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.

 

 

 

The Covid Pivot, New Projects, Springtime @Lampshadelady's Shop

Italian Marble Lampshade on vintage alabaster lamp

I'm tiptoeing back to my blog. Jeez it's been ages. We are on Spring break and I actually have time to see if I remember how to use my blog site! Oh ya, just like riding a bike, I think.

It's been 2 years since Covid hit and wow seems like it's been longer. I feel fortunate that I've had my little business to keep me mostly distracted and super busy with folks fixing up the homes and making life cozy. When we got back from spring break in 2020 I had absolutely no idea what the next year would bring.  Anyone in a craft business knows it might not be busy now but sooner or later you'll need a good stock of inventory. I pushed on and started working and the orders poured in on my LAMPSHADELADY Etsy shop.

I was concerned that my little pink shop is small, has pretty darn poor circulation and musty being by the river. What to do. So I decided to sell outside on my shop porch unless it was pouring out. I put some shelving, a counter, ordered some cool bar stools from DWR on ebay and moved inventory each day out to the porch. A bit of work but it was fun and actually sold pretty good outside. I continued on thru last fall.  Right now I'm keeping an eye on the next variant as to whether to do it again this spring. At this point I'm leaning towards YES, outside again at least on busier days. Of course everyone wanted to see what was inside....as my shop is pretty cute and colorful inside.

I've got older parents so we have tried like heck not to get sick. So far so good. Right now we are going into that gray area of the pandemic when everyone is sick of masking, me too but inside my shop it still feels like a sitting duck despite my new air filter and all. I'm still asking folks to mask up inside and you know how that conversation can go....most appreciate it but will always remember the lady from Ohio---oh we don't wear masks in Ohio....hello, you are in Vermont now.....oh well always a few. I'm sure all shops have some covid stories of the few rotten eggs.

This is the last little pair of candelabra shades I started before break. I just love them. They are not trimmed obviously, but love the unexpected stripe pattern. This is the tail end of this amazing antique french print and I used the fabric going the other way. I only had enough for one going the regular way and wanted a pair....so I switched it up and had a fun surprise. Some of these sweet small cottage print French fabrics are few and far between.

A couple of the end of antique French blue and white print lampshades. The top shade is a  hex clip 6" high and 8" bottom. Only one available. The bottom shade is a hex clip top 5" top x 8" bottom x 6" high.There are two in stock at the time of writing, sure they won't last long. End of this sweet print.

The scallop frames is are hard to come by. Wish I could find more. We've all had supply issues over the past years. I've probably ranted about not finding decent grosgrain- corporate America at it's worst. Small grosgrain company bought up by big company drops the line of cotton /rayon grosgrain that most lampshade makers use. Such a bummer. I've been left searching ebay for new old inventory and using 1/2" cotton twill tape which if I had my druthers I would not be using. It goes on smooth but prefer grosgrain any day.

I've been waiting for weeks for a 50 yd roll of pressure sensitive styrene. Weeks. Ordered it back in Nov and only got 20 yds and on closer inspection it was all warped and odd. Bit of the scraps left over on the warehouse floor. It worked with some extra effort of lifting the backing and re-setting. Urgg. Hope it won't be too long a wait. I ordered a few yds from The Lampshop to tide me over; hope they had it in stock.

Before Ukraine was attacked I wanted to support a vendor on Etsy with a nice big sale and some get away money. If you are a follower of mine you know how much I adore vintage embroidery! So I shopped and shopped finding lots of beautiful vintage textiles from this one vendor in Ukraine. I think of her everyday and hope she is safe. I haven't heard anything lately but last time I reached out they were in hiding.

I look forward to using more of the textiles when I get back. This inverted cut corner rectangle is 6" across the top x 11" bottom and 8.5" high. There is embroidery in 4 of the panels. Most of the stash is cross stitch which I don't usually love but the Ukrainians and the Russians do amazing needlework with lots and lots of stitches chose together and almost looks like embroidery.

May peace come soon to the wonderful Ukrainians!

I've been having fun with some bold vintage Chinese block prints. This one has been very popular. I have one in stock right now and hoping to get more made. I've ordered this fabric 3 times and think I got the end of the lot. Very funky. Gives good light as it's got a light back ground. This one is 6" top x 8" bottom and 6" high, clip top. I also have it in a square bell and a size up hex 6x10x7 high clip, too.

