Meet the Maker - By Poppy

Four years ago, Poppy Venables took a leap and changed careers to become a bespoke lampshade maker - and she hasn’t looked back since. Now the face behind By Poppy UK, she’s grown her business from strength to strength, creating custom lampshades that are as practical as they are beautiful. From bold fabric choices to inventive cone and cylinder shapes (and plenty more in between), Poppy’s developed a style her customers love.

We caught up with Poppy to chat about what inspires her designs, her lampshade-making process, and what it’s really like running a busy creative business. Read on to find out more.

Hi there!

How are you today and what’s on your workbench?

I’m great thank you, so excited to have been asked to feature in ‘Meet the Maker’! It’s always so interesting to hear about the other makers and how they started their own lampshade making businesses!

Currently I’m working on a few different orders, a couple of custom cone lampshades, one of which we have slightly altered the height to suit a clients German fat lava lamp base. The other we’ve increased the bottom diameter, giving a much sharper slope to our standard cone shape. Along with some colourful and patterned circular drum shades.

Where does your inspiration come from for your handmade lampshades?

In terms of inspiration, I’m always very drawn to nature for the design of my shades, whether this is a colourful botanical print, or a textured, plain linen. If I’m honest, I find inspiration everywhere, the colour of my new cardigan (olive green, if you were curious), a lampshade shape in the background of a film we’re watching or even from clients. Some of my most popular shade designs started out from custom orders!

Fabrics are always an inspiration for me too, I love searching for new fabric designs and most of the time I can’t help myself and have to have it 😊. The only problem is having the space to store them all!

How would you describe your style?

I feel like my style is ever changing and I can imagine a lot of people feel the same when it comes to design. I mentioned I love nature and of course a bright colour combo, that won’t ever change. This said I feel like my style is moving towards a harmony of pattern and colour, that seamlessly blend together in the home.

I feel the shape of the lampshade can really change the whole outlook of a rooms design, which is why I offer so many sizes and styles, as every home is different! I’m always happy to help clients with custom designs and bringing their vision to reality.

When and why did you start making lampshades?

I started making lampshades in mid 2020, after deciding on a career change when my previous role ended. I came across a job listing for a Lampshade maker, which piqued my interest. I worked in this role for around two years, before starting my own business in 2022, making both lampshades and cushions!

How did you develop your lampshade making skills to offer such a broad range of sizes, shapes, and lampshade styles?

Everyones home, lamp and style is unique, so to combat this I try to offer lots of options for sizing, shapes and styles! Not all sizes and styles are as popular as some, but it lets customers know that we can really make whatever size they need and aren’t limited to a set few sizes.

Again, I get a lot of inspiration from custom orders, for example our ‘Big, fat cone’ was a custom order in January 2024. I loved the size and shape, so added it to my offering on Etsy, Amazon and website and it has become one of our most popular sizes! (I always have a chuckle that I named it ‘the Big, fat cone’ 😊.)

What’s your favourite part of the lampshade making process?

My favourite part of making a lampshade, will always be rolling it! It’s at this stage that you really see what the finished shade will look like. Especially, if you’re using a new fabric - it always makes me happy to see the finished design coming together! Of course, another favourite part is choosing all the different types of fabrics to use; I’ve got an unhealthy obsession with pretty fabrics!

Maybe not my favourite part, but a big part of making a lampshade, I think, is in the preparation. Knowing how to treat the different types of fabrics and apply them to the lining, the knack of rolling a steep empire shade… and the ironing… so much ironing!

How has your business grown to cater for your customer’s needs?

When I started my business, I had a lot of brightly patterned shades available, in multiple sizes of drums, cones, cylinders and empire shades, and not too much has changed, apart from the added sizes/ styles here and there.

Something that has changed, came from starting to receive custom order requests. From this I could really get an insight into what my customers wanted from me, in terms of fabrics and linings, etc and in turn, I then added more of these to our website & our Etsy shop!

