Transform Your Wardrobe at a Cascade Lampshade Making Workshop

I'm very excited to be running the first of several brand new lampshade making workshops for Cascade next weekend. 

You may well have read about Cascade as they were Mollie Makes "website to watch" in Issue 20 and declared the "new style saviours".

Cashmere Jumper Roses on a Velvet Skirt Lampshade

 Cascade is about sustainable style – helping you make more of what you already have in your wardrobe and offers stylish and practical ways to Restore, Revive and Remake clothes and accessories.They run creative craft workshops in and around Brighton and Sussex using vintage or preloved materials, offer wardrobe surgeries and hold regular pop-up shops selling beautiful, handmade, upcycled products. If you love beautiful things, and want to make more of what you already have, then you’ll love Cascade.

Cashmere Jumper Roses on a Velvet Skirt Lampshade

 What a great concept. Obviously FollyandGlee Lampshades are made with upcycled fabric as the vast majority of Barkcloth I hunt out had a former life as a curtain, bedspread or tablecloth. Inspired by Cascade's concept I'm really keen to explore the options for  making lampshades from clothing. 

Man's Party Shirt Lampshade

 

Nothing in the wardrobe has been safe. A cashmere jumper I had shrunk on too hot a wash was a wonderful mustard colour and made up as rolled roses made the perfect partner to an old velvet skirt repurposed into a shade. My man's former party shirt quickly became a panelled patchwork shade complete with butons covered with fabric from the cuffs.

Wool Skirt Lampshade

A wooly winter skirt had languished unworn for ages but yielded enough fabric for 4 tall shades embelished with a few pinking sheer roses.

Wrapping Paper Lampshade

 Why stop with clothing? I had a stack of off-cuts of Rie Elise Larsen wrapping paper left over from another project. Laminated to fire retardant lampshade PVC paper is perfectly safe and is great to work with.

So if you'd like to make more of what you've already got and can do with lighting up these winter evenings come and join us on a lampshade making workshop. The first Cascade workshop on Sunday 18 November will be to make the pannelled patchwork shades from repurposed fabrics and paper. The second on December 6th  will be to make a lampshade again from repurposed fabrics but trimmed with handmade flowers. Both are no-sew workshops and you need absolutely no previous experience or skills. 

You can get all the details and book one of the last remaining places with Cascade online or by emailing hello@cascadestyle.co.uk or phoning 07799 071919.

Selvedge Winter Fair November 10

I am absolutely chuffed beyond chuffedness to have been invited to exhibit at this years Selvedge Winter Fair on November 10th at Chelsea Town Hall.

Selvedge Winter Fair 2012

I am in complete awe of this magazine and the folk that are featured in it. Some of the most creative textile artists EVER. I thought that maybe I could write a blog post featuring some of my favourites but to be honest the more I look at who will be there the more I fall in love with.....and if I'm honest the more I panic that I'm not worthy!

So instead....go take a peep at the Selvedge website and blog there is much to make the heart quicken. And when you think you've finished pop over to the Fair's Pinterest gallery - you'll be there some time.

What will I be taking? Well I'm hoping to finish off lots a handsewn traditional lampshades in some of my finest wintery vintage barkcloths. This sort of thing... 

 For supporting me at FollyandGlee here's a little thank you - a voucher for 2 for 1 entry - just print and present on admission.

All Hail the Queens of Granny Chic

Its unlikely, even if you have been hiding under a damp stone, that you've missed the fever pitch excitment about the iminent launch of Granny Chic- crafty recipes and inspiration for the handmade home from Dottie Angel and TedandAgnes.


from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

 The rather unlikely You Magazine gave more than a sneak peak of some of the bestest projects on Sunday under the rather amusing title Gran Designs. And of course the Aunty to the Bloggers publication Mollie Makes has wisely chosen to feature the showstopping Patched and Pierced lampshade project in their latest issue.


from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke
reproduced in Mollie Makes Issue Twenty

Now don't for a minute think that if you've seen the above that there is no need to buy the book. Believe me it is full to the brim with LOTS more lovely ideas. My favourites include the recipe for making your own vintage decals....

