#bespokeshades

5 days ago
4 min

Lampshade Style Guide - Loose Cover Lampshades

Following the trend for whimsical, country cottage interior design, the loose lampshade cover has made a comeback in the last couple of years. Originally created for its functionality in busy working homes, the loose covered shade has become a way to effortlessly bring delicate patterns and prints into your home, with a side order of fabric embellishments! We explore the creative options the loose shade offers, the sizes and shapes of shade that work best with this style and

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Jul 21
4 min

BEAM - Using Social Media to promote your Lampshade Making Business

In today’s digital world, using social media for your business cannot be ignored. A crucial free marketing tool to get your lampshades noticed, social media allows you to engage with customers directly about your products, build a community and increase your revenue. In this BEAM post, we’ll share pointers and ideas for creating social media content and how you can make it work for your lampshade making business, however big or small. Why use social media for your business? T

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Jul 14
3 min

Lampshade Kit Hack #9 – Retro Flower Silhouette Lampshade

Using the silhouette lampshade concept as the basis for our latest Lampshade Making Kit #hack, we've transformed a drum lampshade, by adding a hidden pattern to the inside. With a darker or coloured fabric, this will only show when the light is switched on. The striking retro flower design is created using the easy-to-use Olfa Circle Cutter, meaning a perfect circle every time. Have a go at our tutorial and you'll realise that the silhouette concept holds masses of creative

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Jul 6
3 min

Lampshade Style Guide - Silhouette Lampshades

Unique and striking, Silhouette lampshades have a fabulous element of surprise that springs to life when the light turns on! Increasingly more popular, this clever style can be made by using a plain lampshade outer fabric and a patterned inner covering, which can be seen as a 'silhouette' due to the glow from the bulb. This month's Lampshade Style Guide tells you all you need to know about Silhouette Lampshades, the lampshade supplies you need to make them and an inspiring mo

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Jun 29
4 min

BEAM – How to use SEO Keywords for your Online Shop

Considered an essential part of digital marketing, understanding the basics of SEO keywords can really benefit your lampshade making business and increase your sales. From creating a list of keywords and highlighting free online tools, to exploring how to maximise product descriptions and website content, today's BEAM post is packed with information to take your online shop from invisible to visible. What is SEO? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, which is a digital

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Jun 14
4 min

Lampshade Style Guide - Candle Clip Lampshades

Wall lights can be a beautiful source of subtle lighting in your home, but can also be overlooked as a focal feature or being shown off with a unique shade. In this month’s Lampshade Style Guide, we look at the origins of the wall lights, tips on making Candle Clip Lampshades and ideas and inspiration from our army of makers to ensure these little shades shine! A little bit of history Wall lights and chandeliers have been the mainstays of lighting in homes, since medieval tim

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May 31
4 min

Meet the Maker - Rosella and Lime

Fashion graduate Sharon, of Rosella and Lime, takes inspiration from her sketches of nature to create stunning collections of lampshades, with gorgeous complimentary, and often bold, colour palettes. A fan of playing with proportion, her eye-catching elongated conical shades lend a mid-century modern twist to any room and in month's Meet the Maker, we go behind the scenes of Sharon's business and studio, to find out more. Hi there! How are you today and what’s on your workben

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May 26
6 min

BEAM - Setting up an online shop

Have you ever wanted to create your own online shop? Whether you're new to selling lampshades or are already selling via other online retail platforms, today's BEAM post explores three online eCommerce platforms and what they offer and includes pricing, domain names and what you’ll need to consider and prepare to show your lampshades at their best, before entering the world of being your own online shopkeeper! Choosing a Platform There are dozens of eCommerce platforms to cho

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May 10
6 min

Lampshade Style Guide: Velvet Shades

Velvet, it seems, is never out of fashion. Its opulent qualities lend a touch of luxury to our interiors and for lampshades, it’s no different. With its history steeped in regal influences, in this month's Lampshade Style Guide we explore how velvet has become an accessible and tactile material for lampshade making, the perfect coordinating materials to use to showcase this and plenty of troubleshooting tips from our professional lampshade makers. A little bit of history Firs

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May 4
6 min

BEAM – Offering Returns and Refunds

Although we imagine your lampshades are amazing, there may be some circumstances when a customer wants to return their shade. Dealing with returns and refunds can be a tricky business, so in today’s Business Expertise and Advice for Makers post, we’re going to explore the legislation on refunding customers, based on the lampshades you make and the method you use to sell them. We'll also look at customer returns and how to ensure your customers are clear on your refund policy

