Origami Lanterns

This is a series of folded paper lanterns that light up with an LED tealight. They’re made from heavy drawing paper that I fold by hand.

lamps at night

lamps-on-a-Pearsall

folding in progress

Although I fold them by hand, the paper is laser cut. This allows them to mount onto the base via a series of laser cut notches that completely capture the base. The base is made from heavy weight bookboard (the same material that’s inside a hardcover book) which is leftover scrap from my wife’s bookbinding business. These pieces would otherwise be thrown out, so it’s nice to reuse them.

lamp base

lamp base capture

My friends at the Wonder Fair gallery encouraged me to do a full retail packaging for the lamps. I sourced boxes that would fit the lamps perfectly, came up with a design, and did a run of silk screened boxes. Each box is hand printed and signed by me.

silk screened boxes on the floor

stack of boxes

signed box