Vintage decals from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

.....and the handy dandy jars.

 from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

Above all else however it's the styling of this book that sets it apart. We'd expect little else given the perfection of Tiff's photography for DottieAngel's adventures and the sheer exuberance and flair of Rachelle's home with TedandAgnes. But my oh my did the girls push the boat out on this one....I have scoured pretty much every page now and I tell you there is not a shot where the attention to detail is not 100%. Every little nook and cranny of their beautiful homes oooozes Granny Chic style.

From the little things eg gorgeous homemade fabric tape holding postcards to the wall....

from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

from Granny Chic Published by Kyle Books 2012 Photographer: Catherine Gratwicke

to the grander schemes like marvellous Maude's liberty print makeover.

With so much attention to detail does it not feel over styled, unliveable in? Nope for as the girls point out Granny Chic has all embracing ways - nothing is perfect ...just perfectly placed to make the most of each other's best bits.

I am most flattered to have supplied a few bits and bobs for the new book of which more later .....go get yourself a copy ordered first - its out in less than two days - and we can scan the fabulous details together.

Ceramic Swans Rock!

Where do you keep your toothbrush? I confess to having kept mine for sometime now in a granny pink ceramic swan.

My ceramic swan tooth brush holder

I'm mighty pleased with the arrangement. Not only does he do a fine job of keeping my toothbrush out of harms way but he's a great place to sneak away my floss etc.

Despite him having done such a sterling job for so long i am afraid to say I have never bothered to find out anything about him. Lucky for great design lovers Trish Scorgie is not as lackadaisical as I.

Trish is the founder of VolpeandVolpe and is on a mission to bring a slice of our ceramic heritage back, put them into a modern context, make them relevant again, trace them back to their original owners.

Volpe and Volpe

With the demise of so many Stoke On Trent potteries and the rise of cheap import markets lots of great peices have been forgotten. Now thanks to VolpeandVolpe the swans are back in six magnificently moodly colours: goose grey, matt black, natural, pistacchio, heather moore and gilbert green.

What is more they have friends. A fox string holder .....

Fox string holder from Volpe and Volpe

and (my husbands Christmas present to be) a too cute Mole string holder.

Mole String Holder from Volpe and Volpe

Fabulous.

This weeks Shoplocket 40% off bargain

Carry on lighting...with Babs

This afternoon I have come to a momentous decision. It is a decision driven by the heart and not the head. One which will no doubt create many hours of measuring and fiddling and re-measuring and bending and quite possibly some bad language.

I have fallen in love with Babs. She's pink, she fills out her  cover to bursting and she's very, very curvy. here she is:

I am ignoring the horrid beading around her middle and the hair raisingly horrid feel of the crimpolene cover. She is definately not from these shores as her fittings are most definately European and this adds to her appeal. What is more........

....she has a sidekick. Mini-Babs who sits atop a rather dashing Saarinen/tulip style lamp base.

Definately worth the long process of templating their wire frames me thinks. Hopefully if we all keep our fingers and toes very tighly crossed we might have some Babs shape wire lampframes to re-cover or paint in a few weeks time.

oooh Matron.

30% off Barkcloth Bonanza

Its Barkcloth Bonanza week at DonnaFlower.com and Donna and I have joined forces with a very special offer to chase away the onset of any winter blues.

DonnaFlower.com

You know how it is getting harder and harder to find and prices are souring. Donna has made some amazing discoveries of late - real corkers.



DonnaFlower.com



Of course they'd all make fabulous lampshades. You don't need huge fabric pieces. 1/2 metre is plenty for even the bigger shades. The bigger the shade the wider the fabric panel needs to be. If the fabric is non-directional ie the pattern looks equally good even if its on its side you'll need even less.



DonnaFlower.com

Choose your barkcloth fabric from DonnaFlower.com and enter FOLLY - must be in capitals- at the checkout and you'll receive 15% off. What is more send me a request at hello@follyandglee.co.uk for me to turn it into the lampshade size and style of your choice and I'll give you £15% off the price of the shade too! As a guide prices start from just £12 plus postage for a 20cm Diamater table lamp.

30% off a bespoke vintage barkcloth shade - what you waiting for?



Meet the Neighbours: The Paper Engineer

One of the best things about moving out from the kitchen table and garage into my studio at UpperLodge is the comradery and inspiration from all my lovely neighbours. This is never more true than when sharing their triumphs and achievments - big and small.