Last but not least I am so excited and patiently waiting for a pair of kitties from my friend Sarah, Poppy and Pickles. I lost Molly my shop kitty and Bob my house kitty all in 10 days last October. I first wanted a big fluffy Maine Coon Cat but the more I talked with breeders and followed a FB page of Coon kittens the less I wanted one....I finally came around to wanting 2 sisters kitties for my house. Fortunately my shop neighbor Amy has an adorable kitty that comes to visit me at the shop when she works! Too hard to have a shop kitty.

Here is Pickles! Almost 5 weeks. Can't wait. Kittens! Sure to make us laugh.

Hope you and come up to Pawlet Village and visit the shop.

Hours are 10-5 usually, closed Wed and Sunday. A call is suggested, I have been trying to get a walk in after lunch 1:15-2:15 on sunny days.

Shop telephone 802-325-6308

Etsy Shop: Lampshadeladyhttps://www.etsy.com/shop/lampshadelady  I'm always adding new shades or at least trying to.

Thanks for reading my rambles,

xo judy

 

Lampshadelady's Shop is OPEN

My little shop has been humming along since news of the Covid pandemic. April, May and June is usually when my Etsy Shop starts to dwindle. Folks usually start to hit the road, go on vacation and work in their yards. What a surprise this spring was for most online sellers. I think this year we all needed to pamper ourselves a LOT! All those little extra things to help us get thru a scary time.

Fortunately I had a bit of time to figure out how I would handle customers at my shop. What to do? I thought about working with clients on my porch for the summer - Yes! So I started moving out some of my cupboards and display props. One by one they made their way to the porch. It started with this big heavy one above. It's almost 6' and would hold lots of lampshades and be a nice height to greet customers and hang out. Then I found some fancy stools on Ebay from DWR, my splurge! I decided to go big and eventually they'll make their way to my house. Might as well get some comfy ones!!!

The tall counter has made a great surface to take photos on for Etsy! A bonus. Bit by bit the other businesses have been opening up. Mach's Market is now officially open which is wonderful news! As well as The Station Restaurant. Nice to see lots of cars in town again. I have worked steadily thru this whole nightmare and so fortunate to have creativity to lessen the fear factor. And lots of fabric to make my family face masks. The first week I thought, heck why not take the weekend off and work a regular week.... oh no, that was a very bad mistake. I usually work Mon. and Tuesday and take Wednesday off and then work the next 3 days and take Sunday off---- to give my hands a rest period! So I went back to my regular schedule with a walk in the middle of the day...which I am missing now but trying to do it in the am before work....up that Pawlet Mountain Rd - UP UP! LINK to above lampshades:  7" high, Vintage French Pink and Loden lampshades.

a pretty shot from my porch couch. The rose is stunning this year or maybe we just appreciate all the blooms even more.

This is a pretty pair of vintage French rectangle bell lampshades. I've sold a couple pairs and have one more pair made. Just love them. @ $150 per shade. These guys take a bit of time to make and a fair amount of fabric, but so worth it.

And another vintage French cotton hex clip pair of lampshades @ 75. per shade

I've just finished this Antique French Toile Rectangle Cut corner bell lampshade. Isn't it lovely. The antique toile fabrics I've found lately are delightful. I shipped a nice one out today with chickens. It didn't last long in my inventory. I remember meeting this nice man from Waverly years ago and he said they would never let him spend the time it would take to recreate these beauties. So much for corporate finance and the design world....the details in this are a treat. Only one of these. Just enough fabric for this shade.

Hope you will venture out and poke around the countryside. Come visit my shop. I am trying to figure out how to get to visit my folks, maybe around the beginning of July, so if you are coming a distance make sure to reach out to me and make sure I'll be around. Shop landline, ie no texts.... 802-325-6308.

Masks are a must, no exceptions. T.Y.

Bring lamps and fabrics if you wish.

Plan to have lunch at The Pawlet Station or Mach's Market!

Hope you follow me on my Lampshadelady Instagram account. It's the best place to see my new inventory.

Thanks and stay healthy,

Judy

 

 

Experimenting with Japanese Indigo Vintage Fabrics

I have been having fun learning about and experimenting with Japanese vintage fabrics. The blue and white shades are made with indigo dyes and have been printed with a technique called Katzome, similar to batik but with a buckwheat paste. These kimono fabrics come from the countryside; they are a homespun fabric thicker and more primitive than their wealthier city kimono fabrics.

These kimono fabrics are about 14" wide and cost about $1 an inch. Not sure these are less expensive than my pretty French fabrics but they certainly do add a new depth to my Vermont shop. Having a retail shop  I have a variety of customers with different styles. The large bulk of my customers have a classic look but it's fun to sneak in some funky shades like these Indigo beauties.

