A work of art can encompass function as well as beauty - and this is the idea behind ArtShades, a range of stitched paper lamp screens designed and made by Malvern textile artist Sarah Walker. Jewel-like colours, unusual patterns and intricate stitching are combined in one-off designs, creating a striking effect with or without illumination.

A member of the Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen, Sarah draws on her lifelong fascination with both embroidery and stained glass to experiment with the properties of colour and light. She uses a technique called reverse appliqu to produce the shades, layering different colours before machine-stitching them together, then cutting sections away.

"It's the opposite of appliqu, where you would stitch pieces on top of each other to create a pattern," Sarah explains. "I start by building up layers, but then strip them away to reveal the colours beneath." She uses small embroidery scissors to complete the tricky process, since a knife does not give adequate control.

Plant-fibre paper, made from the pulp of plants such as banana, mulberry silk and sugar cane, lends a textured effect to Sarah's shades. She buys it in large sheets in a vast range of colours from a handmade paper company, ensuring that it is thin enough to let light through but strong enough not to tear.

Sarah explains that the paper is dyed at the 'pulp' stage to give it its brightness. "I have tried to dye plain paper myself in the past, but the dye tended to stay on the surface, made the paper buckle and eventually faded." The hues available provide more than enough scope for a variety of colour combinations, which she enjoys playing around with.

It's not only her paper-stitching technique that is unusual, but also the style of the lamps themselves. Her trademark half-shades, which are ideal for wall lights as well as shelves and corner tables, are a rarity in Britain, being found mainly in France. Sarah also has the wooden or ceramic lamp bases made by fellow craftsmen, making the whole product even more unique.

50 per cent of Sarah's work comes from commissions, usually after people have seen ArtShades at exhibitions or on her website. Customers can have a lampshade made to match their dcor, and often request copies of her existing designs in a different colourway. "Ideally, I like to make every shade slightly different, because then it's obviously handmade," Sarah says. "But some people do ask for a matching set or perhaps a pair of mirror-images to stand on bedside tables."

She is currently working on a set that features vibrant blue and orange; colours she wouldn't usually have paired up, but for the client providing a sample of sofa fabric. Sarah has taken elements of the colour and pattern to create a vaguely Mondrian-like design, which starts out flat and will later be curved to fit around the frame.

Working flat is easier than making individual panels to be fitted together, a lesson Sarah learned when making her first lampshade, an inordinately colourful, patterned and decorated design for a Tiffany-shaped shade. This was her defining project on the City & Guilds course that would eventually enable her to launch her own business.

"When we moved to Malvern from Surrey, I wanted to make new friends, so I took a Creative Design & Embroidery class at Malvern Hills College of Art," Sarah recalls. "I ended up studying for four years! I loved experimenting with different techniques." Asked to make a 3-D piece, she created a shade for an existing standard lamp, in colours to match her dining room.

After research into mosaics, she used spiral patterns and tiny mirrors in the design, as well as 'vanishing' fabric, a technique where a skeleton of interlocking threads is left exposed after boiling water is poured over it. She says her current designs are a simplified version of this first effort, which took 60 hours to produce!

Sarah's marketing background enabled her to build a business around her work, displaying in local galleries at first. She then joined the Worcestershire Guild, with whom she exhibits at least four times a year, and is also part of the Malvern Makers, a group of artists who all studied the same course at Malvern Hills College.

She doesn't sell through shops, as she feels customers prefer the personal touch. "I like to be able to explain the technique, and let people know that I can make something just for them - if you meet the maker, the piece becomes more than just an object; it has a personality attached."

Although colour schemes are often tailored to the customer, Sarah likes to experiment with patterns, playing with shapes and 'doodles'. She photographs plants and flowers for further inspiration and says she is always looking out for new and unusual colour combinations. As well as the lampshades, she supplies her designs in their 'flat' form, to be hung as pictures.

It takes Sarah four or five hours to make the small half-shades, and longer for the larger 'drum' shades in which she is currently specialising. "Having young children (four-year-old twin boys) means that the time spent on each piece at one sitting varies!" she laughs.

Time spent sourcing materials and running the business are also reflected in the cost of ArtShades, which start at £60 for an individual shade. Customers are assured of receiving a completely unique piece of functional art, made using a technique traditionally restricted to fabric design - and created by an artist whose obvious enthusiasm is derived from a true affinity with colour and light.