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Why lampshades?…

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gilhoolie logoWhen I’m teaching I’m frequently asked, why do I make lampshades? Well, I can’t easily explain why, I just have this obsession with them and they make me happy. I’ve been writing this blog now for two years and making lampshades for nearly as long and I still have to pinch myself to check it’s all real. I’ve been busy with orders lately, for private clients and interior designers and I still go through the following emotions:

  • when I make a lampshade I still start with a feeling of excitement, anxious to see what it will look like in the end
  • while I’m making  a lampshade I still double check everything, I would hate to make a mistake and I still really, really care about every one I make
  • when the lampshade is complete, whether it’s a simple drum that’s taken a couple of hours to make, or a drum with a hand-made trim that I’ve designed and stitched, or a hand-stitched empire lampshade that’s taken considerably longer, I feel elated and often literally jump with joy and stand back and go “wow, I love it!” (Then feel a bit silly as I’m there on my own…)
  • then finally, when I hand the lampshade over to a client, all packaged nicely, I love seeing their faces light up and I imagine their happiness whenever they turn the light on…

This may all seem a bit silly and extreme to a lot of people but I am proud of the fact that I take so much care in making each and every lampshade. And I’m proud of the fact that they are all hand-made with lots of love and attention. And I’m so happy that I enjoy what I do so much, even if I still get a bit nervous about the whole thing, it just shows I still care, long may it continue… so that’s why I make lampshades, crazy I know…

Large hand-stitched empire lampshade – complete with gilhoolie tag
Pretty cotton roses fabric with a tassel trim
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Lampshade upcycling …

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I’m all for upcycling so when I was asked by a client to remake two large cone shaped lampshades I said yes, of course, no problem. You see, my client was really happy with the dimensions of the old lampshades so didn’t want to have new ones made.

So instead, I stripped down the lampshades and used the panels as templates so that I could reuse the rings. Luckily they were made out of two panels each as the biggest lampshade ring measures 56cm in diameter. They worked out incredibly well, recovered in her choice of Harlequin brown silk fabric to match the newly designed living room. I think she’ll be pleased and I have a great sense of satisfaction knowing I’ve restored something that will now take pride of place for many years to come.

The method is the same as making drum lampshades by the way, you just have to roll at an angle and make very precise templates so that you don’t end up with a wonky shade!

Here is one of the lampshades before:

Very tired looking!

And here they are afterwards, it wasn’t a quick process by any means, but worth it in the end!

Two very smart lampshades
Inspiration

Whistle-stop Home visit…

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I managed a really quick visit to Home at Earls Court yesterday and thought I’d share some of my favourite finds with you. There were certainly lots of talented people exhibiting; very inspiring indeed!

Look out for website links after the images so you can go and see for yourselves. Enjoy…

Very me!
Which one would you choose?
There’s a moose loose!
Cool idea
Love Charlotte Farmer’s illustrations
Comfy sofa/day bed
Really cool shape too
Love the name, and the products!
I want one!
Too-whit, too-woo!
Must make some of these!
Snowflake the sheep!
Nice houses
Wicked (!) wallpaper
I think I like this colour too much!
Ah cute!
Like the chair too!

Website links: Kauniste, Skandium, SCP, Bob & Brace, New House Textiles, Another Country, Sarah Heaton, Anorak, Gray & Turner, Natasha Lawless, Mibo, Mary Kilvert, Jessica Hogarth, Isak, Maxine Sutton

Artwork

gilhoolie house pictures gallery…

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A lot of these drawings were completed before Christmas, and were bought as presents so I couldn’t publish them on here until now. There’s a few older ones thrown in too, can you spot my house?!

Retro sky
gilhoolie house picture with blue pattern print sky
gilhoolie house picture with blue pattern print sky
House drawing with gilhoolie pattern sky
gilhoolie house picture with purple pattern print sky
Do you like the butterfly?!
gilhoolie house picture with blue pattern print sky
Gemma’s anniversary present
Embroidered sky house
Our house with blue mosaic sky
gilhoolie house picture with blue pattern print sky
gilhoolie house picture with blue pattern print sky
gilhoolie house picture with blue pattern print sky
gilhoolie house picture with blue mosaic sky
gilhoolie house picture with green pattern print sky
Court Gardens, Marlow
Inspiration

Hello 2013!…

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It’s time to look back at the last twelve months at gilhoolie and make some real plans for 2013. Sometimes I can’t believe some of the events below only happened a matter of months ago and I have to say, I’m really looking forward to more fun and learning in the next twelve months.