Here's a few of my new shades: This shade can be found in my Etsy Shop.This size is 5" across the top by 10" bottom and 9"high. Pricing is a tad higher due to the fabric costs. I think customers recognize this and value the gorgeous fabric.

Here is another pair in my shop, below: This is a pair of boxy hex clip lampshades. They are 6" across the top corner to corner by 8" bottom and 6" high.

 

This is also another pair the same size. The fabric is also a katzome but in bold funky colors. Such a treat. Here is their link in my Etsy shop.

There's lots to learn. I am just starting to dig in with these fabrics. Stay tuned for more.

thanks

judy

Interview / Commentary with Ralph Gardner at WAMC - Albany NY Public Radio

I had a fun surprise a couple of weeks ago in my shop. I had a visit from some old friends Deb and Ralph Gardner. Ralph writes weekly commentaries for WAMC. I get his email / blogs weekly and have always gotten a chuckle from his quirky humor. Well, before I knew it Ralph had pulled out his i phone and got a quick photo of me and started recording an interview! Gosh, nothing like some quick action! Lots of fun and giggles.

Enjoy the interview. You can also listen to it here.

Judy Lake at Lake’s Lampshades in Pawlet, VT
CREDIT RALPH GARDNER, JR.

My wife Debbie and I have been feuding over lampshades recently. We’ve done so occasionally throughout our marriage but the arguments have grown more heated of late.

The approximate cause is a bunch of antique Chinese jade lamps that I moved upstate after cleaning out my parents’ apartment.

They came paired with fringed Chinese silk lampshades. I believe my wife considers the lampshades and the lamps simultaneously frilly and frumpy and not in keeping with our house’s aesthetic, though I’d be hard pressed to describe the aesthetic. Call it Mid century modern, the century being the 19th.

Whatever it is, it’s not the stuff of fawning photo spreads in Architectural Digest or World of Interiors.

Indeed, many of our home’s finer specimens are antique lamps manufactured by my grandparents.

You heard that right. During their retirement years they made lamps employing marble bases, porcelain figurines, chandelier crystals – whatever appealed to their decidedly idiosyncratic and not always artistically infallible fancy.

Then they sold them at country auctions, posing as priceless antiques or at least readymade family heirlooms.

Many of them still reside at our home, though it’s hard to tell if that’s because they’re the ones that failed to sell at auction or because they represent the pinnacle of my grandparents’ craft that they couldn’t stand to part with.

There’s even one made from an avalanche canon shell that I acquired as a teenager while hiking in the Grand Tetons in the late 1960’s, and that I persuaded my grandfather to turn into a lamp.

All I’m saying is that these aren’t museum quality objects. So I’m not sure why my wife has suddenly developed an aversion to jade lamps that are genuine antiques, several of which even have a switch you can turn that makes the interior glow with a low wattage light bulb. Extremely cool.

In any case, we decided to seek counseling. Not from a marriage specialist. But, since we were heading in that direction, from Judy Lake, also known as the Lampshade Lady.

Judy owns Lake’s Lampshades in Pawlet, Vermont, just a few miles over the New York State border.

The store, along the Mettawee River in beautiful downtown Pawlet, population 1,397, is the stuff of children’s books, a fantasia of lampshades in everything from fancy French embroidery to vintage postcards of destinations such as nearby Dorset, Burlington and Lake George. She also does special orders, some of the fabrics supplied by customers.

And Judy’s the author of The Lampshade Lady’s Guide to Lighting Up Your Life.

She embroidered as a child in Maine, started weaving and sewing in high school, studied textiles and decorative arts in college, and became a fiber artist.

In short, who better to adjudicate a matrimonial dispute about lampshades than Judy Lake?

The Lampshade Lady appears a perennial sunny person – it wouldn’t be going too far to say she sheds light – though she obviously had no interest in entering a family squabble.

However, she did gently question my wife’s default answer to many lampshade-related decorating challenges – a black lampshade.

“They’re beautiful,” Judy acknowledged. “You’re city people, too.”

I don’t know what that has to do with anything. Are city people somehow more accepting of gloom?

“You can’t read by them,” Judy observed gingerly. “Can you?”

“Yes you can,” Debbie testified. “Underneath them.”

“Usually my customers do need to read by my lampshades,” Judy observed.

You can see what I’m up against.

The lampshade lady said the secret to a successful lampshade, setting aside its decorative purposes, is proportionality. A lampshade can be too short for its base or too wide. “You want the balance,” she explained.

Obviously, the hardware – the socket, switch and light bulb – shouldn’t show. “You want to cover up all that stuff,” she added. “Generally. In lampshades rules can be broken.”

