With summer in full swing, sunshine has not stopped play, or lampshade making to be more precise! So, it seems very fitting that August's #memadeshade winner is a beautiful coastal scene, made by Ben of @studio.goldfinch, depicting the very pretty town of Port Issac in Cornwall, using his original lino print design. Ben's win scoops him a £100 Dannells voucher and our congratulations go to him on his winning with his lampshade prototype. We're sure that by adding shades to hi

The ‘back to school’ feeling is in the air and as children head off to school to learn something new, September naturally becomes a time for us to think about our own learning and what exciting creative endeavours we might try this Autumn. For many of our customers lampshade making is their business or side hustle involving printing designs onto fabrics and wallpapers, which are then lovingly turned into a beautiful range of handmade products, including lampshades. Often adm

Combining her passion for clean and simple design and talent for detailed printing, Joanna of Lume Lighting creates lampshades that are nothing short of beautiful. Ranging from intricately patterned modern drums to ombre traditional shades, along with her fabulous new wooden pendant lights, Joanna has built up a successful lighting business. We go behind the scenes to find out about her creative influences, what her days look like and why she loves lampshade making! Hi there!

It's great when you make or find a shade that fits all seasons, brightens up a corner and adds a touch of sophistication to your home too. July's #memadeshade winning lampshade ticks all of these boxes! Made by Neringa of @chantier.studio, the contrast circles of green, blue and yellow certainly make this shade pop. Huge congratulations Neringa and your £100 voucher to spend on our Dannells website is on it's way! Based in Lithuania, Neringa's passion for lampshade making has

Proving that lampshades can be the most creative part of your room, Cath of Crushshade has blown us away with her incredible sculptured lighting that not only oozes beautiful form, but incorporate clever use of colour and pattern too. Drawing on her studies in Textiles and surface pattern design, Cath sees each of her shades as a piece of textile art, which we wholeheartedly agree with! We caught up with her for this month's Meet the Maker interview to find out more about ho

We often ask our lampshade makers ‘what’s your favourite part of making a lampshade?’ and more often than not it’s when the lampshade comes together and the seam is closed - the magic moment when you start to see a beautiful, bespoke shade. Closing the seam on your lampshade is important for creating a long-lasting and professional product and to help you choose the best finish for securing your seam, we’re highlighting four Dannells products for you to try. A little history

Spanning both fashion and interiors, Cottagecore started to gain traction in early 2019, evolving as an internet and social media trend, due to it’s popularity with the younger generations, particularly in the US. Cottage Core focuses on aspirations of rural lifestyles, romantic home styling, cosy country cottage vibes mixed with crafts and lifestyle hobbies, such as flower arranging, baking and gardening. A homely life is essentially at its core. A well adopted trend during

As we surpass the 4,000 entries mark, our #memadeshade Instagram competition goes from strength to strength and we'd like to say a huge THANK YOU for all the amazing entries, as well as the inspiration you all provide for newbie lampshade makers. Our June #memadeshade winner, @daniel.k.embleton has brought a sense of natural wonder and luxury, with this stunning tiered shade. Using his own intricate botanical catcus design, printed onto a rich velvet, Daniel has cleverly cont

Starting her career in fashion, Wendy Carlton of Dotty and Flo, has enjoyed applying her talent for painting to many commercial mediums over the years. More recently, after turning her bright and exquisite artworks into fabrics, Wendy made lampshades and cushions to give her customers the chance to own affordable pieces of her art and bring her passion for nature and colour into their homes. Building her successful homewares business up from scratch, we're thrilled to find ou

The glorious weather has arrived adding a bright, light feeling to our days and as usual, we've been inundated with plenty of glorious shades. May's #memadeshade Instagram competition winner, brings fun, frivolity and a bold pop of colour and who doesn't need a bit of that in their lives? Made by Kura and Mark of @the_warren_crew_at_52 from a gorgeous African wax fabric, the orange fringing was a subliminal 'Strictly' inspired addition. We love the scale and size of this prin

In this month's Meet the Maker interview we get to know talented lampshade maker Helen, of Made by HRM, who's a whirlwind of creativity with a passion for bright, colourful fabrics and quirky prints. Her love of making lampshades and Needcraft clocks has allowed her to build a successful retail craft business from her home, where she also enjoys teaching workshops, all while juggling her new family and her studies! Read on to find out what makes Helen tick. Hi there! How are

April has already been and gone (where did that month go?) and we hope you've been making the most of the new outdoor rules? It clearly hasn't stopped you all from making plenty of amazing lampshades! As our #memadeshade Instagram competition goes from strength to strength, we never tire of seeing the stream of gorgeous lampshades made from our lampshade making kit, so thanks to all those who entered. This month's worthy winner is Lucy of @the_lightpunk, with her new design o

Nestled in her studio in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, Anita has built up her successful lampshade making business, Hearts and Glitter, after a career break to have her three children. She now specialises in beautiful bespoke lampshades made from British fabrics in soft pastels, traditional florals and conversational prints, styles that marry perfectly with her rural studio, that adjoins her family home. We chat to Anita, to find out more about her lampshades, her custome

‘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

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

The nights are already lighter and there is a feeling of optimism in the air. We hope you're all feeling a little lighter and brighter too. February's #memadeshade Instagram competition has delivered a whopping amount of entries, over 300, and as always it's great to see such a wide variety if shades using our lampshade making kits. This month's stand out shade is certainly that and @emma_mckie_designs is our deserving winner and her £100 voucher to spend on our website, is a

Combining her childhood passion for collecting, her eye for fine art and her talent for creating beautifully made objects, we are delighted to meet Karen Kench of Kettle of Fish Designs. After long searches for things that truly represented her own style and taste, Karen set about turning her skills to making lampshades, jewellery, homewares and prints carefully incorporating the character of vintage finds. The results are astonishing and unique lampshades, that tell beautifu

After what can only be described as a very loooong January, #memadeshade is back for 2021! Yey! And we've got off to a great start with lots of fabulous shades, in all shapes and sizes to brighten up our #memadeshade Instagram competition and hopefully provide our makers with new inspiration and ideas for using one of our lampshade making kits. And this month's winner certainly sticks with the theme of 'bright'! This gorgeous fuchsia shade by Lauren of @juniper_and_spice is

We're finally at the end of what can only be described as a challenging year and we'd like to say a huge Thank You for your amazing entries to the Dannells #memadeshade Instagram competition, that have kept lampshade making inspiration and creativity flowing throughout the year. With nearly 2,500 entries, not only have you all had a chance of winning, but have helped create a fabulous library of gorgeous lampshades, to help inspire new and existing makers. There really is not