Paper architect

WORDS: Cara Coetzee PHOTOS: David Ross

Elonah O’Neil-Reid has had a penchant for making things since an early age. It was while studying interior architecture that the young Pretoria-based designer realised drawing was not her forte and instead started communicating her ideas by means of models. 

She became fascinated by the fragile yet potentially sculptural nature of paper and now uses it as her preferred medium to construct often highly intricate pieces. 

“Inspiration is seldom a thunderbolt moment,” Elonah says. “It usually starts with a small idea that I tinker with, struggle with, question and adapt.”  

Her output is extremely varied as a result, comprising everything from stools to invitations and hanging gardens. 

Elonah says determination is a key factor in her creative process. No doubt much of this quality was needed for one of her latest projects, the High Tea installation for the Tashas Le Parc restaurant in Hyde Park, Johannesburg. She created 220 hand-assembled teacups, saucers and teapots from custom-embossed paper over a period of eight weeks, followed by a lengthy process of flat-packing, assembling and hanging.  

Elonah says she found the temporary nature of paper particularly fitting for the installation, which mirrored “the ephemeral experience of eating something wonderful”.

There is a lot in the pipeline: Elonah is working on an interior and installation in Brooklyn, and is in the midst of creating a product range. She also hopes to hold her first exhibition next year, one that we certainly won’t be missing. 

Elonah O’Neil-Reid www.lovedetail.co.za, desk@elonahoneil.co.za