The Lampshade Lady Blog

6 Top Lampshade Ladies of 2022 - Bring on the Color

I have taught many a lampshade maker over the years.  My DIY Lampshade book, The Lampshadelady's Guide to Lighting up Your Life, Potter Craft 2009 spurred on many new lampshade makers. I have loved watching artisans grow their design skills; I look back at my early work and see the huge progress I have made since those early days. It takes a heck of a lot of work to succeed in this business, but then who wouldn't want to play with fabric, paper and color everyday. Persistence pays off.

A few of my recent lampshades. (shameless promotion)

I am sharing some of my favorite fellow lampshade ladies, they are all super talented, have a creative eye and really hard workers.  I am sure I will miss many, sorry in advance.

One of my first students that comes to mind is Kristi Uvence from Seattle, Washington. Her business on Etsy is called Sassy Shades. Kristi flew east for a private workshop with me after my book came out. We had a blast. We made lampshades, went looking for vintage fabric and had lots of laughs. She has persisted thru working full time and developing her business. I am very proud of her accomplishments. Below are some of Kristi's work.

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Another great lampshade maker I sometimes chat with is Maggie from Vero Lampshades. We met on Etsy thru my book. I often get questions from lampshade makers and I'm happy to try to help with their questions. And sometimes they help me too. Maggie must be a very hard worker. She is always getting new inventory posted in her Etsy shop. Maggie has a great flair with her fabrics. It's been fun to see her grow as well as Kristi. Check out their work.

Vero Lampshades (Below)

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When I started making lampshades in the early 1990's I spotted another lampshade maker that had a similar style to mine. She is the fabulous lampshade maker Susan Schneider. At that time I used to travel down Rt 22 down to CT for many craft shows. I remember poking my head in her shop window that at that time was in Millerton, NY. It seems like a million years ago. Wow, I was blown away with excitement. She was closed but loved that cute little shop. I thought it sure would be fun to have my very own shop someday. Susan's business is called Shandell's. She's gone thru many phases of her lampshade business. These days she's making gorgeous marble papers for lampshades, boxes, belts, etc. Plus teaching marbling, too. We've never met but we have both been at this lampshade thing for a long time. You can order from her website as well as other events. She's top notch and I'm a big admirer of her work. She is in the process of restoring an old barn for her shop/ studio. I wish her well and someday we shall meet. Follow her on Instagram @Shandells.

Susan's Marble Lampshades (below)

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Robin Koppernaes makes great lampshades and is also one of my students. You can see her work on Etsy, Creative Lampshades. It is fun to see her work pop up in my Etsy feed. It's been years since my workshops but seems like it was just yesterday. Follow Robin on Instagram, too. She's way down in beautiful Beaufort, S.C. I just love this orange lampshade, bet it lights up beautiful. Orange and reds are the best for warm light.

 

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Another great lampshade lady is Linda Daniel, aka Elle Daniel from Sarasota, Florida. Years ago Linda flew up to my shop to have a private workshop. She was ready to start her next business. There was no doubt that Linda would go on to establish a great business. She's a super marketer and stylist.

Linda's lampshade shop in Sarasota is at Address: 1616 Oak Street, Sarasota, FL 34236. Her website is https://www.elledaniel.com . Elle Daniel lampshades can also be purchased in her Etsy shop as well as her own website.

 

No doubt I have forgotten many lampshade ladies! It's a fun business and heavens knows there's plenty of work for all of us!!!  Susan and I have been making lampshades for over 30 years; we both have pivoted and evolved with the times. Making a business with your hands is a labor of love. We have all struggled to get to where we are whether it's crooked lampshade frames, clips that have bad solder joints, bad glue, bad styrene, rusty wires, grosgrain ribbon sourcing or just learning the art.

It takes a lifetime to learn the lighting industry.

All of these Lampshade Ladies agree that there is more than just a white lampshade!!! Light up Your Life!

xoxo

judy

ps My workshop days are over. It was lots of fun while it lasted.

pss My book, The Lampshadelady's Guide to Lighting up Your Life is out of print but can be found used on Amazon and other used book venues.