Debbie was smitten by a green lampshade featuring winter scenes. I liked it too, though it was a bit too seasonal, a bit too Christmassy.

But back to our jade lamps. Did Judy have any lampshade suggestions short of exiling them to the basement, my wife’s proposed destination?

Judy didn’t disagree with my wife’s suggestion of a drum-shaped shade. Then again, maybe she was just being diplomatic. “It’ll bring it up to date,” she acknowledged.

A Sotheby’s decorative arts expert visited when I we were dissembling my parents apartment. And while he pronounced most everything worthless – at least in terms of high-end auction interest – he did note the lampshades and their expensive replacement value.

Perhaps an eBay auction’s the solution.

In the end we purchased a small lovely French white linen lampshade from Judy. It came trimmed in lace and embroidered with colorful songbirds and budding vines.

The only problem is that we have nowhere logical to put it. Or rather, that it will have to take the place of an existing perfectly acceptable lamp and lampshade. Undoubtedly one of the lovely, highly desirable antique jade ones.

End

Summer has been crazy busy. I promise to be back to blog soon.

xo

judy

Lake's Lampshades Featured in the New Issue of Where Women Create, Oct-Dec 2018

I'm excited to share with you the news that my shop is featured in the new issue of Where Women Create. It's issue #4, Oct-Dec 2018. Sometimes the magazine can be hard to find; they note that they are sold at Whole Foods, Costco, Barnes and Noble. There is also a magazine search by zip code on their website. I know my local bookstore usually carries it. Joanne's Fabrics also sells it.

Years ago I went to a brunch in Saratoga, NY. that was hosted by Amanda Crames at her shop Schuyler Pond Home and Gift Shop. Jo Packham, Editor of Where Women Create was the featured speaker at the brunch. I was curious to hear Jo's story as I loved with her magazines. What a story she tells about creating her magazines! I got a message from my good friend and photographer/ stylist Matthew Mead about a possible story for W.W.Create and I was game! I always enjoy my visits with Matthew and his wife Jenny. They are a great team. OOOh, but taking off all the plastic wrap off most of my lampshades is quite a project. It's certainly worth the effort!!! Most of us with micro one lady businesses don't have much of an advertising budget and anytime our shops are featured in a national magazine it's a good day.

When Matthew was here in Southern Vermont he also visited my friend Janno's adorable Flower Brook Pottery Shop in Dorset. She will be featured in a future issue of What Women Create, another of their magazines.

The cover of the new issue of Where Women Create. Hope you get a chance to pick up an issue.

Here is a new shade I just finished. The lampshade features a pair of birds on vintage needlepoint with vintage ticking fabrics. Here is my Etsy shop link:  Needlepoint Bird Lampshade

 

This was a tricky lampshade to design! Some fall together easy and some push me to search out every nook in my shop to find the right pieces to the puzzle! It was a fun challenge. The shade is 9.5" high and 12" across the bottom.
I also prepped this pretty shade on the same day! IT was a needlepoint day. I find that my day to day schedule in my shop caters to fulfilling my customer orders and restocking my Etsy Shop and then I can tackle those projects I've been wanting to make. I'd say I like the making process but if I had my druthers I love designing most!

This shade is an inverted cut corner rectangle. I called it Periwinkle Violets Lampshade. I have recently started carrying the lamps of Vermont's own Simon Pierce Glass. You can see how this is a great combination together.

I'll wrap up today with this pretty pair of lampshades in one of my favorite vintage French printed cottons. These vintage fabrics are extremely hard to find; they will not be here forever! One of the hardest parts of my business is trying to educate my customers of the limited quantities of these beauties. Folks often are not aware how much time we spend sourcing our materials....of course that is the best part of my business....it's such fun picking up little packages of vintage fabrics that make their way over the Atlantic to my little shop in Pawlet, VT! Such treasures they are.

Hope you will pick up my article in Where Women Create and swing by my shop. I am usually in my shop Mon-Sat. 10-5 and closed Wed and Sunday. Columbus Day weekend I will be open on Sunday.

Leaf update: I was out driving in the countryside today and the leaf color is making progress. Still away to go around here. All the plants were a little behind this year. All I know is that my raspberries will be a bumper crop IF we don't get a frost for a bit. This weekend ought to be heading towards peak.

xo

judy lake

DIY Lampshades, The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting up Your Life

It's been eons since I've posted a DIY Lampshade Project! I thought I'd share one today with you. I found this sweet cotton vintage French fabric recently and thought it was a good one to demo. It's a medium light weight 100% cotton. Hope you enjoy the process. I am not doing workshops these days....too busy trying to keep up! My book, The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting up Your Life is out of print and I am out of copies but is available used on Amazon. I have bought the rights to it and may get it re-printed. Fortunately, it's not too dated except some of the resources. Here are the instructions.

