My new workshop

July 19, 2021March 23, 2025 Julie Gardner

I thought it was about time I shared some pics on here of my new lampshade workshop. It was built in our garden over a couple of months earlier this year. You know when you think, ah it’ll only take 2 weeks and then it turns into 2 or 3 months?! Well, that was partly our fault as we added some landscaping to the garden too, with a new garden path, a new flowerbed and two new raised beds for growing veggies.

Before I show you, I thought I’d mention why this is a good thing for my clients too, not just a nice space for me to work in. From now on when you come to collect a lampshade order, or come to enquire about lampshades, you can come round the back of our house to my workshop. There you’ll find lots of lampshade ring sizes to choose from, lampshade PVC lining samples as well as my plain fabric selection (a cotton from Villa Nova Seville). You can even bring your lamp with you if you like so that we can see what shapes and sizes will look best. I don’t have lots of samples of lampshades I’m afraid (being bespoke, everything I make goes out the workshop pretty much straight away). But I can also draw out your lamp base to size to help you visualise things.

This is my daily commute from the back door, across the patio and up the garden path:

I have been working out here now for a few months and I absolutely love it. The first week felt a bit strange being away from the house but now I’m so glad we did it. My lampshade ‘stuff’ (ring sets, PVC, cutting mats, equipment, art bits and bobs, lots of fabric remnants) had started to take over the house. And as I was using the dining room table I had to tidy everything away at the end of each day. Not great but on the other hand I also loved the space in the house and it worked well enough for nearly ten years…

My new workshop isn’t far from the house and it looks out onto our new veg patches, with peas, broad beans, rhubarb, raspberries, lettuce, beetroot and tomatoes. There is a new crunchy pebble path that leads from the patio to the workshop which feels a bit like walking on a beach but is also great as I can hear people coming up it towards me! I tend to get very absorbed in what I’m doing and am easily spooked otherwise!

We planned out what would go inside early on and I’m really happy with our finds, including:

A great workbench from Arbor Garden Solutions – it’s on wheels and is at the perfect height for standing and cutting PVC. No more back ache! There is also lots of storage underneath for PVC and ring sets.

A gorgeous quirky desk chair from Anthropologie (very me!) and a cute little bamboo desk from Ikea which is perfect for my laptop but also for my sewing machine.

A green metal trolley from Ikea – so handy for all my lampshade tools – no more hunting around in my tool box, everything is really accessible now.

The cupboard and shelving unit came from our house and were soon filled with fabric off cuts, my growing collection of botanical books and my embroidered lampshades.

Of course, Arthur has a bed out here too and usually comes and joins me while I’m working. Otherwise he’ll be wandering around in the garden next to me.

The walls and ceiling are painted in Little Greene Boxington and the woodwork is Olive Green. I decided to be bold, this space will be great for experimenting in interiors as well as art and lampshades! My next project in between lampshade orders and machine embroidery is to paint a mural on one of the walls of lots of flowers and leaves from my sketchbook. It’ll take a while but there’s no rush, I want to just add to it a bit at a time rather than planning it out. I’ll post more photos on here and Instagram once I have done some more (just a few flowers at the moment, it feels very strange drawing on a newly painted wall!)

I’m looking forward to welcoming lots more lampshade clients to my workshop. I’ve already had a handful collect their lampshades from here and it feels so much nicer and more professional than coming to the front door of our house. I just need to sort out a sign for deliveries as my husband is getting fed up having to take them all the time! I’ll add it to my list of things to do…

Lampshades

Lampshades for Interior Designers

December 15, 2020April 14, 2025 Julie Gardner

A lot of my lampshade orders come from clients who find me on Google searches but I also have a few local Interior Designers and curtain makers that have been ordering from me since I started gilhoolie. It works really well and I love having a relationship with them (must try and grow this in 2021!) – I can advise them on fabrics as well as shapes and sizes of lampshades (see my guidelines if you need help with this). It’s also a great way for them to use up spare fabric that would otherwise go to waste or sit gathering dust in their workshops.

2020 has been a strange year but I have felt blessed that many people have taken this time to update their homes by ordering bespoke lampshades. The gilhoolie Design Assistance service that was going so well up until Covid has suffered a lot as designers have cut back but I hope that will pick up again sometime next year.

Anyway, I thought I’d share with you some of the orders from Interior Designers this year and give them a little mention at the same time. The main orders have been from Niki Schafer, Samantha Johnson and The Silk Road, thank you to all of them! And thank you to Sarah Wooldridge who lives along my road and is very kind helping with ordering fabric and samples for my clients, I really appreciate it!

If you are an interior designer who would like to discuss ordering bespoke lampshades with gilhoolie do get in touch, I’d love to hear from you…

Biggest lampshade order yet!

