Studio
Made by hand. Every leaf, feather and petal is drawn, cut, painted and glued by hand.
Hazel Buchan
Hazel has been cutting, folding and drawing for a living for more than forty years. Her paper sculpture has stood in campaigns for Nestlé, ABSA and Black River, in exhibition halls and shop windows; her illustration has covered wine magazines and filled postcards for Nando's. Lately the work has grown to the size of rooms: hanging gardens, painted leaf borders, flowers taller than the people walking under them. Everything still starts the same way, with a pencil, a scalpel and a sheet of paper on the bench.
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Works with brands, agencies and event planners across the country.
Best Illustrators award, 2000.
The bench
Scissors, a scalpel, a cutting mat, glue, crepe, card, paint and a great deal of patience.
How a commission works
Brief and sketch
You send the brief. Hazel comes back with questions, sketches and a quote.
Samples
A test piece in the real paper and colours, so you can see it and hold it before the full build.
Cut and build
Every piece is cut, painted and put together by hand in the studio.
Deliver and install
Delivered for your shoot, or installed on site for your event, then taken down afterwards.
Timelines depend on existing projects; send a message to discuss.
Made for
ABSA, Nestlé, Nando's, M-Net, Hunt Lascaris, Mortimer Harvey, Black River, Brutal Fruit, Antalis, Papersmith, Nola and Wanted.
Hiring flowers or props for one event? They live at Props and Petals.
Start a brief
Tell Hazel what you're making, when, and where.