Derbyshire-based Paper Starlights is celebrating its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of handmade design, independent retail and a partnership with its makers in India that has grown alongside the business.
The story began when founders Andy Jupp and Jules Cooper encountered paper star lanterns during Diwali. Captivated by the colour, light and the way the stars transformed ordinary spaces into places of celebration, they set out to meet the people making them. What followed was the beginning of Paper Starlights and a relationship between two family businesses that continues today.
Each Paper Starlight is still screen-printed and punched by hand using traditional techniques. Colours are mixed and layered by eye, tissue inserts create the lanterns’ distinctive stained-glass glow and some designs contain more than 1,000 individually punched pinholes.
For Andy and Jules, that human element is just as important as the finished product. Their relationship with their producer partners has developed over 30 years through trust, shared ideas and a commitment to fair and responsible trade. Some production also takes place in artisans’ homes, giving women greater flexibility to fit paid work around family life.
The anniversary comes as Paper Starlights continues to grow beyond its familiar place in independent shops and Christmas markets. The stars are increasingly being used in large-scale installations in heritage and cultural spaces, following a major installation at Bath Abbey and further work with Leicester Cathedral in 2026.
“We had no plan to start a business,” say Andy and Jules. “We just thought everybody should have one of these.” Thirty years later, that simple idea is still lighting up homes, shops and shared spaces across the UK.