So, goodbye 2012, when gilhoolie (kind of in order)…

gilhoolie in 2012

1. …drew lots of retro kitchen drawings that I later machine embroidered onto tea-towels; I still have my favourite ones on display in my kitchen and you can buy them on etsy…

2. …learnt how to make hand-stitched lampshades at Homemade London. I was taught by the very lovely and incredibly talented Angela Constantinou from Cocoon Home. I think this was a real turning point for me in terms of where I wanted gilhoolie to go…

3. …taught my first lampshade workshop which was featured in From Britain With Love coursenotes. I now teach regularly at Make & Do in Caversham and will be teaching at Hands on Art Adventures in Old Windsor this year too. I taught a lot of 1-2-1 lampshade lessons at my house in Maidenhead in 2012. I love it; it’s so nice to be with other people and see their faces light up when a lampshade comes together looking beautiful!

4. …felt ready to change my logo to represent what I wanted to do with gilhoolie. I still like it a lot, luckily, it’s very me!

5. …dabbled with machine embroidery a bit more, to give my drawings another dimension – I really want to do more of this soon…

6. …made my first big hand-stitched lampshade commission for an Interior Designer in Maidenhead. This was very exciting, if a little nerve-wracking but it turned out amazingly after an awful lot of hard work and dedication…

7. …made lampshades from wallpaper and comic books including Tintin and Spiderman…

8. … drew lots and lots of house pictures for various people – more on those soon…

And hello 2013 when gilhoolie plans to…

…make a collection of big hand-stitched lampshades to sell on my website

…improve my website to make it more professional but carry on blogging too

…continue working with Interior Designers to make beautiful lampshades that match a room design

… do more of the following – drawing, teaching, sewing, machine embroidery, decorating my house

… learn a new skill – can’t wait for my crochet workshop at Make & Do later this month!

So you see, still lots to do and lots to learn in 2013, Happy New Year everyone!

gilhoolie loves... · Inspiration

gilhoolie loves lampshades and… Bath

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Just thought I’d share with you some gilhoolie loves from my recent, extra special birthday visit to Bath (thank you James xxx)…

I love Bath…

1. I was over the moon to discover Atmosphere Bath on Broad Street – an amazing fabric shop with an incredible range of quality French and Belgian fabrics

2.  A new find this time; if you have a couple of hours to spare for cocktails during happy hour, there’s a great atmosphere at Pulp on Monmouth Street and they do cocktail mixing lessons too

3. For me, a trip to Bath isn’t complete without a meal at the scrummy Demuth’s vegetarian restaurant on North Parade Passage – they run cookery lessons too

4.Tired from all that shopping? Then have a well-deserved rest, a cuppa and some cake at the lovely Society Cafe on Kingsmead Square

5. What a treat to stay right in the centre of Bath, at the stylish, boutique Harringtons Hotel on Queen Street, loved it, especially when my feet were aching from all that shopping!

6. I’ve heard a lot about the ever so crafty Makery Emporium in Northumberland Place – so it was great to visit at last, crammed full of fabrics, buttons, trimmings and more, be prepared to spend lots!

Inspiration

Anyone 4 tea?…

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Birthdays come and go but I wanted this year’s to be special and it really was, not because we did anything flash, more because we kept it simple and everything fell into place. (Plus it was a ‘significant birthday’ but we won’t say any more about that, the clues in the heading…)

We decided to catch the train into town for a spot of shopping. I have to say, it was a very successful trip for the following reasons:

  1. I bought a new outfit to wear when we go out to dinner with friends on Saturday within the first half an hour! I was very happy
  2. Followed by a quick browse round Liberty to look at their lovely wares, always puts a smile on my face
  3. Then, after wandering around lots of amazing (and one slightly dodgy!) side streets, a scrumptious lunch at a veggie cafe in Soho called Beetroot – even if you’re not veggie you should give it a go, very yummy food and lots of it!
  4. Next I realised (doh!) we were on Berwick Street – lots of incredible fabric shops, so of course I had to have a look in those too. I just had a search for some information on them and came across a lovely blog called Tilly and the Buttons – makes me want to make my own clothes, I definitely need a morning to read this more over a cuppa and take the plunge!

That was all in the space of a few hours – pretty impressive eh?! I love it when a day turns out that way, especially if its a special occasion too!

All of the above was during school hours (including the train journey to London and back!) and of course was followed by yummy home-made birthday cake at home with the boys and several visits from lovely friends, what a day… and more surprises to come on Friday and the weekend, am a tad excited…

Anyway, here is a collage of just a few of the best bits from my day and things that caught my eye along the way. Thank you to everyone who made it special in every way! (Do I sound like a cheesy birthday card?!)