 

 

 

On Running Your Own Company : Yes, yes if you can

I am a happy entrepreneur, small business owner and designer. I find it such an interesting question of why we do what we do. How do we end up in our places in life? Do we have friends to mentor us? Do we wing it? I started on the kitchen table as a young mom. Legos next to lampshades. 

At this point in my life I have enough years to look back on and enjoy reflecting on the evolution of my business. It takes lots of drive. It takes being humble. It takes making lots of mistakes and pulling our selves up again and regrouping. I always say I am happy not to be a perfectionist otherwise I never would have gotten as far as I have. And heavens knows it has taken me all this time to figure it all out. And must say I learn something new most days. I just realized for 12 bucks I can sharpen all of my own scissors... this cracks me up. Why did it take me so long to know this?

If you have your own business --- problem solving is a number one skill to master.

But what drives us to own our own business. Is it CONTROL? Most likely. I think that might be a very good reason to own your own business. You need to like calling the shots. Be the decider. Every minute of the day decisions are made. Which boxes to buy, which color tissue paper to order, what ribbon to use. Which orders to accept and ones to pass on. Which trim to use a lampshade. Which vintage fabrics and embroideries to buy. How much to spend of fabric. What hours to work, should I work a long weekend, which days to take off.

I often say it's worth $100,000 just to make all these decisions and be your own boss! It only takes a few dead end jobs to want to be your own boss. I started my business with very little money. And it has grown slowly putting earnings back into the business at a steady pace year after year. I am starting to see an exit plan in the coming years, but heck I can do it just as slowly as it started. I see a few more years in my Pawlet Village shop and then a move back up to my house where I started on the kitchen table, well maybe not the kitchen table but our little office--- I might not fit there.... but not quite ready to think about that even though it is in the back of my mind. Etsy is about 90% of my business and my village shop 10% of sales. Amazing isn't it. Though the percentage flips a bit seasonally as winter is slow at my shop and very busy online. Summer can be slow on line and busy in my shop; it actually works quite well.

I do love my shop work space. It's full to over flowing with fabrics, lampshade frames, shipping boxes and all the materials in between. And of course my shop garden is a cherished space to stretch a bit after lunch and pull a few weeds or plant seedlings.

Do you have the drive or do you prefer to follow. Leadership is a skill even if it's only a one lady business. We grow into our roles. I was very shy when I started my business. Selling at craft shows helped me gain confidence in myself. It's damn hard to put yourself out there with your wares! It's a vulnerable position as well as rewarding. A good selling show always puts a smile on any sellers face. Which leads to confidence which can leave just as fast as it comes. Are we good enough or does our product suck, just keep evolving and growing to make a better product-- persistence carries the day, always.

Does our product meet the sellers needs and desires? In the beginning of my business I did one small show in Vermont and quickly realized at the time I was not in the right neighborhood. I picked up and did 6-7 shows a year in Westport, Wilton, New Cannan and Weston CT where the money flowed like water. And that was the right neighborhood for my product. Then I jumped on Etsy in 2010 and did only The Brimfield Flea Market a couple times a year for quite a few years. Brimfield was fun until it wasn't and the decision was that it was time to take a break on that. These days I stay put in my shop and find my time best spent staying put. I had my years of doing a fair amount of community projects which actually worked well while making lampshades. I always needed something else to keep my mind busy though it did take away time from MAKING. Now all I do is MAKE. I've done my community do good-er time and have learned well to say NO. It's really quite easy to say no; I feel good about the civic duties done.

The past 3 Covid years have brought many into finding their inner businesses. I love this positive piece of the last few stressful years. Many have questioned their values and daily work. Our businesses are what we make them. Energy in energy out. Life is short and time goes by fast. I feel fortunate to have been able to have my little pink cottage and work hard as hell. I have to laugh at some of my days. It's kind of nutty. A day usually starts with boxing up orders, today I have 4 boxes to pack, fortunately they were all small 9x9x8 boxes; the best to box up. Then time for another cup of tea and settle in for a few busy projects to figure out the flow of the day. It is down right busy now and it takes a focus to stay on pace and track to balance filling orders as well as making inventory. Yes, it's always more fun to make inventory. This morning I had a few things ready to trim with my tea while I listened to the radio. Then onto the custom orders. The end of the day was prepping orders that I'd been putting off. Finishing up a cool large drum shade for my friend Ellen; it's a vintage embroidery drum shade, 16" across. I couldn't do it till I'd cleared off all the projects on my ironing board. I needed a lot of space. Lastly I banged it together, clipping wires into place with glue and clothes pins. Quite pleasing way to end the day. Funny how much gets done in one day. I got a fun call from a free lance writer today for an article for our local newspaper; we are setting that up for next week. Good timing for the holidays, we have lots of new Vermonters in our area that do not know about my shop.