Materials:

1/2 yd cotton or linen

1 galvanized wire frame- my demo is a hex bell 5" top x 8" bottom x 6" high

quick glue and squeeze bottle or similar craft glue that dries clear

a bunch of good quality clothes pins

1/4' pressure sensitive styrene

scissors

ultra thin sharpie

pressure sensitive cloth tape ~3/8" or so. The Lamp Shop calls this Bias Fold Trim Backer.

5/8" cotton/rayon grosgrain.

NOTE: start with a small size lampshade. You'll thank me! They are MUCH easier and faster. Don't expect your first one to be perfect. It will be good but they keep getting better. I generally get most of my materials at The Lamp Shop in Concord, NH. Make sure NOT to buy poly ribbon. It will not glue for the life of you!!! Also you will find more tips my my archives here on my blog. There's lots to learn...it's been 30 plus years since my kitchen table lampshade start and I'm still learning new things. Have fun!

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STEP 1- Make pattern. Use thin sharpie and mark around the outside of the wire. Then cut out.

 

STEP 2 - Use pattern and make 5 more panels. I'm making a pair so I'll make 12 total.

STEP 3- Iron fabric. Pull paper backing off the styrene panel and set onto back of fabric. Cut out right along the styrene edge.

STEP 4 Trim panel to fit exactly. I usually have to go back several times to get it to fit perfect. You want the panels to abut and not overlap as they are set onto the frame. See step 8

STEP 5 - run bead of glue around the 4 edges of the first panel. Less is more!

STEP 7 set panel on top of glue and secure with clothes pins.


STEP 8 - finish putting all styrene / fabric panels onto wire. You can see here how the panels should fit. Takes practice to get them this smooth. Trim up if needed. Easiest to do now that later.

STEP 9 - I like to use a long ribbon to hold everything in place while drying. It takes 20 minutes at the most.

STEP 10 Make vertical trims. Cut 6 stripes from the cloth tape also known as pressure sensitive cloth tape or bias  trim fold backer. Make them same height as the shade and set onto the back of the fabric. Cut out saving about 1/3" on either side of the tape.

STEP 11- Add glue and fold back onto the tape.

STEP 12- Continue adding glue to the other side and fold back onto the tape.

STEP 13- hand press to make sharp edges.

Step 14- fold in half with the back side inside the fold. This will help the trim glue onto the shade.

STEP 15- add glue to back side of the trim

STEP 16- set onto the shade rib. Hand press to secure. Remove any excess glue with fingernail.

STEP 17-Cut grosgrain for top and bottom; measure around top and add one inch. Same for bottom. Must be 40% cotton to stick!!! VERY IMPORTANT. To make fabric trims for top and bottom use the grosgrain ribbon as your yard stick. Cut the same length as ribbon and make similar to the sides/ribs trims.

STEP 18 adding glue for the grosgrain ribbon. Half of the ribbon will glue to the front of the shade and the other half will glue inside the lamp shade.

STEP 19- Cut excess ribbon on diagonal. Over lap 1/2" and glue down onto where it started.


STEP 20 detail of above

STEP 21 another detail, adding glue

STEP 22 - Adding glue to the inside of the ribbon. This takes practice to know how much glue to use. I use enough to secure it smoothly but you do not want so much that it bleeds.

STEP 23- trick for the corners, gather them 3 or 4 times with your thumb to make a nice corner. This takes practice, too. I know I make it look easy.

STEP 24 - Use your nail to tuck the grosgrain under the wire for a neat edge.

STEP 25 - Try to make the edge straight... the lucky part is I almost always add another trim on top if it's not perfectly straight. The finishing trim conceals any flaws!

STEP 26- Add grosgrain onto the top just like the bottom.

STEP 27 - adding the glue to the inside of the ribbon. Note: also make a small snippet where the ribbon will go over the clip top. Only about 1/4". One on each side. I do not show the snippet here, sorry.

STEP 28- You can see where I make the snippet here around the clip top. This photo shows getting the grosgrain snug under the wire for a professional finish.

STEP 29- To make the top and bottom self trims. Glue the same as the vertical trims.

STEP 30- add glue and fold onto the tape

STEP 31- folding onto the tape, detail

STEP 32 - Top self trim is ready to add. Do a few inches at a time. I start adding at the same spot the grosgrain started.

