The Blog

“I saw a lamp break and thought, ‘I could make that,'” Shannon Guirl told us of the moment that sparked her interest in making lighting. Without any previous experience with lighting, Shannon taught herself the ropes and set up her Kickstarter campaign to really get the ball rolling. Now, out of her small studio in Portland, she crafts beautifully designed modern-shaped lighting from clay and wood as Caravan Pacific.

While previously living in New York, Shannon took a trip to Portland and was enamored with the creative community. “There was a real sense of community with people making things,” she explained to us. “I had always been fooling around with materials, but then starting thinking about what to do to be part of that community,” Shannon said, “The broken lamp really got me thinking.”

She had been a film an TV editor for about 10 years, but had been moonlighting in any side project that came her way—making t-shirts, screen printing or making cards.

Now, she’s set up a showroom space attached to her workshop to foster the growth of other small, creative business. Illuminated by her own Caravan Pacific lamps, the shelves and walls are lined with goods from local Portland designers and designer friends that she’s known for years. It’s essentially a one-stop-shop for redecorating your apartment.

Since Shannon was so driven to make her business come to life, she puts a lot of care into every piece she creates. Even with using simple shapes, numerous elements have to be taken into account in their creation, such as the weight of the ceramic so it doesn’t collapse while casting.

Soon, Shannon plans to add more colors and shapes to the mix! We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for them in the near future.

Shannon is wearing the Marshall in Striped Sassafras. Photos by Collin Hughes.

 

 

Tags: class trip, Collin Hughes, handmade, lighting, Profile