Time for get to bed early for a busy day tomorrow. There's an estate sale across from my shop tomorrow and will bring in the perfect customers. Hope they do estate sales there more often. Sure parking will be a mess but not much happens in our little village so this is exciting!

enough rambling....haha, start your own business or support small businesses!

xo

judy

Winter is Coming Nov. 28, 2022

Happy Post Thanksgiving! What beautiful weather we had here in Southern Vermont for Thanksgiving. Such a treat. Baking is always better on a high pressure and a nice walk. We cooked up a storm. I made a couple of super pies; a blueberry with a spoke spiral top crust from a super cool cookbook I was gifted last year. Got to say it was super pretty. Wish I'd gotten a photo; it was brag worthy. And then also a pumpkin + maple pie with pretty cut out leaves on top from the left over pie dough. Sweet, actually not too sweet...just enough.

A little business. I have dumped my lakes lampshades website. It was very outdated and I honestly don't have time to fuss with it. I chose to keep my blog instead as there is tons of content here from my shop and DIY projects. It is easier for me to manage. I do have a new url for this site, http://www.lakeslampshades.net. My own domain at last. Not quite sure if it's showing up yet but need to get a few blog posts going for it to register on the old seo highway.  note: don't go to my old website, lakeslampshades.com ---- there's some hacker gambling site that's taken my domain there. Yikes, surely not me. So the address is lakeslampshades.net

After 3 seasons out on my shop porch I've moved everything inside. I am asking EVERYONE to please mask up. I have a box on the porch if you should forget. My shop is pretty tiny with poor circulation.

I'll be back posting again soon to get the seo back in shape.

Thanks,

Judy

Lake's Lampshade / Lampshade Lady Video 2022

Lampshadelady Video, Released Oct. 27th, 2022

This spring a local man by the name of Jerry Scapof posted on our local FB page saying he was making a video on Artisans / Craftspeople of our area and if you are interested reach out to him. Humm, I thought. Oh heavens that sounds pretty hard as I am good at bungling words, always saying the wrong thing, on and on. But the yankee in me thought, it'll be good for my business- why the heck not and maybe it will even be fun!

And it was a blast! And it was over before I even knew it. Yes, I had to take a bunch of plastic off the shades, tidy up my porch, make cookies and tea. Mary Jo, the actress, aka interviewer was fantastic. She was easy to talk with and could probably make anyone chatty, but needless to say we hit it off really easy. We could have talked for days. A super smart lady that once was college president to a few schools in the east. She had people skills for sure.

The videos will be run on The Manchester Cable GNAT-TV in December or on line, too.

I got to see one of the finished videos prior to my video date. That was very helpful to give me a slight clue what I was in for. The video was the famed potter, Susan Leader. Susan and I have been slugging it out for years in many of the same venues. I remember setting up next to Susan  at a craft show in Woodstock, VT a good 20 years ago. She was selling hand over fist, sometimes that's a bit depressing when you aren't selling quite so zippy. Here's Susan video. Her husband Bob is the music behind the video. It's great. A few of the other artisans are Johnny Heinrich, Stain Glass Artist as well as Bob Gasperetti. You could say we have all paid our dues and done a little bit of everything to survive in the arts in Vermont!

Thanks so much Jerry, Mary Jo and Eve! You are a great team.

xo

judy

 

OOAK: One of a Kind on ETSY

It's my 2nd anniversary selling my wares on the craft/vintage online shop ETSY. I've had a real boost from the exposure and wide reach Etsy has brought my little niche.