STEP 33- Sometimes it helps to work on your lap. The hardest part about starting a new craft is how to handle the items. I've learned to work lower than higher. Every step has it's own tricks that you will find work best for you. I have so many that I don't even realize that I do:)

STEP 34-  When adding the self trims I give them a tug on the corners to help them go on smooth. If you use clothes pins to help secure the trim make sure not to leave them on long or they will leave marks on the trim.

STEP 35- adding the fabric trim to the bottom.

STEP 36 FINISHED! PUT ON LAMP!!! Congrats.


Feel free to ask questions. There is lots of info on DIY in the archives here on my blog. Don't worry too much about your first shade; they get better. It's a fun craft!

Thanks and good luck,

Judy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lampshade Lady's New Year

Happy New Year! It's been darn cold up here in Vermont! Sixteen below today was too cold for my old CRV to start, thank goodness for the charger thing to get her going! It's my birthday tomorrow and we went out for a birthday lunch in town. It was a new restaurant in town we'd heard was nice. We ran into friends that joined our table. Fun!

Last year was a busy one in my shop. Our lamp shop in town closed and brought quite a few customers trekking north out to my shop. I was sorry to see them go; they had a nice shop and did a great job, but I had a hunch business would pick up a bit filling in where they left off. I recently started ordering silk sewn fabric shades for clients that were once available at The Lighting Place. I got a kick out of the first custom order I did. The woman said, Judy, you can make money without having to make everything! Hahahaa, good idea I said.

Also great news this year was that my neighbor, The Pawlet Station Restaurant is open! It opened this summer and has been just what the community needs right now. They have been rebuilding their customer base and I for one is thrilled to have them. It was pretty dreary having a closed restaurant as well as a closed general store; no news on the general store. Guess it will eventually open. The rural economy still hasn't rebounded from the crash.

I've been up to my ears involved in a school merger with our town and the neighboring town. We had a vote after 2 years of haggling and educating neighbors on it's benefits and it passed in both towns!!!! Wonderful! But the big but the other town had 30 days to contest the vote and ask for a re-vote and guess what--- they did it just before Christmas! Yup. Must admit knowing these folks and the misdeeds they have done I'm not surprised. Small town ____ , fill in the blank!!! Our neighboring town of Rupert had 2 "self-appointed" members on this committee, both over 80. They came to the table without the ability to compromise or to look to the future. Urgggg. I got involved as I had been on the school board a million years ago and helped get a bond vote thru for a new elementary school- they said it would never happen either! It did! And they love it now and those same folks that didn't want the school are the exact same ones that showed up for the Merger meetings and were the NO's! That's all it took for me to jump back in the frey. I was only a little cog in the process but I'd had the history of the past 30 years of change! No excuses, but my blog was again the first thing to be set aside. Now the town of Rupert has to re-vote our Merger and has to pass it by 2/3 of the vote... just annoying after everyone's hard work. Fear of change, so much misinformation they are spewing.... oh well, back to lampshades, you don't want to hear this, thanks, just needed a little cathartic writing! You can see the handy work of the No's!!! I had a little touching up on my sign....bah...

I just listed this new square bell lampshade in my Etsy shop. I've been working like crazy to get my shop full for January's busy lampshade season. Did you know January can be a very busy month for lampshade makers? I have found it to be my busiest month. The shade measures 4" across the top by 8.5" bottom and 8" high. It is made from a vintage European Grain Sack. It's $85.

Bet you can recognize the check board house as Grandma Moses's House. I found a small piece of this vintage bark cloth before Christmas and made this pair of hex clip shades. This pair of shades measure 6" across the top by 8" bottom and 6" high and clip onto the light bulb. They are $75 each. Link above. I do not have any more of this fabric. It shows up periodically but quite hard to find.
I love this pair of grain sack lampshades. I made a pair for a client and decided to make a pair for inventory. They are blue and cream and have the most wonderful texture. They measure 4" top x 8" bottom and are 6" high. Clip onto shade. Here's their link on my Etsy shop.

A Bistro Linen Shade, shop classic. Love this with the vintage monogram on the bottom. Only one of these @$75.

If you need a pair I have a similar set here. These are a little darker but with the same great red stripe in vintage linen.
I'm pretty fond of this. It's a floor lamp size or good for a large table lamp. It's 16" across the bottom and 13" high. The vintage needlepoint is in the front and a cream handwoven fabric is in the other 3 panels. I think it would be stunning in the right room!
Last one for now. This is a vintage Japanese fabric made in a drum shade + vintage orange and green tassels to finish! Super cute. Just what we need to kick the year off. Funky fun! Don't we need bright this time of year.