Last year, we expanded our services beyond the UK, and now offer our shades to both the US and Australia, which has been going really well! This has been helped along by the wide range of fitting options available for alternative lamp types, for example, harp fittings, etc.

By Poppy UK is an award winning business! How did your Midlands Enterprise Award come about and what does it means to get this recognition?

We are indeed! Initially I applied to the Midlands Enterprise award, which if I’m honest I didn’t have high hopes that we would win… and after about five months from my application, I had an email to say we had been awarded ‘Luxury Lampshade Specialist of the Year’. Which I’m very proud of, although I was surprised as I know there are a lot of talented Lampshade makers out there!

Almost immediately after this, I had a message from the BBC’s Morning Live Team, to ask if one of my lampshade making reels from Instagram could be used on a lampshade making segment with Sonnaz from the repair shop, which was really amazing!

Of all your lampshades, which do you feel is your signature style?

I’d have to say our extra tall cylinder lampshades, that are available in a few different sizes, although these can be customised too. There is a big boom in mid-century style furniture & interiors at the moment, and these shades fit the bill when it comes to that, for sure!

Whether you have a plain fabric or a patterned design, extra tall cylinder lampshades really are a showstopper - they have been a staple for my business since the beginning! They’re great for showing off larger patterned designs as well, which if you can’t tell yet, I'm a fan of!

In your online shop what’s your most popular selling shade?

To be honest, I don’t have particularly one shade that is a best seller, as this is ever changing (probably something to do with an algorithm somewhere)! For a few weeks this could be our 70cm extra tall cone lampshade in a variety of colours, and the next it’ll be our cotton French drum empire shades.

We always get orders for our double-sided shades, and I’m keen to have more designs available soon, as they’re one of my favourite lampshades to make! Usually, I pair a fun patterned interior with a range of plain velvet exterior colours, but I’m open to whatever our customer would like to use!

What other interiors products can we find at By Poppy UK?

Currently alongside our handmade lampshades in a variety of styles and sizes, we sell a range of handmade cushions, again in a variety of sizes and designs. I also have a small amount of retro/ vintage pieces, ceramics etc.

We are currently in the process of expanding our offering to provide custom handmade footstools and ottomans, along with other soft furnishings pieces, which I’m really excited about! Once we move into our new premises in May 2026, we will certainly have the space to expand, which I’ve got lots of ideas for new pieces and new designs.

We couldn’t help noticing your fantastic cone lampshades. How easy are these lampshades to make and can you share any tips for making such tall lampshades?

Thank you very much! I really enjoy making our cone lampshades, as they’re such a great way to showcase a large design! A large table is a necessity, you’ll need lots of room to maneuver when both prepping the panel and rolling the shade. Plus finding the correct sized boxes to ship these can be a task in itself!

You offer lots of guidance to customers who want a bespoke lampshade. Can you tell us more about the commissioning side of your business?

I try to offer as much information as I can on both our website blog and our Etsy & website listings, to help customers make informed choices of what is both possible and if they may want something different to what I already have on offer!

In terms of commissions, these usually consist of either a custom fabric option or a custom size shade, which I also provide help with the design side of things if this is required. I regularly design digital mockups using customers measurements and photos, paired with sending out fabric swatches.

Of course, custom orders can sometimes be a lengthy process, but it’s always good fun helping design something new and one-of-a-kind for my customer! It’s a much more personal experience, not just for the customer, but for me as well!

You’re a regular Instagram reel maker. What impact would you say that social media has had on your business?

I do enjoy a reel haha! I think that social media has been a real blessing to my business, not only from being able to reach people from all over the world, but also it’s so nice when you’ve had a really tiring or stressful day, to see that someone has commented a lovely message on one of my posts!

We’ve had some reels reach over 2 million views, which is absolutely amazing! Although it can be daunting, initially, to post on social media, I’ve spent a few years figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and trying to finesse this side of my business. I hope this has reflected to my customers, a friendly, reliable business, with some lampshade knowledge and a bit of fun to brighten up your day!

