quincylampshades

NEW WEBSITE

quincylampshades — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:38:33 +0000

Dear Lovely Readers,

This is the end of my old and faithful WordPress blog. I have upgraded to a fully functioning webstore. Designed by Sorbet Design, it oozes everything I ever wanted Quincy Lampshades to be – bright, colourful, friendly and accessible. You can find out about lampshade making parties, bespoke shades, designs, trade and shop. I have many plans for my blossoming business which I will continue to share with you via the blog on my new site. Come and join me there!

(In fact, I feel terribly emotional about leaving this blog behind… I have shared my ups and downs, my ambition and mistakes. You guys have commented, liked, and read. Thank you for seeing me through.)

Malby Map Lampshades

quincylampshades — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:45:23 +0000

I really want to bring your attention to these because they are so beautiful and tactile. Map lampshades. You choose the map and I make the lampshade. Such perfect gifts, especially for those pesky men if your life who are difficult to buy for. These shades are made from genuine vintage OS maps so they feature their creases, but that just makes them all the lovelier. And the light they create is so warm and welcoming. Here’s one I made from a 1954 map of Exeter and the surrounding area, including the Exe estuary and north Devon. I loved making this – spotting all the places I know, well-travelled routes and villages I never knew existed. Available now from Malby Maps.

Orwell and Goode

quincylampshades — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:05:13 +0000

Let me introduce to you a certain Mrs O. From Scotland; hard-working, ambitious and creative. Nerves of steel, it would seem, to set up a wee business whilst working a full-time job involving overseas placements for months at a time. ‘Help!’ she said over email to me late one night, ‘I need to MAKE!’, she cried. Tired of batting administrative emails to and fro, Mrs O wanted to learn how to make the lampshades her and her business partner, Mrs G, had been outsourcing to a lampshade-makers elsewhere. Now Mrs G is a talented designer, producing the most lovely, hand-printed country landscape prints, linens and silks featuring stags, hares and hummingbirds that sell like hot-cakes. With an over-flowing order book, a not-so-flexible lampshade supplier and an eye on the numbers, Mrs O travelled all the way from Inverness to spend a day with me, learning how to make their silks into shades. We had a very good day. I shared my skills; she shared her knowledge. (She’s a clever one.) Since then, I have picked up some work from this happy partnership supplying lampshades direct to their customers and I am super-stoked to see them feature at Top Drawer, Sept 2012. That’s Orwell and Goode then.

And on the arrival of a beautiful Orwell and Goode lampshade as made by me? Here’s what our first happy customer said:

I just wanted to drop you an email to say that the lampshade has arrived and that I’m utterly thrilled with it. It’s far more beautiful that I thought it could be and the finish is so hugely neat & professional.

Stunning, thank you!! A very very happy customer!

Lampshade Lift

quincylampshades — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:41:34 +0000

Success! InsideOut in Exeter did a fab job of selling nearly ALL of the 50-odd lampshades I supplied to them in April, just in time to receive my new range. And here they are in all their glory… Dandi Flight, Lorenza, Bermuda Stripe, Peacock Feathers, Lacy Grey and Hello Luscious. Hello indeed!

Belle and Boo Lampshades

quincylampshades — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:32:46 +0000

Back in December I was unsure about Quincy Lampshades so I cast my net and looked for a paid job. I applied for a post I found via Gumtree – a small Bristol-based business was looking for a customer service assistant. I could do that, no problemo, what with my understanding of ensuring every customer’s happiness, especially when it comes to small business. The reply I received was unusual… I was rejected on the grounds that perhaps I wanted to supply lampshades to them instead! A sign? Or serendipity?

Today, after 8 months (during which time I happily decided to go full-tilt with Quincy), Belle and Boo are now proudly selling beautiful lampshades made by me.

“Welcome to the world of a bob haired little girl called Belle and her adorable bunny friend Boo – a charming world of innocence, warmth and adventure. Belle and Boo is a British lifestyle brand known for original, nostalgic ‘story book’ illustrations of children. The collection includes gift items, books, framed artworks, stationery, home wares and a beautiful collection of girls’ clothing.

Belle and Boo has universal appeal and is available in over 500 stockists worldwide. The collection is loved by grown-ups and children alike, with every treasured product designed to embody all that adults and children love about traditional, old-fashioned story telling.”

Lampshade Making Courses – Clifton, Bristol

quincylampshades — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:05:03 +0000

Lampshade making workshops are coming to Bristol’s first dedicated sewing cafe! Cordial and Grace is a fantastic sewing parlour in the heart of Clifton Village, with sewing machines available to hire by-the-hour throughout the day. On Sat 11 and 25 Aug I will be giving workshops… fancy it? Wow your friends and add something truly unique and yours to your home. Making a lampshade is hard to resist! Just bring half a metre of your favourite fabric and during a very sociable three hours you’ll make a beautiful lampshade and enjoy the cafe’s wide choice of freshly ground coffees, loose leaf teas, soft drinks and a slice of homemade cake or a cream tea - probably the best workshop refreshments in Bristol!

New Bristol Lampshade Making Workshop

quincylampshades — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 07:48:36 +0000

The next Lampshade Making Workshop at the Bristol Folk House is on Saturday 13 Oct. We had such a great time at the last one… Louise from Sew Scrumptious blogged all about it.

Stationery

quincylampshades — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:14:36 +0000

I do love a good bit of stationery, don’t you? In particular, letterpress. Swoon. Alas, no cash to splash on that but I do have some great stationery designed by Ali Slater as part of our Logo for Lampshades skill-swap…

Quincy Lampshades Logo

quincylampshades — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 21:22:36 +0000

Over the years, me and my laptop have migrated from the sofa in front of the TV to the kitchen table. When my boys were smaller, it was important that I watched them as they sat glued to Tom & Jerry cartoons, while ideas for my lampshade business buzzed through my brain. At the close of every classic episode from the 50s, the producer’s name, Fred Quimby, would roll. Oh! That sweeping, curlicue, brush-stroke ‘Q’!

I wanted that too!

So, with a little tweak, the Quincy name was born. I had to ditch my own dull attempt of a logo and find something that would shine bright with colour, just like my lampshades.

Goodness knows how it happened, but Twitter really did produce the goods by introducing me to Ali Slater (designer and self-confessed typography geek) who being local and clever and having a great portfolio was the perfect person for the job. We agreed on a skill swap – a logo for lampshades.

Ali chose three large lampshades with translucent polypropylene diffusers and a small Black Beetles table lampshade for her home – a converted warehouse with very high ceilings. They are going to look just fab!

The lovely Quincy logo performs beautifully, don’t you think? (And are skill swaps the way to go for start-up businesses?)

June Song Tea Lampshade Giveaway

quincylampshades — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 20:56:50 +0000

Pah! So June is supposed to be flaming? Flaming dismal more like. I wanted to lift the spirits of my lovely Likers on Facebook by giving everyone a chance to win a June Song Tea Lampshade… if you support me here on my blog, Like my Facebook page too for the chance to win. Good luck and keep smiling! (PS – Giveaway closes midnight 30 June 2012.)