October 27, 2020February 11, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

I made a note a few months ago to write a blog post once I had finished a really big lampshade order. But things have been so busy since then, I’m only just getting round to it, sorry! Some of lock down (especially the beginning when I was doing Joe Wick’s workout every morning and taking Arthur for a long walk to fill my time) was very quiet but the summer was pretty busy. I guess people were spending more time at home and wanting to make small changes to their interior that were easy to do from home. Great for lampshade makers like me 🙂

It all worked really well at gilhoolie in terms of social distancing – my workshop is at the back of the house so clients just came through the side gate and we discussed things on the patio, at a distance. I’m glad I could still see clients when they dropped off lampshades to discuss fabrics and linings, and especially when they came to collect their shiny new lampshades later on. I’m not sure how it’s going to work over the winter but as long as it isn’t raining I can continue like this without any problems. One of my jobs this half term is to start collecting quotes for building a proper workshop in the garden. I’ve been planning it out to make sure I have enough space for working, sewing, drawing and storage too, lots to think about!

Anyway, back to my biggest lampshade order yet! The order was for an interior designer in Surrey and involved lots and lots of different sized lampshades which needed recovering. Some of them were really big, I remember laying the PVC out on the lawn to try and work out how much I would need for them all. The client wanted them to have black fittings and gold embossed PVC linings. Standard lampshade fittings usually come in white but it isn’t difficult to spray them a new colour and it adds interest to the inside of a lampshade.

I ordered some graffiti primer, paint and varnish from VIP in London and when it arrived I set to spraying them on an old decorating sheet in the garden on a nice summer’s day. They looked great all shiny and black! I also remember sitting in our front room finishing off the lampshades with a fan directed at me as it was too hot to work in my workshop. As I write this it’s all cold and wet and gloomy outside…

I have been going through my phone photos taken over the last few months to find ones for this blog post and there are an awful lot of lampshades to share with you. Maybe I’ll do another post showing you all of them next. I often forget just how much I have done.

Here are a few of the black and gold lampshades at various stages of making, don’t they look smart?! I love the before shot with several lampshades that are dented and bashed, with Arthur lying in front.

If you have a lampshade that has seen better days, just get in touch for a quote to have it recovered with lovely new fabric and shiny new linings and fittings. Check out our lampshade guidelines and frequently asked questions for advice.

Decorating Projects · Interior Design · lock-down

Welcome to my studio!

July 1, 2020February 11, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

We were incredibly lucky to have our kitchen/dining room (which is also my lampshade workshop) decorated just before lock down and I have been meaning to share it on here since then so I’m sorry it’s taken so long. I adore this space. It’s so light and airy but also very cosy in the winter. I can step straight into the garden for a stroll and look at the flowers or make myself a cup of tea whenever I need a break. The only down side is that I have to tidy everything away at the end of a day and everyone obviously gravitates here when they get hungry (which is quite often when you have two teenage boys living in the house!) It’s been accentuated during lock down for sure with four of us living here. So I am seriously considering building a workshop in the garden where I can really get away from it all and absorb myself in making. But for now I’m very happy and grateful to have this space.

I have been busy working on my own machine embroidery designs which I will be adding to my Etsy shop. These are all botanical themed so far and I have used them to make cushions and lampshades. I’d like to come up with a collection that I can sell eventually but it’s early days as I’m trying things out and having fun experimenting. One good thing about lock down, I have plenty of time to do this and seem to be quite inspired! Yesterday I spent all afternoon coming up with a design and started cutting fabrics to stitch on.

Anyway, back to my kitchen/dining room/workshop… Here it is. The walls are painted in Little Greene china blue, with a slightly lighter tone in the kitchen area as it can be a bit dark in there at certain times of day. The wallpaper is also from Little Greene and is called Fern in sage blue. It wraps around two walls and makes a cosy seating area in one corner. I admired this wallpaper in one of Samantha Johnson’s designs in Taplow – see her gorgeously clever interior design work here.

We already had the two seater sofa which is from Made.com. And my favourite velvet Calvin armchair is from Atkin & Thyme. Glass pendant over the dining room table is quite old but I still love it (from Next). Lampshades by gilhoolie. Glass cabinet from Ikea. Anglepoise original 1227 dark blue ceiling lights from John Lewis. Dining room table and benches from Habitat.

So you see, what a lovely space to be creative in. Next project, our master bedroom! I have ordered new furniture but we need to get on and decorate before it arrives, I’m off to get paint sample pots…

If you would like to order a lampshade for your own house please get in touch. I can help with sourcing fabrics to fit in with your scheme. Check out my instagram account for lots of images of previous makes.

Decorating Projects · Interior Design

Art Deco with a twist…

March 27, 2012February 8, 2025 Julie Gardner2 Comments

It’s been quite a while since I studied Interior Design and it was really good to have the chance to refresh that knowledge by putting together a sample board for a client last week. I didn’t have to do this but I find it helps visualise how a scheme is going to look with the wallpaper, cushions, lampshades, furniture, fittings and ornaments all on the same board together. I would always recommend doing this when putting a scheme together plus I enjoyed doing it too so that was a bonus!

This project has been based around an Art Deco fireplace and the client wanted to keep that Art Deco feel but with a modern twist. This is the kind of Interior Design I like as I love mixing up styles rather than just sticking to one.

