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

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

As our Needcraft Lampshade Making Kits hit American shores, to say we’re excited is an understatement! Already hugely popular in the UK and Europe, US customers will now be able to purchase our US Lampshade Making Kits directly from Amazon.com and we can’t wait to see what fabulous lampshades our state side customers will create! For newbie American lampshade makers, we've ensured that everything you need to make up your first lampshade is in the box, leaving you to simply ch

Contrary to popular belief, tiered lampshades are not just the staple of luxury hotel lobbies and high-end restaurants. They can look fabulous in your home too and in this post we’re going share everything you need to know to make two, three and even four tiered lampshades! By using the same basic lampshade making skills as you would in one of our Needcraft Lampshade Making Kits, you can easily create a statement lampshade in your favourite fabric with one of our Tiered Lamps

With Autumn in full swing, high street homeware departments are full of new ‘must have’ accessories to help you create the ultimate cosy home for the colder season ahead. So if you’re looking for a lighting refresh, but are on a budget or simply prefer to have a go at making things yourself, look no further than our inspirational High Street Lampshade Hacks below using our lampshade making kits and materials. We’ll guarantee that you’ll not only make savings, but have the sat

Adding extra shine to your lampshades has just got that bit easier with our TWO new and exciting metallic trims! Choose between our elegant Metallic Contoured Profile Trim, or purpose made Hockey Stick Decorative Trim, either of which can be used with any of our Lampshade Making Kits to create some extra lampshade bling! In this blog post we’ll walk you through the gorgeous and glitzy colour ranges, as well as share our step by step instructions on how to apply and use each o

We've loved helping you explore the many ways of expanding your business with our more practical Business Expertise and Advice for Makers posts, but what about learning from someone who's experienced and developed a successful homeware brand? Sian Elin has managed to do just that, by capitalising on her talents as a print designer, being stocked by and collaborating with high street stores, as well as receiving national press accolades and presenting lampshades on live TV. Wi

As well as being specialists in all things lampshades, did you know at Dannells we are print specialists too? By combining our knowledge and expertise of the two, we're able to print unique artwork and illustrations directly onto fabrics selected for their suitability for lampshade making. And what better way to celebrate the success of our printing service, by showing off the fantastic lampshades of Tide and Isle, a new venture by long-time lampshade maker Lucy Lo-Vel, using

Our Make and Paint Lampshade Making Kits are for exactly what it says on the box, making and painting, but in our quest to try new, inspirational and creative ideas for our lampshade making kits we’ve taken another much loved products, the humble Sharpie Pen Set, and put the two together. The results? This Sharpie Scribble Shade DIY tutorial. Born from a simple crafting technique that makes ‘squiggle gift wrap’ using brown paper and a bunch of felt tip pens (try it, it’s real

As well as being the creative vehicle for making your bespoke lampshade, our Lampshade Making Kits can be added to with easy #hacks delivering a shade that's even more unique. In this post we show you how to add bias tape around the top and bottom of your shade, giving it a polished professional finish. Whether you buy off-the-shelf bias binding (check out our range of patterned bias binding) or make your own in a matching fabric, this clever technique can be used with fabric

It’s been top of the shops for a couple of years and the trend for natural materials in interiors is definitely here to stay for 2021. From string to bamboo and hessian to cork, the natural trend allows you to add interesting textures to a room, that aren’t just pleasing on the eye, but also create a great sense of balance too. It’s fit perfectly with our current need to bring the outside in. The upside of this interiors trend? It slips effortlessly into place due to its mute

Highlighting our professional cutting service in our last blog post got us thinking that it would be fun to explore a DIY version of the same thing and this effective star cut out hack was born! Making shades for a children's room opens up plenty of cool creative ideas and we think kids will love the soft glow of the stars shining through the fabric. The stars are a simple design, the perfect unisex lampshade and with all of our drum lampshade making kits, this can be used as

Pimping your lampshade is easier than you think. There’s the DIY route, that we all know and love, using one of our lampshade making kits with beautiful fabric, sophisticated trims or coloured, metallic or even neon PVC's, to bring your shade to life. Or you could use one of our 3 creative services, to really enhance your shade making and take it to the next level. Pick from designing your own fabric, creating your own bespoke shade dimensions or trying out one of our excitin

Hands up who’s dreaming of a holiday escape? 🙌🏻 We Britons love our holidays - a day by on the beach, playing in the sand and sea rounded off with a fish and chip supper. We thought we’d capture those happy holidays with one of our Rectangle Rounded Lampshade Making Kits and in this DIY tutorial we’re going to show you how to make a lampshade using a paper map. Whilst this project uses regular lampshade making skills, there are a few differences when working with paper, but

If you’ve never had a virtual wander around our website, you’re missing a trick and plenty of lampshade making products you might not have even considered yet. Among the Lampshade Making Kits are a couple of products we feel quite nostalgic about, for their nod to the 70’s and their long thin shapes. Which kits are we talking about? The Floor Lamp Kit and Table Lamp Kit of course! Taking pride of place in every home circa 1975, floor lamps were all the rage and well suited th

Happy New Year! We’re finally in 2021 and we’re hoping it’s a better and brighter year for everyone. To celebrate our craft and your passion, we'd love you to kick off your lampshade making year with a bang and encourage you to try something new and exciting in 2021. Whether you’ve been considering making your first Dannells Lampshade Making Kit for your home or are already an accomplished shade maker, take inspiration from and get creative with, our 5 resolutions to take you

Check out our tips on four different ways to apply a professional trim to a Dannells Lampshade Making Kit!

We're fans of traditional ditsy florals with eye catching colours so decided to mix things up with some patchwork techniques and a shade!