An ongoing conversation has been going on in Etsy Forums and beyond, what is OOAK?? aka, one of a kind items. I recently scanned on of my favorite on-line food blogs now turned shopping experience! And one of their shopping categories was, One of a Kind, curious enough to take a peek to see what their offering might be... nice stuff and "sort of" one of the kind looking, but so not what the intent of one of a kind means. I'm wondering when One of a Kind became sort of one of a kind .... kind of handmade looking but really mass produced. humm. YIKES, Has the handmade item been buried under mass production. How will our customers know if handmade is really handmade. An infuriating conundrum to me and many others.

one of a kind lampshade. Mother and Child, vintage needlepoint sourced from Europe, vintage trim from a pair of French curtains, new fabric and trim to match!

True to be said, not all artisans do one of a kind items or wish to. 85% of my work is one or 2 of a kind; a few things I will do over and over! The goal of my business has been stay small and stay busy, stay fresh and creative. And continue to design and make the BEST lampshades I can challenging myself to grow and experiment with new materials.

Etsy has opened it's venue up for designers as of Jan 1, 2014. They are now allowed to design their work and OUTSOURCE and DROP Ship their work. Oh Boy, it's been hair pulling fall with this big change in direction. I certainly see a few good out comes, but mostly an onslaught of inferior produced work. The day after the announcement I watched a lampshade company in Berlin add 350 lampshades in one day; I've looked back and don't think they have done very well as their work looks pretty commercial. It took me months to get my inventory up to 100 lampshades and is a big job to keep my inventory up to that level, which seems to be a good number of items to have in one's shop as it is important to have enough choices.

On New Years Eve there was a forum post by a woman in India. She had said her friend's shop was just shut down by Etsy. She said her friend had just opened it and was afraid they would do the same to her. Folks posted encouragement to her and then checked out her shop after she mentioned that she could get such good prices as her wholesaler gave her a great deal.... OPPS, she let it slip out that she was a REseller ---- a HUGE issue for integrity in the handmade craft world and an Etsy issue. Her forum post really became a joke- no one called her exactly out but it was becoming apparent that she had become the fool in her own post. Eventually the post was shut down. I took a peek and her work was obviously totally mass produced! Holy Moly! The slippery slope Etsy Integrity will be up against.

Love these shades! So one of a kind!! Vintage embroidery, one trim on the bottom and rick rack on the top!

Here's a quirky shade for the eclectic home....so fun to make. Beautiful thick vintage crewel lampshade. Good luck mass producing this one! One of a kind for sure.

Happy New Year! I'm home & the shop is closed today due to a blizzard here in Southern Vermont! Maybe a foot of fluffy stuff. I swung by the shop this morning to pick up my laptop, feed the kitties and out to breakfast at The Station.  A quick Executive Decision not to open the shop and head home to watch the snow pile up and scribble out a sort of whinny blog post. ohh, it's just principles... isn't it. Slow Craft carry on!.... I did pick up one lampshade to finish up today.... yankee work ethic.... Happy New Year. Cheers to 2014.

xo

judy

The Foliage is Unbelievable Here in Southern Vermont NOW!

It's been years since the foliage has been this beautiful! Coming home tonight was really pretty. I live up on a hillside in the foothills of the Taconic Mountain Range / Woodlawn Mountain. The hillside was vibrant with reds and oranges. Heck, I was tucked in my shop all week working like a crazy girl... guess I need to drive around a little  and play tourist with the "leaf peekers"!

Just posted this lampshade on my Lampshadelady Etsy Shop,  Bird Needlepoint Lampshade

I've been back home in Vermont a couple weeks and trying to get my inventory back in shape. This has been a tricky week with our dear ETSY proclaiming big changes to their policies... It been pretty hard on many of us that really put our hearts into our product and make many ONE of a KIND items, aka OOAK. I have done well on Etsy, really loved my time there, but it does mean committing a significant amount of time and energy into making a great shop and keeping it FULL and fresh. And just figuring it all out--- photos, seo, titles, tags... there's more than meets the eye. I do feel like the artisans feel like they own a piece of the company but were somewhat jolted at the stake... Etsy has just announce in their Town Hall Video Event that they are now allowing designers to outsource some of their work--- what will this bring? how do we standout amongst the other "factory made" lampshades in Thailand...? or wherever. There are tricks that companies use to make their products come up in different searches... constantly and mostly infuriatingly often and hence---- they get seen more often. Not to mention the curated pages are by a "young sensibility" ie. trendy young/ hip styles while the rest of us land and languish on perhaps page 20.... sorta sucks. humm. we've all been fuming in the forums. All in all with that said....Etsy is a wonderful resource for small, creative businesses.   

