Camila Gaza Manly’s Light-As-A-Feather Paper Lamps
The Montreal-based artist and designer plays with delicate lighting sculptures
No big light! Though the mood-lighting fad of 2023 isn’t as buzzworthy these days, many still avoid the harsh rays of unsophisticated overhead lighting. Montreal-based artist and designer Camila Gaza Manly is one such person. Always advocating for soft illumination, her playful paper lamps offer subtle silhouettes in inventive and elegant forms.
Bonnika lamp.
Gaza Manly didn’t plan on lighting design. As a linguistics student at Concordia University, she was recovering from a car accident during a particularly bleak Montreal winter under peak pandemic curfew when she decided to do something with all her free time.
“At first, I just wanted to learn how to fold a paper lampshade for my own room, to create some coziness and warmth,” she says. “I got so addicted to doing it and not really being able to leave the house, it just kind of snowballed into this much bigger project.”
A capsule collection made from recycled men’s pinstripe shirts, topped with bows.
Her first lighting collection, Lys von Asta, was no small feat, either. The project began with one clear goal: design and build one lamp a day for 100 days. Part of a global creative challenge trending at the time—where completed creations joined in the conversation via hashtagged post—Gaza Manly was up to the task.
“It just felt like it kept feeding itself, basically. I didn’t really have to try very hard for it to happen. It was just happening. And it was also fun too, because you could connect with other artists. And if you wanted to get into a flow with [your project], it worked so well because the creative juices just keep flowing. The more you do it, they just keep on building.”
Camila Gaza Manly working in her studio.
Tulip-lamp (Day #82).
One of her newest designs: a wall-mounted watercolour pear box-lamp.
The lamps from this collection are both whimsical paper sculptures and an exercise in creativity. In all shapes and sizes, some are reminiscent of creamy white cupcakes (others are literally shaped like a slice of cake), still more feature bows, pearls, watercolour sketches and cutouts. Personal and expressive, Lys von Asta was named for her German-Danish heritage: Lys comes from the Danish “light” or “lamp”, von is the German “from” and Asta is her Danish great grandmother’s name.
“I enjoy drawing from life, but I’m not very good at putting my ideas on paper before I actually see them,” she says. “I think that’s actually why the project worked so well for me is because all of those lamps were basically the sketch.”
Olive-inspired lamp.
“I wanted to play around with how playful lighting can be. And the idea that anything can be a lamp.”
Day #63.
Day #59.
Day #87.
Day #34.
Day #65.
Day #32.
Day #36.
Day #70.
After the success of the project, Gaza Manly moved on to customs (like a strawberry lamp) and collaborations (a pearly lighting collection with Dodo Bazaar). Recently, she has been experimenting with 3D-printed designs, from a new sculptural vase collection to floral-inspired pendant lights. With Fusion 360 modeling (which she taught herself), durable forms support the more delicate, handmade aspects of her designs.
A frosted custom lamp made of recycled fabric, tulle — and ribbon!
But her real dream? Incorporate Human-Centric Lighting (HCI) into her work. (Also known as circadian lighting, HCL is a lighting system that boosts human health.) While a clear design objective, it’s also a personal mission—due to a light sensitivity that she’s had since childhood.
The hybrid daisy pendant features hand-folded petals and a 3D-printed pistil.
Camila Gaza Manly lighting detail.
Packaged lamp.
“It makes me excited that the more advanced we get with technology, hopefully the better it will serve us. Going forward, I just hope that [lighting] design can actually make a big difference in people’s lives beyond just being beautiful.”
