Making stunning lampshades that are carefully crafted is only one part of being a lampshade maker and retailer and packaging your beautiful lampshades, so that your customer receives them in pristine condition is equally important. In today’s post, we'll share ideas for wrapping and protecting your shades including tips from our Lampshade Makers Facebook Group, clever eco packing inspiration and Dannells products to help you reach the packing pinnacle! 1. Under Wraps Protecti

This month's Meet the Maker, Detola of Detola & Geek came to lampshade making later in life, using her passion for African textiles as her vehicle for a new self-taught career. Building her business from making lampshades that pack a colourful punch to celebrate her Nigerian heritage, she cleverly uses a variety of lampshade shapes and sizes to show off the bold and beautiful patterns to their max. We catch up with Detola and find out more about how Detola & Geek started, how

Christmas shopping is officially underway and as many of our own Dannells makers and crafters have fabulous Christmas gift ideas to offer, we’ve put together this handy gift guide, with the hope they’ll find a spot under a tree near you! From printing kits to workshops, give the gift of handmade this Christmas and support local independent makers in the process - give good and feel good! Lampshade making kits with a design twist When is a lampshade making kit not just a lamps

Sprucing up your Christmas displays with a handmade decoration or two is a fun way to spend an evening in the run-up to Christmas. Our fun Mini Cracker Light Garland is perfect for using up your Stick It Lampshade making PVC scraps and paired with your favourite festive fabric and some sparkly ribbon, they'll make a unique and twinkly addition to any home. We'll be making a few for stocking fillers too! Using our OLFA Circle cutter for the first time, we've really enjoyed mak

We're thrilled that this month's #memadeshade winner is @bridget9696, who has been a regular in our 'Most Liked shades' throughout our Instagram competition! Her winning lampshade is a cyanotype 'Allium', which is beautifully highlighted against its indigo background. Just the lampshade for this time of year it symbolises not only the end of the summer but also reminds Bridget (and us!) of autumn fireworks! Congratulations, @bridget9696! Your £100 voucher is on its way to you

A touch of gold never goes a miss at Christmas, so we’ve jumped on the gilded bandwagon and have put together this Luxurious Art Deco Lantern DIY tutorial, using gorgeous gold trim and our lantern making kits, for you to make. Perfect for lighting a festive dinner table, or for giving out a warm and stylish glow from your Christmas mantle piece, this lantern making hack is really straight forward to replicate and quick too. Festive decoration for your home or stocking filler

Filming our You Tube lampshade videos is easily one of our favourite days of the year and our recent filming in September was no different - especially as we decided to freshen up the look, feel, venue and even camera angles of our You Tube videos to support our US Lampshade Making Kit range. In this post we take you behind the scenes and show you what happens behind the camera, as well as in front of it and introduce you to the 2021 filming crew! 9.00 am After a few hours of

Making bespoke lighting just got a whole lot more fun and varied with our NEW range of electrical components! As well as being able to make your own bespoke lampshade, you can now pick from bespoke fittings, such as coloured cables and ceiling roses in a range of finishes, vintage and modern switches and cool scandi inspired pendant fittings, that will suit yours or your client’s interior style. To the wire Take your lighting from drab to fab with our choice of over 35 colou

Hurrah! Selling in real life at Christmas Craft Fairs and Markets is possible again this year! Not only are fair and markets a fantastic opportunity to sell some of your fabulous handmade lampshades, they are brilliant for getting feedback on your designs and taking commission orders that will see you through to the new year! We've put together our top tips for selling at craft fairs in 2021, plus a list of UK wide craft fairs and markets for you to grab a stall at or get in