power of textiles to stimulate and enhance feelings of calm and tranquillity in your environment. This explains the vision behind Naomi Paul Lighting. The slow craft of handmade materials is intrinsic to the studio and the way in which the products are made. While each piece is unique, the care and attention to detail is universal. Paul believes that this skilled and sensitive approach to objects produces a lasting quality that cannot be matched in mass production. The products she and her team make are therefore to be cherished for years to come. 
A skilled and sensitive approach to objects produces a lasting quality.
So then, what exactly is the process from idea to finished lamp? Paul explains that it is a slow process that can sometimes take days, weeks, or months to get right. All pieces are made to order and completely by hand. This can take between eight and eighty hours, and customisation can even take between three and six months. In the artisanal process, a sense of simplicity, lightness and tactility is always central. In her designs, Naomi Paul combines iconic silhouettes with functional integrity. The result is vibrant and calming light forms that also provide a home with a unique installation. 
Not only the construction, but also the material of the lighting enjoys the greatest attention. For her lighting, Paul mostly uses ethically produced Egyptian low-pile cotton that is dyed with Oeko-Tex dyes and mercerised to give a subtle sheen and architectural rigidity to the fibre. They also have special collections in bamboo paper yarn and British Shetland wool. The yarn they use has a unique structural quality that is both soft and architecturally rigid, which also helps to give the lamps such defined sculptural shapes. Cotton also dyes beautifully and so they create wonderful palettes, from vibrant accents to subtle and pleasantly soft tones. 
Naomi Paul's works are ideal for when you want to add a special touch to your interior. Not only are they handmade, but they are also invariably consisting of high-quality materials. Although these are dark days, this lighting immediately creates a unique atmosphere and cosiness. If you want to learn more about Naomi Paul Lighting, be sure to read our full article in Imagicasa Summer 2021.
Nick Rochowski Photography
Stylist & creative direction: Hannah Franklin