Dan McMahon

Dan McMahon is a designer born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He earned a BA in Three Dimensional Design from Camberwell College of Arts at the University of the Arts London. His approach centers on materials and fabrication, letting ideas emerge through hands-on research, experimentation, and prototyping.

That process is clearest in his paper lighting, which came out of more than a year of experimenting toward a large, self-supporting paper object. McMahon builds up abaca fiber pulp over a temporary form and removes the form once the paper is thick enough to hold itself, so no internal armature is left behind. Some pieces have dried and pressed flowers set into the pulp while it’s still wet, letting their natural pigments bleed slightly into the paper. Because the fibers respond to humidity, every lamp moves and settles in its own way.