My birthday board

1. Miho’s quirky and decorative range of wall-mounted deer heads and bird houses in Liberty

2. Felicity Hall contemporary needlepoint kit to make a clutch bag (in Liberty) – never seen these before and I don’t think I have the patience but they’re rather nice

3. Kate Spade New York coasters – how cute

4. My birthday cake – lovingly made by James and the boys – didn’t last long!

5. Absolutely beautiful Danish cross-stitch picture made by Auntie (!) Tina – really chuffed to get a hand-made present

6. Lisa Stickley make-up bag from James – love the pattern and the colours too

Inspiration

Handmade in Britain12

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Last Friday I visited Handmade in Britain with a friend. I’ve never been before so it was good to go and have a nose around (and visit Heal’s and the Conran Shop afterwards!) I have to admit, I didn’t see that many stalls I was really drawn to but here are a few I did like.

We came across Anya Keeley’s work towards the end of the visit; always good to save the best until last as her work is stunning. We stood and stared for a few minutes, always a good sign I think. It’s hard to explain what she does but her website says:

A compendium of curious creatures & whimsical wonders discovered during explorations and adventurings. Prepare to be bewildered, bamboozled & beguiled. Here you will find mischievous mammals, botanically bemusing birds, frolicsome fairies, mesmerising mermaids & much much more. All specimens are one-off artefacts using wire, reclaimed and found objects.

We were both really mesmerised by her duck sculpture but I can’t find any images of it so here’s a picture of Henry the Puffin instead, isn’t he adorable?!

Henry the Puffin by Anya Keeley

As usual there were a few lampshades dotted around, nothing inspiring unfortunately, although I did like Offkut’s bare bulb lights for their simplicity.

Offkut corset cage light

In terms of textiles, I really liked the colours and style of this print by Michele Oberdieck.

Michele Oberdieck fabric – like the chair too!

Oh, and the embroidery on Ekta Kaul’s cushions (this one is a section of a map of Chelsea) and you can buy it from Miratis.com:

Ekta Kaul Chelsea map cushion

Finally, just because I love looking at old buildings, I thought the architectural models by Chisel & Mouse were pretty clever, especially the one of the Art Deco Hoover Building in London.

Hoover Building by Chisel & Mouse

We did see some lovely jewellery too and were particularly tempted by a ring by Sonia Cheadle, shame they start at £25,ooo!!!

Decorating Projects · gilhoolie loves... · Interior Design

gilhoolie loves lampshades and…wallpaper

Julie Gardner2 Comments

As I type, Terry the plasterer is skimming our dining room ceiling to remove all traces of the horrible artex. My latest decorating project…

So, I had already chosen some wallpaper about a year ago but I thought I should have a quick look to see if there are any others I like more (did I say a quick look? – arghhh! SO much choice out there!) Anyway, here are some of my personal favourites right now, a real mix from geometric to paisley to floral to 1950s to wildlife (told you there was lots of choice!)…

Lots of lovely wallpaper

1. Festival wallpaper in concrete from Mini Moderns – reminds me of my Interior Design studies on Lucienne Day

2. Love the geometric shapes of Erin in chalk and sky from Harlequin

3. Had to include Linear Stem by Orla Kiely

4. Tulips are my favourite flowers – Tulia from Harlequin

5. I quite like subtle paisley patterns so had to include Paisley Crescent from Mini Moderns

6. I think hares are quite in aren’t they?! – Harvest Hare from St Jude’s

7.  Pretty leaves, very autumnal – Lucerne by Harlequin

8. Simple florals in Lacarno from Harlequin

9. My original wallpaper choice – lovely Craven Street in greystone from Little Greene

The question is, do I stick to my original plans?! Watch this space…

Lampshades

Small business… very big lampshade!

Julie Gardner6 Comments

When it comes to drum lampshades, I like a challenge and it’s good to make something a bit different every now and again. So when I was asked by an Interior Designer, Kate Lovejoy to help her recover a very big seventies lampshade I was more than happy to.

Here’s what it looked like it in it’s glorious seventies condition; a little tired and bashed –

Before…

In fact it wasn’t that difficult to recover but it took two of us to roll the rings because it is SO big, definitely my biggest so far. Kate chose a lovely, colourful butterfly fabric that still has a seventies feel but now it looks beautiful (and still VERY big!)

and after!

So, another lampshade quandary successfully tackled and another happy lampshade and customer, did I mention I love lampshades?…