The Lampshade Lady Blog

Cutie Pies

This is the most adorable Vintage French Cotton! Isn't it? Perfect for my house....fun to make and oooh so French. You can see my camera has made it outside! Lampshades are super hard to photograph and oh so much easier outside...... and yes, today was pretty nice in Southern Vermont! Today was a petal to the metal day; I had piles of started work that needed finishing. I got most of it done and up onto Etsy- MOST but not all...when is everything finished!

And another pair finished! I am starting to make a plan for what my "holes" are for Brimfield. Won't be long till it's time to head south to the land of many flea markets! Everyone is excited for the first one of the season!

One more finished up today. I've got 2 more smaller than this that didn't get finished.  There's always tomorrow morning and then it's time to set up for Wednesday's workshop. We've got a full house, big group- time to round up the chairs, tables and strip a bunch of stuff out of my shop to make space for the gang. Lots of details to pull together.

My one day workshop is usually folks that live pretty close by- some for a fun day to try something new and some are coming for a new career- I've got both coming. The 2 day workshop tends to bring folks from afar that want to come to start a business or add to their design knowledge. So, here we go..... ready set..... to trash my shop and rearrange it all.

note: I still have one spot left for the 2 day if you get a hankering.... oh, be spontaneous for spring!

Last Call for Next Week's Workshops: a couple spots left

Happy Spring.... snowdrops in the sky today... nothing to speak of but lets keep them in the garden! Next week is workshop week.

I have a couple of spots for my one day workshop and one spot for the 2 day workshop.

See prior post for all the info or give me a jingle at the shop. 802 325 6308. Sure~~~~~ be spontaneous! It's spring!! Time to spruce up the house and shake out the mud.

xoxo,

judy lake

Only April Lampshade Workshops for 2013

A busy day today in the shop. January has been busy so far which-- always surprises me. Etsy is busy this time of year, as my Little Pink Cottage/ Studio has been, too. December sales were fine, but never what one might think.  When the tree is down my customers start thinking about their homes again. I do too, don't you! A fresh start to the year.

I posted my April workshop schedule a few weeks ago here on my blog. I have recently decided to ONLY do the April Workshops for 2013.The One Day is April 10th and Two Day Workshop is April 12 and 13. I am taking a break from my Fall Foliage Workshops, so if you were planning on the Fall Workshops, I hope April will work for you! Just mixing it up for a change...can't become too predictable... I've been thinking it might be fun to create an Etsy Fall Foliage Tour in So. VT...or a Designers Treasure Hunt in So. VT.... there's so many amazing resources tucked in these green mountains. We will see what comes up.

I have heard from a few folks, but at this point there is plenty of room but  do expect these will fill up. To sign up I do ask for a 50% non-refundable deposit. Email me at [email protected] or call the shop at             Tel.802. 325. 6308 to reserve a spot.

stay warm,

xo

judy lake

April Workshops Scheduled for 2013

     

 

      April Lampshade Workshops      2013

   

April 10th, Wednesday

*cost $175. includes all materials except fabric

*One Day Lampshade Workshop in Pawlet, VT in my studio/shop

* 11am-5pm, bring lunch or pick up at The General Store or Station Restaurant next door.

* 50% non-refundable deposit at time of registration

*We will be doing a small square or hex shade, many size/shape options available. Materials are available for purchase after our class.

*I will cover lots of lighting info, lampshade sizing, tips of the trade, entrepreneurial encouragement, best fabrics. A full days worth of information. Enough to get you started making shades!

* fyi- I do have a cat in the shop if that is an issue for you.

*We will be doing hard back shades; this is the style of shade that fabric is laminated onto styrene, NO Sewing!

*email me, [email protected] or call the shop to make a reservation shop tel.803.325.6308

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                 2 Shades in 2 Days

*April 12 Friday 11am-6pm, April 13th Saturday 9am-3pm

*This workshop is open only to new students, prior students may take the one day workshop for a refresher class.

*Cost is $295, includes all materials except fabric.

* We will have in-depth discussion on starting a business, fabrics, tips on fitting lamp shades, I will demo an empire shade as well as a drum shade. Lots of sources will be shared.

* I will host a Vermont wine and Cheese tasting on Friday after our workshop.

* I am often asked what is difference in my 2 workshops are. If you are hoping to start a business or use lampshades in your design studio the 2 day workshop does give you a stronger footing to get you started. The first day we will do the same frame as the one day workshop and then the 2nd day you can pick any frame in my shop that you would like to use.

* 50% non-refundable deposit is due at registration. to register, email me at [email protected] or call the shop at 802.325.6308

I often say I can teach you to make lampshades in a day, but it takes years to learn all the tricks of the trade in the lighting field. I know I am still learning new things everyday.

* FYI: I do have a cat in my shop if this is an issue for you.

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It's been a crazy busy year as you might be able to tell from my lack of blogging. Holy Moly trying to keep up with my pinterest, etsy, fb and twitter

It has been almost a year since my true introduction to Etsy. It has been great for my little business. It IS a lot of work, but it DOES pay off for me. Retailing has been changing, my village is in the start of an upswing and I expect tourism to grow in the future years, but I was in a place of needing to figure a way to be able to hang tight in my shop and ETSY did it for me. Yipee. I keep my camera close by on my desk and try to balance out filling orders and filling inventory. It has been a long trial figuring out how etsy works, using the best key words, figuring out photography-lampshades are super hard to shoot. I have more or less figured it out, but still pieces of the puzzle still to conquer.

Etsy is definitely a miss-mash of quality; the good with the horrid and ugly in all price ranges. Some sales are a piece of cake and others might entail 27 emails for one shade. I don't mind and encourage clients to ask questions on size and shape. I chose to make a no return policy. This was a reason it took me so long to jump into Etsy in the first place. I was concerned that shades would be returned often and would be spending lots of $$ and time on the shipping piece. I have found the community of buyers and sellers to be really super great, friendly and proud of their businesses.

There are several ways of finding things on Etsy, One is MOST RECENT- which is what I generally look under as I want to see what the newest fabrics have been posted. The other which is the default is by RELEVANCY---- Etsy has their own system of how they rate what is relevant.....I think it has to do with current trends, sales, hits, go figure, there are some shades that are ALWAYS on the first page... makes one kind of crazy.... oh well.

Have a wonderful holiday, Gift Certificates are always available. I am in my shop till Friday 21st. and will be closed until Thursday after Christmas. Time for a little r&r!

xo Judy Lake