#memadeshade April winner

April has already been and gone (where did that month go?) and we hope you've been making the most of the new outdoor rules? It clearly hasn't stopped you all from making plenty of amazing lampshades!

As our #memadeshade Instagram competition goes from strength to strength, we never tire of seeing the stream of gorgeous lampshades made from our lampshade making kit, so thanks to all those who entered.

This month's worthy winner is Lucy of @the_lightpunk, with her new design of shade using Inca fabric in teal, that has a mix of striking shimmering and matt textures, as pictured below. We can only imagine it's even better lit!

Lucy's £100 voucher to spend on Dannells lampshade making goodies is on it way and we chat to her a little more to find out more about her shade making business, @the_lightpunk...

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and the creative things that you do?

I grew up on the small Island of Lundy in the Bristol channel, which gave me a strong love of the sea and coastline from an early age. You will note that I lean towards nautical prints - although I do try to mix this up with other eye catching fabrics. Despite being artistic I studied Business and Accounting at University, but this has at least stood me in good stead when its come to running my own business!

I love interior design and playing with prints and textures, and my own home is a testament to my willingness to experiment. In fact my first ever lampshade was made because I couldn't find the sort that I wanted in the shops - this was before there was so much choice on brilliant sites like Etsy.

Are you a newbie lampshade maker or have you made up a Needcraft Lampshade making kit before?

I started making lampshades in February 2016 - I know the date clearly as I was bought my first Needcraft kit as a birthday present. I was hooked immediately, and set about making a shade for a standard lamp for my living room. Within a fortnight I'd bought my first manufacturers pack and started up my Etsy shop.

What do you love about the shade you entered for the #memadeshade competition?

I enjoyed making this design as I knew the fabric was going to really catch peoples eye. It's got some stunning metallic threads in it and is full of texture and life. I've had an incredible response to it which has, in some part, made up for the fact that the fabric is incredibly hard to work with! Sometimes you just have to persevere and work through the sore hands to get the best results! I'm about to launch it in a new colourway too which I hope will go down just as well as the first one.

What’s do you like most about the Needcraft lampshade making kits?

I love that everything is supplied in one box to make life as convenient as possible, and also that they come in so many shapes and sizes, I've seen the Needcraft range expand hugely over the last 5 years and I'm so grateful that you enable me to offer my clients so many options. I tend to buy my materials as component parts now so that I can offer a really bespoke service, but I'd recommend any newbie get going with your kits as a starting point.

Any plans to make more lampshades?

Absolutely - I have my Etsy shop as well as my newer business 'Tide & Isle' where I will be offering lampshades featuring my Grandads illustrations (expertly printed onto fabric by Needcraft.) This means that there are now orders coming in from multiple sources which keeps me on my toes. For the last 15 months I've also been offering stunning recycled glass lamp bases and thoroughly enjoy pairing these with my carefully sourced fabrics. I'm also going to offer some wooden lamp bases shortly which will tie in with some of the colours in my fabrics... I'm always looking at how I can improve and expand further so watch this space!

April's most liked shades

April's most liked shades couldn't be more different, but that's typical of our lampshade kit makers, who make shades just the way they want them!

Here's how they described their own entries in the #memadeshade competition:

@the_warren_crew_at_52 - I made this African wax fabric shade. Must have been inspired by the samba outfits on Strictly! Love the fabric but unfortunately have a dilemma as I’ve found a rug I love and they do not go together. Think this baby needs another home but proud to have made her from scratch.

And then...Lampshade I made has moved upstairs and we're happy with it here. Now to sort the wall opposite the bed...

@purple_cats_handmade - William Morris “Teal Forest” with gold lining. This one here is on the larger side with a 40cm diameter.

@Bridget9696 - Fabulous Feather Friday with 20 cm drum lampshade made and looking great lit up. This is what I love about making lampshades when you turn the light on and it glows through the sun printed feathers giving even more detail. Now I can sit and enjoy looking at it, bringing me comfort and calm and relax !

Well done to all the entrants that ended up in our April's #mostliked and give them a friendly follow on Instagram.

Enter our #memadeshade competition

It's super simple to enter our #memadeshade Instagram competition. Just make a lampshade from any of our lampshade making kits and follow the steps below. And if you want to check out the hashtag #memadeshade for inspiration in advance, we've had over 2500 shades enter since we started!

Here's a reminder of what to do...

1. Simply take a picture of your proudest lampshade from one of our kits and enter on Instagram following the steps below:

2. Follow @needcraft if you haven’t already

3. Post an image of a lampshade you’ve made from an @needcraft lampshade making kit and tag with #memadeshade and the type of kit you used i.e 30cm Drum shade kits, Square kit etc.

4. And any size and shape can be entered so display those drums shades, exhibit your empires and reveal your rectangles – any lampshade from one of our kits counts!

For full terms and conditions click here.

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