Funny fact: Someone once commented I had a voice for television, which I can guarantee, I do not 😆

If you could offer a piece of advice to new lampshade makers in business, what would it be?

Consistency. Your first shade isn’t going to be the best shade you ever make, but then you’ll make another, and another, and will see improvements!

Also, It doesn’t all happen at once. In your first few months you may only make a sale or two. Over time, you’ll be able to see what’s working and what isn’t, along with finding a style that suits you and your customer base.

Can you tell us what a typical day looks like at By Poppy UK?

A typical day for me at By Poppy UK would be firstly answering emails/ messages over a couple of cups of tea.

Once at the studio, if any orders need packaging up that have been made the day before, I’ll usually do that first thing. I take another look at what needs making that day/ over the next few days and print out packing slips and labels and get to work…ironing fabric and prepping the day’s shades to be made.

Once all prepped, I’ll usually sit down and bulk make all the shades on my work table, with lunch in between while waiting for things to dry! After all the shades are made, I’ll get these packaged up as well, ready for our postage collection.

If I’m being nice to myself, I’ll start getting shades ready for the next day, ironing fabrics etc, and again answering emails and messages where I can throughout the day… and before you know it its 8pm and its dark outside!

When are you at your most productive?

I’d love to say I’m really productive at the crack of dawn, but in reality its usually later in the day! Most evenings I’ll be on my computer updating the website or altering listings, replying to emails etc. I’d say I am pretty productive on Sundays, I try to sit down every week to do admin tasks, ordering fabrics and materials etc, in the week it’s all systems are go, with making and getting our orders out.

And your favourite sustenance when you’re working?

I usually will be either drinking a cup of tea, or a Coke zero. I don’t usually snack throughout the day; I’d rather have proper food rather than crisps or chocolate. If I remember to bring my lunch with me this will usually be a sandwich or a pasta pot (sometimes a scotch egg too, as I love scotch eggs lol).

Could you let us take a peek at your workspace?

This is our current workspace in one of the outbuildings, at my parents’ home, based in rural Worcestershire, although we have recently located to a temporary studio about 20 minutes away, while waiting for our new premises to become available in May 2026, woohoo! This will be our permanent studio space for the next few years at least.

Where would you like to be in 10 years time?

Goodness, 10 years is a long time! From what I’ve been able to achieve in a short space of time with my business so far, coming up to 4 years in September, its honestly hard to say where we may be in 10 years!

I would like to think I’ll have a team of people, making lampshades and other soft furnishing products and homewares, we may even have a shop or 2, who knows! I’ve always wanted to design my own fabric ranges, to be made into shades, cushions and home accessories.

I’d love to expand more on the B2B side of things, as we currently work with a few clients regularly to produce custom pieces, so hopefully that will be a much more regular occurrence in the future years to come!

What have you learned that’s been invaluable to your creative process?

Listening to my customers, I always get ideas for new designs and pieces by speaking to my clients and seeing what they like, I can then put my own twist on these, or by creating something to match, which in turn may appeal to others!

So, this isn’t so much invaluable in my creative process, but a tip to myself running a business, ‘Not to get too caught up in the things I can’t control!’ When things go wrong, I’ve learnt to just calm down, and think of a solution, rather than make it a huge deal, otherwise you get taken over by something that in reality isn’t as big a problem as you think.

Any future plans for By Poppy UK that you’d like to share?

As I previously mentioned, we will be moving to our new premises in May, which I’m really excited about! Here we will have a bit more space to expand our offering to include some upholstery items, as well as other soft furnishings,

I’m also playing with the idea of having a bit of a storefront, where customers can book appointments to discuss custom pieces, and purchase items in person rather than solely online.

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Browse Poppy's striking range of lampshades and pick form her huge variety of colours, patterns and shapes at bypoppyuk.co.uk. Why not give her a friendly follow on Instagram and Facebook too!

Instagram: @bypoppyuk

Facebook: @bypoppyuk

Website: bypoppyuk.co.uk

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