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Apr 12
9 min

Meet the Maker - Candid Owl

Candid Owl's mission is to provide customers with unique, standout lampshades and lamps and they definitely don’t disappoint! With her love of lampshade making, bold bright colours and striking patterns, Candid Owl’s founder Candice, has proudly taken her business from the kitchen table to new commercial premises. Making beautiful statement shades, for her website, bespoke commissions and exhibitions, we find out how Candid Owl came about and how Candice created such a succes

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Apr 6
4 min

Lampshade Style Guide - Pleated shades

A lampshade style that’s hit the limelight in recent years, or should that be the spotlight, is the ‘hard’ pleated lampshade, defined by its knife pleat folds, that create a sharper and crisper looking shade than its soft shade fabric sibling. In this month’s Lampshade Style Guide, we look at the pleated shade’s origins, how versatile it is and tips for making one yourself. A little bit of history With help from David Mitchell from OrigamiHeaven.com, we’ve discovered that the

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Mar 24
6 min

BEAM – Taking on Bespoke Lampshade Commissions

Packaging your skills in a way that gives the customer choice, can be a valuable way of increasing profit margins and effectively using your lampshade making talents. This said offering bespoke lampshade commissions as an additional service, needs careful consideration and preparation to successfully adapt in line with your customers and your own expectations. In this BEAM post, we’ll run through the pros and cons of making bespoke lampshades, what you'll need to think about

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Mar 10
5 min

Meet the Makers - Gola

Gola is a creative collaboration of talent, skill and creative ideas of mother and son team, Mari and Ifan, whose stunning lampshades celebrate not only the past but have a significant nod to the local heritage that surrounds their 'pink shed' studio, situated on the picturesque Menai Strait, in North Wales. A lampshade making business born from lockdown, Mari and Ifan cleverly bring their individual senses of style to their range of lampshades, including fun, colourful retro

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Mar 8
4 min

Lampshade Style Guide - Empire Lampshades

Welcome to our new Lampshade Style Guide! In our new monthly series, we’ll be looking at one particular style of lampshade and each month we'll explore its USP. Focussing on shapes, types of fabrics and coverings and function for both soft and hard shades, we’ll delve into its history, uses and making tips, along with plenty of inspiration for how the shade can be best used in your home. We're kicking off this month with a traditional shaped hard shade – The Empire A little b

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Mar 2
3 min

DIY Tutorial - Parchment Fluted Lampshade

Making your own lampshades means the sky is your limit in terms of the materials, design and shape you opt for and today's Parchment Fluted Lampshade is no different. Using our Perga Natural Parchment Lampshade Material combined with a French Drum Frame, we've created this modern lampshade with a unique construction from a DIY template, using some simple maths. Follow the step-by-step tutorial in the post to make your own version and reward your efforts with a contemporary pe

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Feb 22
4 min

BEAM - Pricing your lampshades to sell

Loving lampshade making shade is one thing, but making enough money to run a sustainable business is quite another. In this BEAM blog post, we look at the ins and outs of pricing your handmade lampshades and what costs you’ll need, including how to work out your hourly rate to the cost of your morning cuppa, alongside tips on making sure you're pricing is still affordable for your market. What costs do I need to think about to work out my pricing? To work out accurate prices

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Feb 16
5 min

Meet the Maker - Romor Designs

Far from ordinary, each of Romor Designs' lampshades has a wonderful, creative and individual story, very much like Romor Designs' founder, Rob Jones. Starting out learning the Japanese art of Shibori to indulge his creative side, he now specialises in this and many other traditional Japanese crafts and using his skills and knowledge he creates beautiful one-of-a-kind accessories and homewares, sharing his passion by teaching others too. We find more about Rob's story and the

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Jan 31
2 min

Share the Shade Love - Celebrate your Favourite Lampshade Maker

Valentine, Galentines or Palentines is just around the corner and regardless of which one you celebrate, we’ll be helping you share a different love – the love for your fellow lampshade makers! We’re super proud of you, the community of lampshade makers that use Dannells products, and we see time and time again how you step up and support each other, sharing tips, knowledge or simply liking a commenting on other lampshade makers shades across social media. So, to celebrate th

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Jan 27
3 min

DIY Tutorial - Macrame Lampshade Fringe

As we're now stocking a fabulous range of Macrame cords we couldn't resist, combining this on-trend craft with our Lampshade Making Kits, bringing you this contemporary macrame lampshade fringe. Simply pick a coloured macrame cord to suit your home, make yourself a cuppa and set aside a couple of hours to follow our step by step macrame tutorial below. What you’ll need to make your Macramé Lampshade Fringe Macramé cord in Burnt Orange Tape measure Lampshade made from Needcraf

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