Wish us luck with the school vote.... yikes strikes! A book could be written on all the devious things a town will do to not change and grow!  You JUST wouldn't believe them if I told you! To think of my little business if I never grew and evolved. It would not have survived all these years! That's for sure.

Hope you will plan a visit to my shop in 2018. No workshops scheduled, life is just too busy. No promises of lots of blogging but it is fun and I did remember how to do it. hahah. The way technology changes so fast I wasn't sure how this post would go.

xo

Judy

PS check out my Instagram page, I'm Lampshadelady there too. And I promise I post everyday, almost! It's a fun way to connect with fellow artisans.

 

My Shop Porch Featured in Matthew Mead's New Issue of UpStyled Home: Outdoors

My shop porch was a set for a photo shoot last Fall by my friend Matthew Mead. Matthew was in Pawlet a year ago and shot my shop and lampshades for the Winter Issue of UpStyled Home. It was a great day. I loved this special opportunity to meet a man that I'd only admired from afar. Many of us learned "to see" from his years at Country Home Magazine. Usually when photographers come to shoot they'll arrive with ton of equipment, assistants..... Matthew arrived with one camera and his pick up truck! The sign of a true artist.

Matthew remembered my sweet shop porch and asked if he could come back and use it for his next magazine this spring. I'm always game for a little free publicity and enjoyed a day away from making lampshades! Matthew brought a truck load of props and lots of pretty flowers. Just so you know, my shop is pretty darn adorable but a tad on the shabby side, but you'd never know from these pretty photos! Magic was created that day! I loved to see the process of Matthew's vision being created. Utterly clever! Simple touches that made for beautiful photos.
Here is the cover of Amy Chalmer's French Courtyard. The magazine has just hit the news stands near you. Check at Barnes and Nobles, Walmart and Target. I have some in my shop, too.

This is one of my favorites! Which reminds me I ought to pick up an out door rug for my shop. Thanks for the idea Matthew! I do have a builder lined up for some new porch boards....he'll be here one of these days. And looks like the sweet little restaurant next to my shop may just be opening up soon! Music to my ears. With farm fresh eggs to boot! Keeping my fingers crossed.
Go find this great issue of UpStyled Home; Outdoors. Lots of great ideas for your home.

I just finished this funky shade this week. A French Needlepoint rectangle bell lamp shade. I wrote for my Etsy description that when this rather gawdy needlepoint arrived from France I was not quite sure that I could pull off this look... The colors are pretty garish, BUT I could see maybe it would be pretty cool with the right shape and maybe add some quirky tassels. I'm happy with it. It makes me smile!

And this embroidery pair of lampshades is back in my safe territory of making pretty lampshades. These shades are made from an English Vintage Tablecloth. Violets on the front and back and honeysuckle on the 2 ends. This shade shape is called Inverted cut corner rectangle, a very pretty shape that fits lots of small lamps.

I'll be in my shop most of the summer season. I maybe out a day or two off to visit my folks or out to the flea market. Please email me or call the shop, 802-325-6308 if you are coming a distance. I generally take Wednesday and Sunday off. I may work some Wednesdays too over the summer. I also leave my schedule on my phone answering machine.

I'm not doing any workshops or shows. Just hunkering down in Pawlet. It's actually nice that I am busy enough just to stay put. It is much easier to sell a lampshade or two in my shop rather than outside under a tent where the weather can be less than perfect.

All for now,

Maybe see you out at the Flea Markets! Our first one up here that I usually try to hit is the Washington Country Flea Market in Greenwich, NY. Dates May 6-7.

Tip: for 10 bucks you can go on the 5th Friday for dealer day. Believe me it is well worth it. This show can be a crap shoot but it seems to have improved over the past couple of years. Who knows what will be around the next corner....hopefully.

xo

judy lake

 

Twas' A Tale of Two Towns

      Our Act 46 Committee of Rupert, Pawlet and Wells fell apart in Sept. after the Committee had voted in favor of Choice. Yes, they voted YES for choice, but the majority of the Pawlet/Rupert committee did not like the results and disbanded. It was crazy. Those at the meeting just shook their heads. From where I sit Rupert and Pawlet’s Act 46 Committee were pretty much hand picked for status quo results with Wells being in favor of Choice. It was small town control at it’s worst! This spring, summer and fall HUGE amounts of parents turned out at meetings in support of this committee.

At the end of October the local school boards of Pawlet and Rupert called a special meeting within 48 hours to discuss a non-binding vote for support for Designation or for Choice (to receive the state average tuition). The town clerks accepted the referendum at the 11^th hour; it was a hurried and divisive to the core. A NO vote was a vote Yes for choice. We said words matter, but they were in such a hurry to reach their deadline and were in no mood to offer anything else. Over 35 VT School Equity road signs were stolen as well as one dead skunk delivered!