This week is a biggy for Corina the paper engineer and our landlady. Today see's the launch of Discovering Kings Cross: A Pop Up Book published by Cicada and Corina's off to town to celebrate with amongst others Michael Palin who wrote the forward and Dan Cruickshank who wrote an afterword. No wonder she's grinning!

Cicada Books

Now having grown up in Northamptonshire I'm a bit of St Pancras girl myself and I love a bit of gothic. KingsCross to me always seemed a rather brutal far less exciting space. This lovely book charts the history of what lay behind those 1970s extensions. The illustrations are really charming  - they are the work of Lucy Dalzell who has brilliantly captured the human story behind an iconic buildings evolution.

Corina is one of the most experienced paper engineers in the country. A group of professionals as rare Corina says as "hens teeth". Using little more than a a ruler, scalpel, cutting mat and a Mac she worked from the plans and elevations of John Mcaslan + Partners, the architects of the spectacular new concourse, to create a single enormous popup that brings the station as it is today to life. Its such a great way to be able to appreciate the scale and the detail of its amazing regeneration.

It would appear there's no stopping Corina now as more crossover work for architectural publishers beckons and with it more complex and delicate pop-ups to engineer to satisfy the largely adult audience. I'm happy to report that Corina has definately not left the world of children's pop-up books behind.

I caught her earlier playing happily with the tractor from her other new book published this week - Playbook Farm. From the fabulously named publishers Nosy Crow this is an ingenious novelty package comprises a pop-up storybook, which then unfolds and transforms into a 3D farmyard landscape playmat, with cut-out cardboard animals and the tractor all illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.

Corina and Co: Windmill from Playbook Farm Pulished by Nosy Crow

You have to go watch the YouTube video here  and when your done pop over to Corina&Co and download and make your own paper windmill from the book.

Cowboys or Roses

Cowboys or Roses .......well I could never choose between them. Maybe its having Dallas back on our screens? Maybe its because I can't face a rainy day without a squirt of my favourite scent? Well anyway now you don't have to choose.

RodeoRose Patchwork Lampshade

A super stylish patchwork lampshade - 20cm Diameter and perfect for a small table lamp.

Barkcloth selection for custom Folly&Glee Lampshade

Next up a patchwork request for something in orange and turquoise. Lush.

Poppingjay Update



Cree, Galloway and Buchan Plaids fom Ian Sanderson



I'm a lucky girl .....not only have the kind folk at Ian Sanderson sent over some super photos of the Poppingjay lampshades on the Decorex stand .....

Poppinjay Collection at Decorex 2012

but plans are afoot to work again with that gorgeous lambswool I was swooning over.

Poppingjay Collection at Decorex 2012

Ginger wine tonight me thinks.

Poppingjay Lampshades for Ian Sanderson launched at Decorex 2012

Well that's it then...the great and the good have packed away the most luxurious and beautiful textiles and lighting imaginable for another year. Decorex 2012 has closed its 35th anniversary show and I see the blogs are alive with folk discussing their highlights.

FollyandGlee Patchwork Lampshades in Poppinjay Collection Fabrics from Ian Sanderson

Delighted to report FollyandGlee made a small contribution to this years show. The lovely folk at Ian Sanderson launched the fabulous Poppinjay Collection at Decorex and requested a couple of patchwork lampshades to show off just how well this gorgeous collection of fabrics work together.

Ian Sanderson

From a 1930s interpretation of an Elizabethan-style design to the 21st century modern vintage-style interior Poppinjay is an archive print reborn. Originally wood roller printed on 27” linen in Lancashire in the 1930s. This printing technique was the next generation from the original method of hand wood blocking. These early printing techniques produced some of the most interesting of the late 19th and early 20th century textiles, many of which are now stored in the V and A Museum in London.

 I worked the lampshades in two colourways - Green tea and Russian caravan. But check the Ian Sanderson website for the other colourways....the Thirties Blue/Green is particularly lovely.

I had feared for the different weights of fabric -with some being linens some firmer upholsetery fabrics- making patchworking difficult. But no they were a joy to work with. My favourite......well for sheer softness and all round tactile loveliness I'd say the Cree 100% Scottish Lambswool in Willow. The Ercol has already begun a whispering campain in my ear that it would be perfect for his new covers.

