During lockdown Ros was at home in her studio and, like everyone else, longing to visit places, see people and explore the world. So she decided to go travelling through her creativity. The result is a range of Papershades Places, paper lampshades which celebrate a wide variety of places in the United Kingdom.
But Ros didn’t stop there. Once these Places Papershades were on the website, local papers and radio stations got in touch and she was invited to talk on local BBC Radio station and be featured in regional papers.
Ros says: “During lockdown, when the shops were shut, online retail became quite the thing. I loved getting orders from people wanting to send Papershades as a present to someone special whom they couldn’t visit. I’d pop in a cheery note saying that my Papershade of Norfolk, for instance, came with love from a daughter to a mother, and I’d send it off to someone in Norwich or Cromer who loved the thoughtfulness of the gift and they they, in turn would send one to someone they loved.
The next thing that happened was that people got in touch with me suggesting I should make designs of places where they lived. So I created designs of places like The Wirral, South Shields, Aberdovey in Wales, Plymouth and Derby. I haven’t lived in those places but it was wonderful to research the area and create an impression of the countryside, the towns and cities and all the important landmarks."
Ros is still creating other Papershades designs. She launched a new range earlier this year - The New Floral collection - which were inspired by a trip to Northumberland at the end of last year. She also has a collection of designs under the banner of Nostalgia, Culinary, Literary and Pick and Mix. Ros also runs workshops at her studio in Muswell Hill as well as running them at crafts fairs such as Living Crafts and Crafts4Crafters. |