#lampshades

Nov 16
4 min

#memadeshade October Winner - Lampshades by Maggie

October's #memadeshade winning lampshade is truly unique! Made by @lampshadesbymaggie in a beautiful bespoke fabric, its rectangle frames show off its art deco design to the max! Huge congratulations to Maggie for her beautiful winning shade and we're looking forward to seeing what she makes with her #memadeshade prize, a £100 voucher to spend at Dannells.com. Setting up her own lampshade making business, born from the need to bring some colour and life to her own home, Maggi

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Oct 20
3 min

#memadeshade September Winner - ETU Design

Congratulations to @etu_by_anabela, who has won our September #memadeshade competition! The winning shade, made in a beautifully bold tropical-inspired fabric, perfectly embodies autumn with its rich tones. An interior designer and lampshade maker Anabela, of @etu_by_anabela, is based on the Coast Del Sol, in Spain and loves bringing bright bold patterns into her design work. It's clear that her lampshades definitely follow the same theme! And with her passion for lampshade m

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Sep 27
5 min

Tips and fixes to help prevent and resolve Lampshade Seam Issues

Once in a while, you may experience an issue with your lampshade seam. It could be due to the type or thickness of the fabric you’re using for your outer shade and whether you’re making lampshades to sell, or just for your own home, it’s tricky to know what to do. In this blog post, we’ve compiled tried and tested techniques and tips for use on the kind of lampshade seam issues our fabulous Facebook Lampshade Makers group experience, to help you solve them too. Caving Seam Wh

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Sep 23
3 min

Lampshade Kit Hack #10 - Natural Table Lamp Kit

With natural materials and tones firmly rooted in today’s interior trends, we thought we’d give a natural make-over to one of our favourite products – the Table Lamp Making Kit. Effortless stylish and perfect for every room in the house, we’ve hacked this easy-to-make kit with the simple additions of raffia and wood, coordinated with a beautiful quality linen fabric from our latest fabric range. We think the result is both modern and impressive for very little time and effort

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Sep 15
4 min

#memadeshade August Winner - Jane Ellison Textiles

This month's winning #memadeshade takes its maker, @janellisontextiles, straight back to her 70s childhood, with its striking retro inspired orange and mustard colour combination! Huge congratulations to Jane, who initially made the shade as a bespoke design for her best friend, but luckily had enough fabric to make this one too. We love how it shouts Jane's 'modern retro' vibe! Find out more about Jane, her design style and her eco-conscious business choices, in our #memade

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Sep 8
3 min

New Products - Lampshade Trim, Binding and Braid

Personalisation is the fun and creative factor of lampshade making, after all, who wants to stop at just picking a fabric or paper for your Lampshade Making Kit or Soft Shade Frame? With this in mind, we’d like to introduce you to our NEW and extensive range of trims, bias binding and braids, so you can pimp your lampshade, whatever your style. Guipure Lace Guipure lace is a type of traditional continuous bobbin lace, which is defined by its lack of backing mesh, woven with b

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Sep 6
5 min

Back to Lampshade Making School - Tips & Techniques to Create Amazing Lampshades

Whether you need a quick refresher course or are completely new to lampshade making, today we’re taking you 'Back to Lampshade School' with a post filled with tips, techniques and insider knowledge ensuring every handmade lampshade you make is truly top-of-the-class! From using a kitchen mug to our top taping tips, there's no doubt our quick and easy lessons will take your lampshade making to the next level. We can feel a few gold stars coming on! Preparation Press, press and

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Aug 30
3 min

Lampshade Style Guide - Paper Lampshades

While fabric is an excellent covering for making lampshades, the possibilities of using paper are endless, whether you're starting with a blank piece of paper for your creative ideas or using a map or wallpaper to create your own unique shade. In today's post, we explore the long history of paper lampshades and also the traditional, modern and innovative crafts and techniques that contribute to making paper lampshades real things of interior beauty. Basic history A staple of

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Aug 24
5 min

Introducing Dannells Europe

As we launch our new dedicated European website, Dannells.eu, we get to know the people behind our European operation, Malgosia and her husband Nick and how they plan to expand our European market. Read on to find out how they became Dannells Distributors, the skills they are bringing to the new venture and their favourite Dannells products. Hi there! We’re very excited about the launch of Dannells EU. How did you get involved? Malgosia: Our adventure with Dannells started in

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Aug 24
3 min

#memadeshade July Winner - The Lampshade House

Brightening up people's living spaces is the mission of Jacqui, founder of @thelampshadehouse and her winning #memadeshade lampshade certainly fits her brief! Made as a commission for a customer, this 30cm floral drum shade is bold and bright and, we imagine, very at home in Singapore, which is where @thelampshadehouse is based. Our huge congratulations go to Jacqui and her £100 voucher to be spent at Dannells.com, is on its way. You can find out more about Jacqui and the @t

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Aug 16
5 min

BEAM - How to use Reels, Stories and Live Video on Your Social Media

Reels, Stories and Live streaming videos have increased in importance in the last 5 years, engaging and capturing customers’ imaginations across all social media platforms. Understanding what these different features mean for your lampshade-making business is all explained in today’s BEAM post, and we've shared our ideas on the type of content that we feel suits each medium, with the hope you’ll consider using these influential tools, as part of your social media strategy. Re

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Aug 9
6 min

Meet the Maker - Hillview Soft Furnishings

Switching career to find a more flexible role, Ellen, of Hillview Soft Furnishings is a City & Guilds trained curtain and blind maker and soft furnisher, who has added lampshade making to her broad repertoire of furnishing skills. With a passion for sewing from being young, Ellen enjoys working closely with her customers to find creative solutions to enhance their homes to fit with their lifestyle, whether it be making them a pair of beautiful wave curtains or an oversized dr

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Aug 3
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 12
3 min

#memadeshade June Winner - Sew Coordinated UK

June's #memadeshade winner is a stunner! Made by Stephanie of @sewcoordinateduk, this geometric gem was made as a bespoke custom shade for a customer, but it has captured everyone's imagination! Huge congratulations go to Stephanie, whose successful lampshade and cushion-making business is going from strength to strength. We're sure she'll put her prize - a £100 voucher - to good use when spending it on Dannells.com, Find out more about Stephanie and her business in our #mema

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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 30
3 min

#memadeshade May Winner

Featuring the iconic Frida Kahlo, this month's #memadeshade winner is Bodil of @skumringstid.dk, who runs her lampshade making business in Nykøbing Sjælland, Eastern Denmark, choosing vibrant and unusual fabrics and making bespoke lampshades to suit her customer's interiors. Bold and bright, this colourful lampshade is precious not only because it won, but because one of Bodhil's customers kindly sourced the fabric for her, knowing how much she loved it! We love a happy lamps

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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 23
3 min

WIN a Mango Wood Floor Lamp Worth £99

Our improved wooden table and floor lamp bases are back in stock and to celebrate you can WIN a June Floor Lamp worth £99! For 2022, we’ve gone the extra mile for our beautifully carved Lamp Base designs using environmentally friendly Mangowood, which is sustainably sourced. The perfect way to display your handmade lampshade, we have a variety of table and floor lamp designs and heights, in unfinished wood, that can be painted, oiled or stained, for a unique look. Read on to

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