#shademaker

Mar 16
3 min

Play with DIY Paper Lampshades

Making lampshades from paper is the equivalent of opening a Pandora’s box of creative opportunities! Paper's versatility and durability are the perfect medium to create interesting lampshades, not to mention the choice and selection of beautiful decorative papers available. In today’s blog post, we’ve rounded up our favourite ways to play with and use paper to make distinctive and creative lampshades with an eye-catching difference. Printed Paper Lampshades From offcuts of wa

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Mar 7
4 min

Dannells Lampshade Services - Build a Bespoke Lampshade

Crave the creative license to create the exact size and shape of lampshade you need to fit your space? In today’s blog post, we’ll take you through how you can build your own bespoke lampshade using our specialist lampshade services and materials from our extensive professional range, in just 5 easy steps. Step 1 – Pick your Ringset or Frame If your table or floor lamp base requires a specialist lampshade or you’re coveting a lampshade from the high street and can’t find what

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Jan 5
3 min

2022 Blog Review - A Year of Lampshade Making

Another year of fabulously creative lampshade making is nearly over and it’s time to look back on how the Dannells Lampshade Making blog has inspired, educated and supported your lampshade making skills and small lampshade making businesses. A true exchange of ideas, you, our customer community inspire us every day with the lampshades you make and we hope that the blog has done the same for you, in 2022! Soft Shade Making Series It was the year of the Soft Shade for Dannells,

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Oct 7, 2022
6 min

Soft Shade Making Series - Sewing & Glueing a Lampshade Trim

Just the creative finishing touches are ahead of us as we come to complete the soft lampshade, featured in our Soft Shade making Series and today it’s trim time! Whether you want to ensure that your shade accurately reflects a bygone time or pulls out the colours in your chosen fabric, it’s the easiest way to add masses of personality to your shade. With countless types and colours of trim to choose from and plenty of placement opportunities we'll show you the techniques and

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Sep 23, 2022
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 6, 2022
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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Sep 1, 2022
3 min

Soft Shade Making Series - Making a Gimbal Cover

Getting to grips with the professional finishing touches is what really makes a handmade soft lampshade sing! Falling straight into this category is making a gimbal cover or tidy to sit around the gimbal arms. This tiny detail, as well as serving a functional purpose, can also be a noticeable highlight adding extra personality to your soft shade. Follow the tutorial below to learn how to make a gimbal cover or tidy for the next steps in your Soft Shade Making journey. What is

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Aug 30, 2022
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 16, 2022
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 3, 2022
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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Aug 2, 2022
7 min

Soft Shade Making Series - Making and Fitting a Lining

Next up in our Soft Shade Making Series is how to make and fit a lining to your soft lampshade. With several styles of lining and choices of fabrics, ranging from traditional to modern, in this post we'll take you through what a lining brings to a lampshade, which shaped frames can be lined and of course detailed step-by-step instructions on how to fit your lining. Why does a lampshade need a lining? Lining your lampshade gives it a complete and professional finish, hiding a

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Jul 21, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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 22, 2022
3 min

Soft Shade Making Series: How to sew Lampshade Stitch or Streetly Stitch

Hand sewing is an essential part of making soft lampshades and in today’s post, we're sharing how to sew lampshade stitch or streetly stitch. The most commonly used stitch amongst traditional shade makers, lampshade stitch helps firstly secure the outer cover, and then the lining to the binding on the frame and it's the next stage in our Soft Shade Making Series, showing you how to make a soft lampshade from start to finish. What tools and materials do I need for hand sewing

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Jun 14, 2022
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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Jun 10, 2022
5 min

5 tips for Upcycling and Renovating a Second Hand Lampshade

Stumbling across a second-hand lampshade that has potential, whether vintage or relatively new, opens up a Pandora’s box of creative possibilities, but how do you prepare it for its new life? In today’s post, we share our tips, and those from our expert makers, on how to lay the foundations for taking an upcycled frame from someone's trash to fabulous lampshade treasure! 1. Stripping the frame Traditional style lampshades tend to be made of fabric and the majority are lined,

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May 26, 2022
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 17, 2022
5 min

Soft Shade Making Series: Making a soft shade cover from a pattern

Making a well-fitting outer cover for your soft shade is critical to achieving an eye-catching and considered lampshade and today, we pick up from our previous post in our Soft Shade Making Series - How to Make a Pattern. In this post we show you how to transfer your lampshade pattern to your chosen fabric, tips on sewing it together and how to fit it to your pre-bound soft lampshade making frame, all with step by step photo tutorials. Pattern Making Recap Our previous Soft S

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