Lampshades

Go with your gut Julie!…

Sometimes I think far too much about what I’m doing, especially when I’m designing and I wish I could just get on and ‘do’ more. I had a lovely day yesterday with Angela from Cocoon Home, trawling fabric and trim shops across London (literally, I slept well last night, it felt like we covered the whole of London, by foot!) So today I decided to get on and make a lampshade from some fabric I’ve had sitting around for ages. I bought this Liberty print to make a hand-stitched lampshade originally but it’s a bit too thin on it’s own so I decided to line a drum one instead. Now, the yellow is very bright; much brighter than I thought it would be when I bought it on-line (another good reason to go up to London more, much better to see and touch for yourself) but… it looks really striking with the subtle floral print on the outside and I’m really pleased with it.

So it’s good to get out and about with someone who knows where they’re going and we found some brilliant shops and some that weren’t so inspiring (but useful for any size and colour zip!) I even managed to buy some lovely braid at a bargain price for an empire lampshade I’m making, more on that another day… Thanks Angela, it was a real treat! Let’s leave time for cocktails too next time!

Delicate floral outside
Striking yellow inside
Inspiration

Hello 2013!…

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!

Creative Courses

A lesson learnt…

It’s been too long since my hand-stitched lampshade course and I’m only just finishing off my next project. Luckily I have some really good handouts from the course but I wish I had made another one straight away! I remembered how to do the outside fabric but really struggled with the lining, taking two attempts to get it right. I know it shouldn’t have been hard but I’ve learnt a few things from the experience.

1. always have a go as soon as possible on your own after attending a course – it might all make sense when you’re there but things look very different when you’re trying to do it on your own.

2. Make sure you get handouts from a course if you can and make your own notes as you go through.

3. Don’t panic, you can always do it again and get there in the end, learn from your mistakes – I definitely won’t make the same mistakes next time!

I’m really lucky I had such a good teacher, Angela from Cocoon Home, who I’ve been able to email for advice and support, thanks Angela!

Close-up of my lampshade
Close-up of my lampshade

Nearly there now though, I just need to add some trim to the top and bottom to finish it off. If you look really closely you can see the streetly stitching at the front of the lampshade and lethal pins at the back! The fabric is a 100% cotton Liberty print called Boxford A Jersey from the SS12 Whitworth collection. It’s very pretty and floral and colourful and also very me!

I’m hoping to get it done this week now that the boys are back at school and I have some time to myself. I’m going to take them along as examples of my work to the Vintagenie arts, crafts and vintage fair I’m doing next Saturday, 21st April at Park House School in Newbury. I get the feeling I have a busy week ahead!…

Creative Courses · Sewing projects

It’s good to learn something new…

Homemade LondonI had the best day yesterday on the first part of the bespoke lampshade course at Homemade London. It is being run by Angela Constantinou from Cocoon Home who is lovely; a brilliant teacher who is passionate about sewing and making lampshades.

I really had no idea how traditional lampshades were made but after reading the rest of the instructions on my way home on the train it is starting to become clear! All I can say is it can’t be done in a hurry, involves a lot of pins (and I mean a lot!) and can make your fingers sore but the end result is beautiful. I’m sure my fingers will get used to it, I definitely intend to make more in the near future. It’s funny because I always liked the simplicity of drum lampshades but I am being drawn towards the more old fashioned hand-stitched ones. I think it’s a lot to do with the skill and time that goes into making them but it’s also their pretty shape and pom pom trim that I’m hoping to learn how to attach next week!

Homemade London is lovely too, I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to learn a new skill, from bag-making and lingerie to signature scent creation, upholstery and chandelier making. We had a great time, the class was nice and small, everyone was very friendly and keen to learn. Angela even brought in homemade chocolate cookies and lunch was scrummy, as were the cream cakes in the afternoon – we did do a lot of making and didn’t just sit and eat all day, honest! Can’t wait for the second installment next Sunday…

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Three weekends of lampshades…

Lovely traditional lampshades
Lovely traditional lampshades

It’s nearly half term and, like most parents I’m looking forward to a break from the usual routine and a bit of a rest. The week before a school holiday is always a bit manic though, as if I won’t ever be able to do gilhoolie stuff again… (sounds like a nightmare to me!) But, don’t panic, I just realised I have lampshade courses or workshops over the next three weekends, phew!

The next two Sundays will be spent at Homemade London learning how to make a traditional style lampshade with Angela Constantinou from Cocoon Home. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and even the homework in between! It’s nearly a year since I learnt how to make my first drum lampshade and I’ve always wanted to know how the traditional ones are made – look out for updates on here, as long as my efforts are good enough, got to have pom poms for sure.

Then, on the 25th February I’m running my own lampshade workshop in Maidenhead with Arts & Laughs. I’m looking forward to that too, in a different way, and am prepared with instructions and a list of equipment. It’ll be really nice to show people how it’s done and have a chat, eat cake and drink tea. Oh yes, and the workshop is being featured by FromBritainWithLove, which is ‘an online magazine and directory dedicated to showcasing Britain’s most talented designers, craftspeople, producers and retailers’. How exciting, no pressure then! I’ll let you know how it goes…

Creative Courses

Lampshades with pom poms – thanks Mum!

I’ve just booked a place on a traditional lampshade making course at Homemade London, and I’m very excited! My Mum gave me some money for my (big) birthday this year and I’ve been looking for something to spend it on. I love this Liberty Lampshade made by Angela from Cocoon Home who runs the course and I’m hoping it will be something gilhoolie can offer in the future, with pretty fabric and pom poms!