Fresh inventory---just listed:

Vintage Manglecloth Hex Bell Shades

One interesting thing I noticed last night... someone posted in the forums... something like... do you feel like you've been a jilted lover by etsy.... my feelings have evolved from really furious at first, then resolved to continue my high quality and then mad, mad again when I checked my category, lampshades--- we mostly know each other, some as friends, some as students, some as acquaintances, luckily it's not the biggest category-- but last night I looked on and there was a big ass company from Europe-  must have been right after ETSY's Town Hall Pow - Wow- they were ready to pounce. And a little further investigation and then there was another new company with a very similar situation. 

Yesterday afternoon I loaded up 6 or 7 new lampshades I was pretty happy with- trying to catch up from being away for almost a month with my family. After I load on new inventory I usually check it out later to see how it looks and see if I need to change anything... easy to make mistakes or whatever. So I checked under "recent" listed items and saw several NEW companies loading on their NEW very commercial lampshades... just barely after the ink had dried with the new word from Etsy's CEO Chad Dickerson. yikes. I think Etsy has NO idea what they are in for... which makes many of us sad, mad as hell, feels like a sellout... --- I know my customers what quality, great and creative work. Let's see how EtSy will help us rise above the dull factory crummy quality. Here's what I wrote in a forum last night in my continuing furry:

oooh, dear etsy, dear etsy, first i was really pissed, then this morning i was coming back around.... then I listed up some great stuff this afternoon and was feeling pretty proud.... and tonight I checked to see what new stuff was in my category... we mostly know each other.... and now already there are some big, new slick boys already arrived. big factory is already at your door. one "new designer" has 400 listings and one sale....they've been busy since yesterday loading on their new crafts...??? red ones, blue ones, polka dots ones... oh etsy, do you have any idea what you have invited to the party???

 

Another Vintage Needlepoint that was added this week: Vintage Needlepoint Cut Corner Rectangle Bell

Okay, enough for now. I'm sticking around ETSY as I have just figured it all out, sort of, but others vendors are flocking to other craft sites by the hundreds.

Did I say how great the foliage is!!!! BEST in YEARS! Come to Southern Vermont the next couple of weeks and you won't be disappointed. It's a short time but wow the colors are vibrant. We have had pretty crummy leaf color the past 4-5 years and even "the locals" are excited. Today was overcast and the colors were even more beautiful.

just listed this week: Pretty Vintage White on White Embroidery Hex Bell Lampshade- 7" top x 12" bottom x 8 high. I've got a pair of them at  time of listing.

 To wrap it up in a very Vermonty way- A pair of Rare Vintage Grandma Moses Fabric in Square Lampshades

We shall see what happens with Etsy. As I was grabbing my links I just happen to read that even someone on Ebay thinks Etsy's move was pretty bad... I guess, I will just try an keep on doing work that rises above without being TRENDY and 30something.... yikes. guess I'm starting to feel like the old bag. ha, ha. It's been a long week in the craft world--- I can only imagine how many Advil the staff has gone through... I wouldn't wish to be in their shoes. In the meantime, I'm working on my "back links" to improve my seo.... how's that for this techno turd! 

Vintage Ticking Hex Bell Lampshades  5" top x 8" bottom x 6" high, easy clip on.

Happy Leaf Peeking! Have fun eating Cider Doughnuts, apple picking, craft shopping, antique show going, Cider sipping.

thanks for putting up with my  disjointed  blog post,

xxx0x000x,

judy lake

 

 

Crafty Girl 1975-2013

I am visiting my folks in Falmouth, Maine where I grew up. My mom has just gotten a new knee and am around to keep the pieces together. All around the house are many of my old lampshades. It's fun to see the progress of my work. Yes, our work does get better the longer we stay with it. But some of my early work was also really beautiful. I'll post a few of them as well as a few of my early fiber art.

