Peek through a colorful window into Samara Designs Studio
“My work is like painting with light, really,” reveals Samara Phillips, a fine artist and Greenville native whose nature-inspired work shines with jewel tones, contemporary silhouettes, and inspired hand-drawn designs. “Just like sunlight streaming through trees shifts throughout the day, stained glass changes, too. Morning light might make a piece glow softly, while sunset makes it look completely different. To me, that’s what makes stained glass feel alive—it’s never the same twice.”
Phillips’ mastery of the medium didn’t take a traditional route. While a student at the Greenville Fine Arts Center and during her 25-year career as a fine art framing professional, she originally focused on metals while her sister pursued their shared loved of stained glass. Years later, Phillips found herself the keeper of a trove of raw materials after losing her sister, and returned to the craft full-time.
“When most people think about stained glass, they think traditional church windows—but it’s really become a contemporary [art form] in the last 20 years, and people are starting to think outside the box,” shares Phillips. “That’s what I’m focused on. Personally, my taste is more mid-century modern; I’m known for a lot of plants and botanical-inspired designs, which is very niche. I love leaf shapes, and it’s really caught on with collectors.”
After her work debuted at the celebrated Magnolia Market at The Silos in Waco, Texas—a curated storefront from Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV fame—Phillips quickly became known for her plant stakes and [origami] paper crane mobiles, which were an instant hit; today, however, the artist is shifting into functional art like pendants and light fixtures, and creating custom pieces for interior designers and homeowners.
Her hanging art panels and bouquets of coneflowers do more than transform light into colorful, vibrant living art pieces; they also create statement vignettes that draw the eye and instantly add character to a space. “I really think [stained glass] is such a cool way to bring something different to a room—as opposed to something that you could just buy anywhere, like a big box store,” says Phillips, who loves the connection created each time she curates colors in a one-of-a-kind piece for a collector who values handmade artistry.
“Not only will these [glass] flowers never wilt or fade, but they make such an impact in the home. I love making functional objects that bring people joy, or help express their personality in unique ways.”
Popular Samara Designs Studio items
Origami crane suncatchers
Stained glass wildflower arrangements
Mid-mod lighting
Plant stakes
Wreaths
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