Lampshades

Lampshade commissions…

I have a feeling I won’t be posting many updates over the summer so I thought I’d better get one in quick before the schools break up and the holidays begin. I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with the family but I’m sure I’ll find time to sneak away and make something at some point. Here are some shots I took at home last week of a lampshade commission for an Interior Designer. I’m hoping to get some photos of it in situ soon so I’ll add those separately.

gilhoolie lampshade commission
gilhoolie lampshade commission

This large lampshade is for a floor lamp; the bottom ring measures 22″. The exterior is a woven plain fabric from Designers Guild called ‘Shima’ in a rose colour. It’s thicker than the dress-making cottons I would usually use so I fitted it on the bias. The interior is a balloon lining in 100% silk. The trim is a looped rouche from Osborne & Little called ‘Kediri’.

Kediri trim
Kediri trim

That was last week… this week has been equally busy, with two birthday parties to organise, along with all the other end of school activities. However, in between making a birthday cake and running errands I managed to make this lampshade today for a client. It’s made from wallpaper, with bias binding trim and has a clear backing giving it a translucent quality when lit.

stripy wallpaper lampshade
Wallpaper lampshade
stripy wallpaper lampshade closeup
All important careful packaging and gilhoolie tag

Well, hopefully it won’t be too long before I post something on here again. Have a brilliant summer everyone, the sun is going to shine soon I’m sure of it!…

Lampshades

Tintin Lampshades…

One of the first things I did when I started writing this blog was decorate a wall in my son’s bedroom by using pages from a Tintin book as wallpaper. Have a look at the post I wrote here. Well, I’ve been wanting to make some paper lampshades for a while so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make a matching Tintin lampshade for his room with the rest of the book… and here it is!

I had some old lampshades left over from our hallway so I decided to just recover them. I really should write a tutorial here at this point and I will one day – it wasn’t hard to do, a bit fiddly but like most things easier than you think, especially if you have the right tools for the job. It all feels very different to the hand-stitched lampshade I’ve been finishing this week – lots of double-sided tape involved (feels like cheating but very neat, especially with some white bias binding finishing off the top and bottom of the shade).

I now have to make two for Jacob’s bedroom, including a bigger pendant lampshade for the middle of the room, it’s about time his room had a makeover. Maybe we should go for a different comic book this time though – any suggestions?!…