Okay, here's one of the first! Sort of sweet in a folky way. I did cut and pierced shades for about 10 years until my good friend Judy Pascal urged me to try making fabric shades with her vintage fabrics. Thank goodness for Judy! Most lampshade makers that continue making the cut shades end up with carpel tunnel, not to mention lower back pain. Ironically I studied textiles in college... sometimes it just takes longer to end where we are suppose to be.
Here's a sweet embroidery I did before my lampshades. Mom dated it on the back; I think it was 1975. Embroideries are still my favorite to work with in my lampshades.
This must be around 1976. I had a great weaving teacher, Rosalie Smith at North Yarmouth Academy. I hope Rosalie knows how much us crafty ones loved having her share her art with us. Not many high school kids had this level of teaching.

A little more tapestry weaving...
Detail of an early cut lampshade. I loved making up my own patterns from fabric designs or vintage prints.
Here is the full shot. My shade on a Flower Brook Pottery Lamp Base.
More cut and pierced. This one was very popular in it's day. Oh, how easy it was to screw up. Any little fleck of coffee or pen mark or slip of the #11 exacto blade and it was done for!!! This one has seen better days!
detail of shade. These are all hand cut. Many cut and pierced shades these days are die cut, ie cut but machine. You can tell the difference if the cuts look flat they are die cut.  If they are hand cut they are cut on an angle. Big difference!!! I ventured into it once, but just didn't want to sacrifice the look.
a variation on the paneled shade. These were pretty time consuming as I recall, but I liked the overall pattern.

This is the grand finale of my lampshade history tour! This is the crown jewel! I love loved this pattern. A HUGE challenge. I found the pattern in a victorian pattern book. It was the size of a postage stamp; I blew it up and reworked it to fit the shade. Tons of work. Only did a few of these!!! Of course Mom got one!


Today. Favorite fabric/embroidery/coronation work Lampshade. This is a shade I did last summer for Mom. Love this fabric!

detail of the beautiful vintage textile work.

I guess we never know paths our life will go or where it will continue. At least I don't and kind of like it that way. It's like antiquing or flea marketing--- you never know what treasure might be around the corner or WHO might walk into your shop! Speaking of shops, I am missing my dear shop while I'm here in Maine, but a little sabbatical will only spur the creativity for foliage. My hands are really happy to take a break from work.

May Brimfield 2013 Has Come and Gone

The Day Break opening at New England Motel! In they come!!!

 

 What a fast week it has been here at Brimfield. I am posting here on Sunday morning; always a little dreary--- but a chance to make those last few sales. I usually don’t bother with Sunday, but seems like the customers seem to be “happier” parting with their money. By all reports from vendors, Wednesday, opening day here at The New England Motel was one of the best in years. It’s been a long 5 years for the weary economy and if this week is any indication it seems to be coming out of the fog. Thank god. Creativity at it’s best is trying to sell when the 99% are hanging onto their hard earned money.

Weather is a big topic of conversation and study at any outdoor event. It is a huge indicator of sales. Too steamy hot--- forget it--- customers get hot and confused and boy it’s easy to get lost amongst the rows and rows of booths! We had the great weather, only one hot day but it was well enjoyed after a frosty morning the day before. Who knew icy windshield this time of year.

I’d bet the gate numbers are way up this season. Here is the film crew for Flea Market Flip. I'd dare to guess the TV Flea Marking reality shows have encouraged for folks to come out to the flea. On the way to my booth yesterday, I walked through Shelton’s Show;  Flea Market Flip was there prepping for their day. What a huge crew of film guys, assistants and gear! I heard a few grumbles from some of the vendors, but heck it’s great publicity for them. Seems like the public has learned a few buying skills from these shows- good and bad. Several inappropriate offers were heard to have been made…. like an item is 75 dollars and 40 dollars offered- sort of insulting to the seller. A few dollars is usually expected and within reason.

Many great sales were had to the big chain stores; shopping for art/store display/ephemera as well as fashions and textiles for copy or inspiration. Not me, but many LUCKY vendors---the buyers come with HUGE budgets; how fun to spend someone else’s money shopping. At least for a little while! My booth partner was lucky I opened her display as she was late to arrive and a J.Crew buyer made her week!