Jamie Oliver chooses Folly&Glee lampshades

Time to share a really exciting commission I completed earlier in the summer - 7 big standard lampshades for Jamie Oliver's new mega restaurant, bakery and bar at Gatwick Airport. Its well worth watching this clip of Jamie explaining just how he's hoping to change the face of restaurant eating with this huge venture.

Photo courtesy Blacksheep

I didn't get to meet Jamie but I did get to work with his amazing design consultancy Blacksheep. Blacksheep have won just about every design award there is going for hospitality and restaurant interiors. They have an uncompromising reputation for throwing away the rule book and creating amazing spaces that still work. I'd read about their work on Jamie's  Union Jacks and loved that the design celebrates Britishness with all kinds of nostalgic and quirky finds. There's stuff from the 50s, 60s and 70s  all given a modern twist. But Gatwick  incorporates a bakery, a Jack's Bar and a Jamie's Italian and is set to serve more than 1000 breakfasts alone a day all frshly cooked on the premises. It's a groundbreaking concept for Airports where food is generally simply re-heated and lets face it sad.



BlackSheep Design

Cripes! It was clear from the off then that Blacksheep really wanted to push the boundaries of what people expect from an airport bar and that made this commission super exciting. Here's part of my brief from Designer Emma Freed,  "we want to create a warm and inviting bar space to enjoy a quick pint, with a subtle nod to yesteryear and postwar nostalgia. We are doing this with custom printed formic table tops, worn leather armchairs and some great vintage chandeliers and cushions. Importantly the bar also has to encapsulate Jamie Oliver’s cheeky chappy persona, so on top of all of this there is lots of big signage, hand painted slogans and graphics and a great Tea-Rex dinosaur mural!”

Photo courtesy Blacksheep

No ordinary lampshades then. Something out of the ordinary for sure. How about an "inside out" lampshade. A plain and modest outer with a vibrant burst of nostalgic original vintage fabric on the inside. Eureka!

I was nervous about finding just the right quality and weight of natural undyed linen. An intense search came up trumps and I'm really pleased with the linen I have in 3 colourways: natural, black and cream. Its fine enough to give a lovely smooth handrolled edge and allow just the right of reflection of the inner pattern through once lit.

Photo courtesy Blacksheep

That effect really seems to work and Blacksheep have commented on how well the lampshades add to the intimate atmosphere they wanted to create all the way along the main  balustrade and in front of the keg room.

Choosing the inner fabrics from the barkcloth stash went well too. There were a couple of first choices that didn't work given the width of fabric required for such large lampshades. One quirky English boating scene would have looked great but the directional print just wouldn't co-operate...not even for Jamie! 

There was a moment of panic when on delivery to the electrical contractors I was told the shades would never pass stringent airport health and saftey rules. Everything in an airport has to either be bolted to the floor or ceiling by way of specialist tools presumably in case of exuberant holiday makers deciding to play lampshade volleyball. Lordy I had visions of my shades chucked out, forlorn and unloved atop a skip somewhere by the side of the A23.

I should have had more faith however as there are  ways and means to do these things and Jamie Oliver is clearly on a mission to transform Airport hospitality. If the man can get the first proper gas ovens into an Airport, calm Security by changing the size of kitchen knives and build an explosive proof storage room for his flour...then ensuring a few lampshades could be fitted safely was never going to be a real issue. I'm REALLY chuffed to have played a small part in making one of our major Airports a somewhat cosier, more soulful place to spend time.Cheers Jamie for the opportunity.

If you'd like a Jamie style "inside-out" shade just let me know. It's a method of shade making I've really enjoyed and works for most shapes and sizes. When you think about it if hanging as a ceiling pendant the inside of your lampshade is more on display than the outer. And of course for those who just want a touch of midcentury/retro without screaming "I love vintage" they're perfect. I'll be listing a few in the shop over the next few days or get in touch at hello@follyandglee.co.uk. 

Pop in for pop-up Liberty at MadeinLewes

The PatchworkDogandbasket in the Needlemakers, Lewes is a a bit of a mecca for those who love their Liberty fabrics.

With that in mind I created a Liberty Patchwork standard lamp and shade for the fabulous MadeinLewes Co-operative pop up shop running as part of Artwave Festival.

There's just two more days to go before the space returns to its normal role as workshop space extraodinaire so why not pop in!