Our trading partnership began in India, nearly 30 years ago. During Diwali, the Festival of Light, we were captivated by the magical effects of the traditional Indian paper lanterns which shone in doorways and community spaces around us. We loved how these colourful festival paper stars transformed a space and brought people together - and how they encapsulated the joy, hospitality and celebration which surrounded us. We wanted to share this experience with as many people as possible, and were soon honoured to find ourselves face to face with the young family who made the stars - who would become our production partners and friends. 

Our first consignment of starlight lanterns arrived in the UK from India in an old aluminium trunk. They were an instant hit at UK music festivals before we embarked on a journey to wholesale them to small indie shops around the UK. We travelled the length and breadth of the country, sleeping in a beat-up Ford Sierra 1.6 GLX Estate - and very quickly the repeat orders were coming in. It seemed people just loved Paper Starlights – and are still loving them today. Now based in the market town of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK, our company is still guided by the stars and our paper lanterns sold across the world. 

“Whoever we are, a twinkling star in a clear night sky brings light and comfort”

We want to use trade to improve life and lives.

We practise share trade – trade which is fair, sharing and supportive - and believe quality is the consequence of a fair, creative and collaborative approach. We aim to trade decently from production to point of sale, and to use work and trade to build community and bring people together.

We believe trade is a forum for creative dialogue and collective experience. It’s a creative process which connects, celebrates, inspires - and acts as a catalyst for change. It brings people together in a spirit of fair exchange and has the power to break down barriers between generations, cultures, and demographics.

Our organisation has grown in strength by collaborating throughout our business to explore sustainable, creative and co-operative models of trading. We aim for a business that’s sustainable for everyone involved, and to understand our supply chain as an interdependent, creative community. 

“Older, younger, or somewhere in between - people love Paper Starlights”

Whether used as Christmas lights, a feature lampshade or party decor, Paper Star Lights produce an ambient glow in an array of colours which softens the light, creates a gentle radiance and subtly transforms a space. 

Living and working so close to the beauty of the Peak District National Park, we love the natural environment. We want to create love and light without a dependence on unsustainable materials or environmentally damaging manufacturing processes - so we always use responsibly sourced paper and natural dyes. 

Each starlight is hand screen-printed using a wooden printing frame and plant-based pigments, a traditional process creating unrivalled depth and richness of tone. Colour balancing is performed by eye, and after years of experimentation with multilayering & overprinting, our partnership has refined the screen-printing process to create increasingly complex designs which can’t be reproduced by machine. 

Each paper lantern is hand punched with intricate pin holes to release the light in a myriad of decorative effects, and tissue inserts positioned by hand create an atmospheric stained glass glow. 

Each part of the making process is still performed by hand, making each star unique. And will always begin in the time-honoured way - a hand-drawn sketch.