When I am here selling it’s hard to get too far way from my booth to shop. One morning I went to the opening of the J and J Show- one I enjoy perusing. There’s a few fun textile folks there- a real mix of sellers. I found a few nice things, well worth the 5 bucks and walk around. Then strolled through the other markets on my way to my spot at New England Motel Show. As always it’s fun to peek at Central Park for more fabrics and trims. Found a few great things, but was getting late by then and scrambled back to open up the booth! I had a good day selling that day, must have been my happy buying !

love this! only lamp I found! nice color and size.

Clouds are starting to come in this morning; I think the rain will hold off this tonight! See, here I go about the weather!  Socks on, socks off and socks back on…. The shoppers are starting to make their way here, best put my scribbles away and be chatty!

Happy Flea Marketing and may YOU find some great finds.

xo

judy (one tired flea market puppy)

diy lampshade making = use the right materials

                    
                            

  There are a few basics that can make or break a lampshade. It totally helps to use the right stuff. Slinky grosgrain could drive you to nutty... crummy glue... poor fabric can be impossible... some of this is repetitive for some of you, but these are questions I'm email every day... so here goes.

1.) use the right grosgrain. 40% cotton/60 rayon. Most craft stores carry rayon or poly. Order from The Lampshop or other on line sources.

2.) use quick glue; available at The Lampshop. Transfer it into a squeeze bottle. It'll make your life so much happier.

3.)use a galvanized wire frame.... no rust- a happy lampshade maker.

4.) do great design. start with good materials & great fabric. great fabric is so much better than wasting time with poor quality.... I just finished  a shade w/ client's fabric was printed sooooo far off the grain of the fabric- impossible and will never look perfect as many times as I tried to line it up.

5.) I get asked a lot about the price of styrene. It's isn't cheeeep but one yard goes a long way. Just look at the price of nice lampshades. You can probably get 4-6 lampshades out of one yard of styrene depending on size of shade.

6.) The Lampshop  in Concord, NH is one of the main lampshade material supply sources. They have a very good on-line catolog. 

***Hope this helps out some of the  new lampshade makers! I'm so happy to hear there are lots of new lampshade makers in the works. I've been doing this over 27 years and still learning new things every day. I swear!  There is plenty of work for good designers. 

be brave + try new ideas + experiment + stick you neck out and have fun + go beyond average... keeping pushing your design skills and color combinations + stay away from cliched design trends.... they will be gone in a flash... who's so bored of chevons.... and maybe black....and even hanging light bulbs, thank god....I think good design is something you are  still in love for 10 years not 10 weeks!

My Lamp Shop in Deep Winter

Snow has just started, again. The days are starting get longer and customers are waking up a little. How hard is it to keep making our inventories when things are slow? Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself to keep MAKING and DESIGNING because the busy days will be back. The Brimfield Flea Market will be here before I know it! I know my other craft friends that do shows have a few events in the deep winter, but mostly slim pickings. oooh how to survive the deep winter as an artist...??? recharging our design batteries is not a bad idea.
Painting my shop! I went to pick up a quart of paint in Rutland and the dear little man that mixed my paint gave me a gallon instead of a quart. I have been redoing my son's crudy bathroom and this is the wall color. LOVE it. Soooo. It's time for a new color at my shop and most likely I have almost enough. It's called Cool Aqua Semi Gloss from Benjamin Moore. It is super happy and time to say goodbye to the California Lilac!
I have a pair of these ticking shades. One of the most beautiful vintage tickings I have seen. Size 7" x 12" x 8" high, hex washer. Also just started a pair of 5" x 10" x 7" clip on, too. Fabrics like this don't last long in here!




New wall color! Everything looks so pretty against it. And the cobwebs are gone, for a while.
Pretty Paisley. One of the best ever!





One gray day this week I pulled every crazy bright color off the shelf and started in and made springlike shades! It turned into a really fun day. Color is such a vital element in our lives. Remember to USE it. I was recently in a friend's house and beige and gray were her main colors... even a little of this magenta would light a spark of light.

oooh and look at this! Do you remember these cloth kids books? I just sold one yesterday, but still have this one. Can't wait to make more. Just love the idea. So cute for a baby present or for the farm house.
here was another from the dark, winter day this week. THINK SPRING.
Well, it's time to do the other side of my shop!

Here's to hoping the snow drops come up sooner than later.

xo

judy

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