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Sunnyside Artist Makes Lampshades Out of Used Coffee Filters

 Vilma Farrell runs Lampada, where she crafts the shades out of woven coffee filters she recycles.
Lampada by Vilma Farrell
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SUNNYSIDE — A few years ago, when Vilma Farrell was at home raising her two young daughters, she started looking for a creative outlet for when she wasn't mothering.

That's when she discovered a unique craft: making things out of coffee filters.

"Something different from baby stuff," said Farrell, 48, a former journalist who originally hails from Brazil.

Farrell said she's always had a penchant for homemade goods and "was kind of amazed with the idea."

"I always loved handmade things," she said. "I think it's special when you work with your hands — there is always a good story behind whatever you make."

The newfound hobby gave birth to Lampada, Farrell's online business, where she sells lampshades woven out of used coffee filters.

She collects the filters from her own kitchen, and also from cafes in her Sunnyside neighborhood, grinds and all. The coffee stains make for different colors, and she'll wash the filters to get lighter shades, or leave the grinds on longer for darker hues.

"It gives like a rustic style," she said, saying that she paints some filters with water-based paints to add brighter colors.

She lets the filters dry, then cuts them into strips which she weaves through lampshade frames that she makes herself out of wire mesh. The effect, when lit, is of a soft, often multicolored glow, with light coming through the slats in the shade.

"The stain of the coffee, how it works with the light, the shades you get, to me it's very interesting," Farrell said. "It's very creative. I love it."

The lampshades, which take about two days each to make, range in price from around $140 to $400 for larger pieces, according to her Etsy page. Farrell also makes art from the filters, including wall pieces shaped like flowers, which cost $45.

In addition to making interesting conversation pieces, the lampshades are eco-friendly — she recycles about five to make an average-sized piece — which sets a good example for her 6- and 8-year-old daughters.

"They see me doing that and they kind of are proud of me, you know, because of course they learn at school and they learn at home, recycle," she said. "That’s our very very tiny contribution.