Jane’s Journal

Designer Spotlight - Hannah Nunn

Hannah Nunn is a lighting designer/maker based in Yorkshire - she creates glowing indoor lights from cut paper, inspired by plants. She is also one of the loveliest and most enthusiastic people I know.

I first met Hannah a long time ago when exhibiting at the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate. The BCTF is an amazing show - full of designer makers who sell to galleries and shops - with so much talent crammed into the hall.

It is fascinating seeing the work of other designers who see the world in a similar way..

Hannah and I immediately recognised that we obsess over the same plants - cow parsley, teasels, alliums - the structure, the curve, the line - and that our approach to design is very similar.

We are both interested in the way plant forms relate to each other and the line between naturalism and stylisation.

We love the detail, the found object, the intricate flower form.

Hebden Bridge, where she lives, is near to where our cream fulled wool is woven so, over the years, I've also been able to pop into her beautiful shop there and marvel at the simplicity of her style, the clean lines and the way she composes her designs.

A few years ago I was given one of her table lamps as a birthday gift and it delights me every day - plain and unassuming during the day, a glowing column of hare bells at night.

Recently I have loved seeing how she has developed her range to include fabric and wallpaper without diluting her trademark style.

Now I have my eye on her Charlotte's Garden wallpaper in inkwell. Ferns and alliums and snakehead fritillaries, inspired by the Brontë Garden at Haworth.

I asked Hannah how she feels that nature influences her design work

"Plants are everything to my work.

Holding up a beautiful meadow grass against the sky or looking closely at the structure of a dandelion clock is what gives me that excited feeling and makes me want to DRAW!

I have an urge to try and represent the beauty that I see. I usually start by drawing, from life or from the photos that I take while I'm out walking and I make simple silhouette motifs that I scan into the computer and then manipulate until the shapes are ready to appear on a lamp or on a wallpaper.

Right now I'm working on the colours for my next wallpaper designs. It's called Tiny Treasures and it's a huge collection of things that you might put in your pocket while you're out walking.

Seeds, pods, feathers...it's like a nature table.In fact it has 47 species on it altogether.

I'm designing an identification book to go with it that tells all the stories of the seeds and pods and where I found them. It's going to be a treasure in itself."

You can find Hannah talking more about her designs on her very beautiful blog and her Instagram.

I'm delighted that she is one of the designers who have agreed to give Snapdragon Studio members an exclusive discount - which will be included in Wednesday's Members Newsletter.

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