Me
Lampshade One
Hello, I’m Ruth. Lampshade maker, mother of two, wife to one, gardener, combat lover. I live in a brilliant village in North Somerset, just outside Bristol, UK. Making lampshades starting from thinking about wallpaper and watching Kirsty Allsopp. I love paper, especially wallpaper sample books where all the patterns and colour ways are set in glorious harmony. But fabulous wallpaper is not good for lampshades so I turned to material and found that there is some truly delicious stuff out there! Adventurous, bold, unusual and beautiful fabrics waiting to be made into lampshades – shades that you do not and will not find on the high street. Like a kid in a candy store, I hope you’ll find my handmade shades exciting too. It’s so good to strike out and be bold!
12 Responses to "Me"
07/05/2011 at 1:35 pm
Hi Ruth,
Thank you for the lovely birdy shade which thankfully will not necessitate a complete living room redecoration. I was going to pop back (scuppered by toddler) to say if you ever do look at selling in shops, Emmie has had some great business from Pod in Clifton (and now their other branches), and I thought your stuff would go very nicely there.
Good luck
Claire
07/05/2011 at 1:47 pm
Dear Claire,
It was lovely to meet you today! Ahh, toddlers. Anything can happen. Thank you for your tip – Pod is a great shop. I could spend ages in there, but the boys refuse to let me! I just have to get thinking about supplying! Come and see me again, or drop me a line if I can do any other shades for you.
07/05/2011 at 8:23 pm
Lovely lampshades- very tempting! Best of luck with the business too.
18/08/2011 at 10:34 pm
hi ruth
would you be able to answer a question for me.?
I love the fabrics used to make your shades. I was thinking about doing some art work, to hopefully sale, using famous fabric and wall paper patterns. Is there any copy right fee for using well known iconic prints in your own work to sell. many thanks sarah
19/08/2011 at 7:52 am
Hello Sarah,
As far as I am aware, there are no copyright fees. Occasionally a fabric does have a restriction – on the selvedge you will sometimes find this: ‘This fabric is not intended for commercial use and is for private use only’ (or something like that). Amy Butler used to have this restriction on her fabrics, but it was lifted. Eric Carle has it on his 2010 fabrics. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find this out until you actually receive the fabric in your hands, especially when shopping online, but you can always check at point of purchase. That’s as much as I know, I’m afraid.
Please, keep in touch with your progress – I’d love to see what you’re up to.
Ruth
08/11/2011 at 1:45 pm
Hi – I live in Devon and for ages have been looking for a lampshade making course. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to tell me where you did your course.
Many thanks
Debbie
07/02/2012 at 9:09 am
Such lovely lampshades!!!
Thanks for the like on my lampshade post – its my ‘lamping-pride’ and its fab that someone who can make actual proper lampshades likes it:):)
x Marie
08/03/2012 at 6:52 pm
love your shades and your website, the fabrics you’ve chosen are sublime. As someone who has got to the stage of buying old lampshades to recover but never quite had the nerve, I’m all admiration. And a little bit tempted to do one of your courses! thanks for visiting my blog 
08/03/2012 at 7:46 pm
Come and do a course! You’ll love it. It’s so pleasing to go home with a beautiful shade made by your own fair hand and it may inspire you to do something with those frames!
05/04/2012 at 2:14 pm
thanks for liking my post. you’re the first lampshade maker i’ve come across. great stuff.
07/03/2011 at 11:00 am
Lovely lampshades Ruth. You seem to be doing all the right things. The trouble with selling through shops is that the margin they have to put on to pay the bills makes the items much more expensive. What about interior designers? Can you contact some and show them your wares. Can I be brutally honest and say that you haven’t chosen the best photo of yourself and hope you don’t take offence. You are a very attractive woman and should show that.
Best of luck. They really are very beautiful. If I can help at all get in touch.
Love Zoe
07/03/2011 at 1:00 pm
Thank you for getting back to me, Zoe. I’ve decided to sell via market and online. No shops for now. It’s hard choosing pictures of yourself. I liked this one because of the colours. I also don’t like to take myself too seriously!!