We chose the wallpaper a while ago but now that I offer a bespoke lampshade making service, I’m able to combine the two skills and complete the room for her. We’ve gone for a simple geometric wallpaper behind the bed, to go with the Art Deco fireplace on the opposite wall.

Then a lovely floral fabric from John Lewis will adorn a pendant lampshade in the middle of the room and cushions on the bed. The two small bedside lampshades will be replaced with plain, muted pink drum lampshades and an Art Deco mirror will go above the fireplace. I don’t have pictures of all the furniture on this sample board but they would ideally be included to finish off the whole picture. I’ll put some more photos on here once the lampshades and cushions are made… I wouldn’t mind a bedroom like this though, a bit girly but not too much so and very calming zzzzz……

Wallflower fabric in magenta and grey — Large pendant lampshade in wallflower fabric

ArtDecoInspiredBedroom SampleBoard — Sample Board for an Art Deco Inspired Bedroom

Interior Design · Soft Furnishings

A new toy…

August 23, 2011February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

Well, writing a business plan is going okay but I’m taking a break from Excel spreadsheets (reminds me too much of my old job!) to play with a new toy – a proper camera!

Thank you Neil and Angela for putting us up in your lovely new house last week and for giving me your old Canon digital camera. I really, really appreciate it and will try to repay you by sending interior design ideas for all those big rooms whenever I see any!

I’ve taken a few pictures of my tulip lampshade to see if I can make it look any better. Yes, I’ve got lots to learn; I’m not sure I’ve got the hang of focusing on the right part of the picture (not a good start!) I really should read the instructions beforehand but I wanted to have a play. Come on, they’ve got to look better than the old ones, surely?! I also need to practice setting up shots to make things look more professional but I’m sure when I have several lampshades set up in different designs and colours they’ll look ten times better.

I bought a frame today to display a sample of of my first printed tulip fabric so that I can look back and remember where it all started:

And here’s a gilhoolie label close up, can you see it now?! Oh yeh, and here’s my lampshade of course. Now I’m off to finish working out costings for lampshades, tea-towels and beanbags, oh and to read that camera manual…or maybe just play a bit more first… P.S. Did anyone spot the difference in the header on my blog?

Decorating Projects · Interior Design

Did you know John Lewis sell disco balls?!

July 13, 2011February 8, 2025 Julie Gardner1 Comment

Walls, ceiling and woodwork painted, fire surround painted, fireplace tiles painted, shelves put up, wallpapering done, mirror put back, new light put up… not a quick job this one but worth it in the end! I can’t believe how much lighter the room feels now that it’s a cool duck egg rather than a dark red.

The floral wallpaper is called Hudson Mohair from Laura Ashley and has a pearlescent sheen (not available any more though so the pressure was on when we were trying to wallpaper round the fireplace!)

The Dante chandelier is from John Lewis and has already been described as a disco ball by my five year old but I’m hoping it adds a bit of glamour and impact to the room.

My last task is to frame some pictures I’ve been collecting for the wall behind the sofa which is looking very empty – more photos of the rest of the room to follow, I just thought I’d do a quick update now.

Even the beanbags I made back in March match the scheme…

Decorating Projects · Interior Design

Interior Design in Reverse!

May 12, 2011February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

Well, this was all done a bit backwards seeing as I finished decorating a month ago, but I still wanted to publish the sample board and floorplan I put together for our bedroom. Gilhoolie Designs is working out to be a great place for me to keep track of my ‘work’ and build up my portfolio.

Enough of interior design though, I’ve just received more fabric to make a beanbag so I need to get out the sewing machine. Watch this space for photos of a more girly beanbag with pink stitching!

Decorating Projects · Interior Design · Soft Furnishings

Where is the bed?!

May 4, 2011February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

Well, the three weeks of the Easter holidays were glorious but it’s good to be back making things again (not how I was feeling yesterday, it’s weird being in the house on my own again!) I finished the runner and one of the cushions for our bedroom today and I was dying to post them on my blog so here they are. There will be two cushions when I’ve finished and they’ll go on the bed but I was trying to be artistic with the shot in the garden and it looks good on the chair too.

So that’s the bedroom all done (except for the bedding, hence still no photo of the bed, sorry!) I must say it is very calming and I’m really pleased with the design. Now onto making a beanbag for a friend (my first commission, thanks Sandi!) and thinking about decorating the living room. I’m also going to try and master Adobe Illustrator as I’ve heard it’s good for textile design, busy busy…

Decorating Projects · Interior Design

Our bedroom, a calming gooseberry fool!

April 13, 2011April 25, 2025 Julie Gardner

Okay, so it’s true, I am no decorator but I do like seeing the results of all that hard work (well, a few days painting and a day wallpapering). So I thought I’d post a few pictures here even though it’s not quite finished (I’m waiting for the fabric for the cushions). I know it’s hard to tell from my amateur photos but the walls are a really calming green (gooseberry fool apparently) which goes really well with the white fireplace and amara wallpaper on the wall behind the bed. I’ll post a picture of the cushions in a few weeks hopefully, plus I’d like to re-cover the tub chair but I’m not sure whether I’m up to the challenge!