A little history, back in the 1970’s an Interstate Compact was established for Rupert, Wells and Pawlet; it allowed our students to attend NY high schools. At that time the schools were very desirable; it is said they were much better than BBA. When I moved to Pawlet 30 years ago there were 114 kids in the Granville School from Pawlet and 5 going elsewhere. Now today in 2017, 62 students go to Granville HS and 57 go to other schools. I have watched this trend grow with preference towards Long Trail and BBA. Our students can take the tuition from those NY Schools and apply it to other schools. It is around $7,700 for Salem and $8,800 Granville, which is a big jump for many parents to get a VT. high school education. Over a million VT dollars leaves the state for the NY school system.

Many community members feel it is time for our kids in Pawlet and Rupert to be able to attend high school in VT and to receive the state average of $14,950. Pawlet student numbers are growing and Rupert is declining and is now the oldest population in the state. I personally know many families that have moved out of Rupert and Pawlet when their kids were ready for high school or did not buy a house in either town due to this issue.

Designation won in both towns, but I’d say it was a good first try for choice. There is no doubt that school choice will eventually come to Pawlet and Rupert. The state may need to show more incentives they did when we combined 2 towns and 4 schools to build the Mettowee Community School. I will be sitting on the sidelines during this next process and cheering for the younger generation. My hope that some of the other long term school board members would too. School equity is vital for the growth of our small towns.

(above letter submitted to The Vermont News Guide, 1.9.17)

______________________________

I was a past school board member in my community many moons ago. Vermont has enacted a new state law to help control some local costs and combine resources - although it is proving to be easier in some towns than others. I can't even begin to describe this law, but can say our communities are having a tough go of it. Our town, a rural town that has been struggling to break out from the 2009 recession has just about hit bottom. We had a reappraisal of property this summer and most homes were valued at 20% less than their value which in turn dropped the grand list value and raised our school tax from $1.21 to $1.40. A damn big jump for nothing.... it would have well paid for our school choice decision! The real estate folks have spoken that education is the first thing a family asks about when looking at homes as well as taken into consideration when they appraise a home in Pawlet or Rupert. We need to bring that grand list back up! It's a great place to live.

We learned a lot. I learned a lot, some of it painful, hurtful and downright unbelievable. Good people did bad things. Good people told many a granny that they would loose their homes if they voted for school choice. A renter was told his rent would go up if he voted for choice. A well respected past state rep. and fellow co-partner wrote a letter to the community using worse case scenario numbers that were well off the charts scary; they used numbers that 100% of students were to leave our designated school in NY state. Boo-hoo. How do you counter that....???

It is a delicate issue to say the least. Questions that arose- I don't like local money going to private schools....there are no public schools within 40 miles and the school in Manchester, BBA is their local school. We heard that over and over. So many other issues came to the fore. I my opinion it won't be long until the tipping point will be so obvious that it will change naturally; we are almost there and by the looks of the families at the Act 46 meetings this summer there will be many more down the road that will be heading south for high school.

It's funny to reflect back at comments made before all this started. I said to one local woman," The Mettowee School has brought so many great new families to town." And she said, "Do you mean the people here are stupid?" Hummm, no that's not what I meant....you can see how heated this can get. The school board members are not allow to comment on Face Book due to the Open Meeting Law.  FB a handy and somewhat precarious tool to share information, etc. I was willing to stick my neck out and try to put the facts forth. Needless to say it's easy to get tripped up by idiotic comments made, but I tried to keep to facts as best I could. One less than proud moment I was called rich as well as another local friend....oh boy, she went back and forth many entries until she finally said, I may well vote for choice but I hate all you people!!! Yes, she actually said that in public. Wow. profound and telling isn't it. Couldn't believe she actually said it. She hates the people "from away". Jeez Louise! I've learned long ago to just try to do the best I can and help the community in ways I can. Yes, readers of my blog know I got involved in helping our general store try to stay open or raising money for the Irene flood victims or saving the top of our little hill Haystack or getting a community school bond vote thru and designed! 

Having my shop in the middle of the village it's easy to become involved but there are times to step away. I'd like to help our village become vibrant again. I've talked about organizing a Pawlet Tales story night to help raise money for our town hall that has been in revitalization for the past dozen years. Oh, there's always something to do in a little town. It's easy to slip thru the cracks in a big town, but here all hands are needed.

Thanks,

Judy

ps I was notified by the school nurse that I had incorrectly spelled Mettowee. It is Mettawee.