Our story
Light of Stars grows from thirty years of making.
Created by Paper Starlights, the installation brings together craft, long-standing maker relationships, public creative work and a belief in what can happen when people gather under the same stars.
Paper Starlights
An established craft, taken to architectural scale.
Paper Starlights began with handmade paper star lanterns and a long-term relationship between the UK business and skilled makers in India. The same material knowledge, print processes and maker relationships sit behind Light of Stars.
The stars are screen printed, folded and assembled by hand, then composed at a different scale in response to the architecture, programme and community around each building.
Why it matters
Thirty years of craft behind every installation.
Bath Abbey provides the completed case study. Leicester Cathedral’s confirmed winter 2026/27 project will extend the work through a wider seasonal programme.
The creative installation is developed with the venue, while specialist rigging, access and technical installation are planned and undertaken by competent technical professionals appropriate to the building.
The making of the stars rests on established relationships with skilled makers in India, giving the work continuity and a clear connection to the people who make it.
A long-standing Paper Starlights philosophy
Under the Same Sky of Stars.
Under the Same Sky of Stars has long expressed why Paper Starlights works with stars. They appear across faith, folklore, navigation, celebration and storytelling, which makes them a powerful symbol of common ground.
Light of Stars takes that philosophy into public buildings. People can arrive for worship, performance, learning, celebration, community activity or quiet reflection and still share the same setting while each experience keeps its own meaning.
This is also why the project can work across different teams within one venue. Clergy, music, learning, community, events and commercial teams can each bring their own expertise while the installation provides a shared seasonal thread.
Different communities. Different experiences. Under the same stars.
The making
Made by hand, at every stage.
Each star is screen printed, folded and assembled by hand. Small variations in print, fold and finish are part of the material and give the work its character when many stars are brought together in one space.
Traditional wooden printing frames are used in the printing process. Non-toxic dyes are used, with a mix of papers selected for their print quality, finish and performance.
Paper Starlights is a BAFTS member and works to fair trade principles shaped by long-term relationships, continuity of work and respect for the people who make the stars. Those relationships are part of what gives Light of Stars its meaning.
Paper choices
We use a mix of specialist papers, including FSC-certified stock where appropriate.
Fair trade principles
Paper Starlights is a BAFTS member and is committed to the Ten Principles of Fair Trade set out by the World Fair Trade Organization.
Culture and community
Projects can reach beyond the installation itself.
Where it suits the place, Light of Stars can connect with schools, community organisations, cultural groups, faith communities, BIDs and local partners.
That may mean workshops, lantern activity, performance, local participation or a shared event under the stars. The aim is to create ways for the installation to belong to the people around it.
That approach can connect architecture, culture, community engagement and public benefit in one coherent programme.
Creative lead
Andy Jupp
Artist and producer Andy Jupp co-founded Paper Starlights and leads the creative development of Light of Stars. His practice spans community arts, cultural production, live events and projects designed around public participation.
Andy has worked for Arts Council England, the British Council and numerous public bodies. Under his stage name Charity Shop DJ, he was the first DJ to play in the Houses of Parliament and regularly produces for music and arts festivals, with clients including the Southbank Centre and Hemingway Design.
That experience shapes the Light of Stars approach: the creative work considers where the stars hang as well as the opportunities for learning, participation, community activity and Events Under the Stars™.
What guides the work
Respect the place. Create possibilities within it.
Historic and public buildings already have their own character. Our job is to work with it, helping people notice the architecture differently while the venue remains recognisably itself.
That means understanding access, sightlines, services, rigging, installation and removal from the beginning, alongside the life and programme of the building.
Paper Starlights
Light of Stars is created by Paper Starlights.
Explore the wider Paper Starlights story, our handmade star lanterns and the craft behind Light of Stars.