‘Give us the tools, and we will finish the job’ the proverb says, but what if those tools were made the job twice as quick and offered all sorts of creative opportunities? This is where our NEW range of Olfa products comes in helping you improve your lampshade making, and we’ve selected three products we think you’ll love. Olfa Rotary cutter If you’re making lampshades en masse or simply want to speed up your shade making, using a rotary cutter to cut away the fabric from the

Via our #memadeshade Instagram competition we’ve seen our lampshade makers use a variety of art and craft skills, as the basis for making beautiful lampshades. Today we wanted to shine a light - sorry, no pun intended ;) - on free machine embroidery and introduce you to the principles, techniques and some of our talented makers who create stunning lampshades, using this imaginative textile art. So what is free machine embroidery? Also known as free motion embroidery, free mac

Today we’d like to introduce our new series of blog posts, BEAM - Business Expertise and Advice for Makers, which we’ve developed to help you, as a lampshade maker, grow your business and take your next commercial steps. Over the coming months, we’ll be creating and sharing 'how to' business guides, talking to industry experts, sharing marketing tricks and tips and providing guidance on international trading and lampshade making safety standard. Our first stop is selling onli

As another month flies by, it's time to announce March's #memadeshade winner from our Instagram competition entries. This month was packed with an array of lampshades in all shapes and sizes using our lampshade making kits, but as always there is only one winner. Entered by @cottocc (COtoo), using a screenprint design by @sallyelfordillustrator, this month's winning shade encapsulates the stunning British coastline and the murmurations of starlings, which been seen during the

With the Easter holidays upon us it's time to get imaginative with some of our Needcraft Kits. As inspiring and easy to make for kids as they are for adults, we've put together five ideas for turning our kits into entertaining child-friendly activities with exciting end results. It's time to play and get creative! 1. Lantern Making Kit The nights are already lighter and we’ve a feeling that there might be a (small) Easter garden party or two on the horizon. Create a cosy and