bird lamp

I want to try and source more vintage/customised lamp bases as a way to display and complement my screen printed shades. This was one recent find, a sweet but dated bird lamp which I had ideas for! As usual, I just got stuck in without taking any before/during after photos except for a couple of rubbishy iphone snaps... I will get my blog looking nice one day, promise. Anyway, here is it before minus dated shade and with a little tester paint that I initially tried:

 ...and here is after, once it had been masked, primed and sprayed with high gloss enamel in a turquoise shade. I specifically wanted a shiny clean look and not a distressed, hand painted effect so I opted for this enamel. It took several even fine coats for a smooth finish, but it is worth doing it in stages to avoid any drips or gloopy bits. The finish is a lovely high shine and the turquoise shade works well with my lampshades that are printed with teal ink.

new stock

Even though I've been quiet on the blog front, I have been busy making new stock and hunting out vintage treasures! I had a good week in my studio-shed, printing, dyeing and sewing while Chris took time off to look after Hesper. Bliss. The result is a range of larger sized lampshades (30cm Diameter), some cushions with my "foxy" design that I had only used on kids clothes before and some dip-dyed cloud cushions. I also replenished my smaller cushions and tea towels. Most of this has been put into my space at My Little Vintage, with some left for the next fair.

Did I take any decent photos before I took them away? of course not. Have I got to rely on Facebook photos?...yep.

I have found a new fabric for my lampshades, I am now using an off-white medium-weight power loom cotton. Still organic and ethically made, it is a lighter, smoother fabric than the linen and heavier cottons I used before. It creates a better finish when rolled into a shade and lets more light through. 

I have used the last of my lovely linen for some small cushions. I printed this Foxy design and backed with a lovely woollen check - remnants from a Derbyshire mill. Sadly, this linen is no longer available, so I experimented with an organic cotton twill - I'm so-so about this. The next lot will be made with a heavier weight grainy cotton, hopefully in different colours.

I've also been accumulating lots of vintage pieces and furniture to restyle. I finally got the opportunity to photograph and list in my Etsy shop. My favourite is this Yellow Hornsea Jardiniere, which is not only stunning but apparently scarce.

  

Check out my Etsy shop here.

Thank you

x

ps: I will have a table at the My Little Vintage Fair at The Granary at Fawsley, 22nd June 11-4!

recently...

My "blossom' design screen printed as a repeat in teal and black onto organic linen. Made into a lampshade:

I've wanted to contrast bright pom pom trim with my screen printed designs for a while...and now I have! The vivid pink contrasts well with the natural linen and black design. Also looks great against this Ercol chair painted with Annie Sloan's English Yellow chalk paint:

When I saw this lamp base in a charity shop the other day, it had a big hideous shade on it and I thought it might be worth painting. Once I'd got rid of the shade, I realised how lovely it is. I think it is quite old, it has a bakelite bulb fitting and reminds me of the Arts & Crafts period. I rubbed some dark wax in to bring out the wood and dressed it in my handmade shade. The shade is actually orange, though it looks red here. I dyed some linen and printed my black cow parsley design on before rolling into a shade. Once lit, the orange is really vivid and looks good in our living room against a teal-coloured wall. It also echoes the Cole & Son Cow Parsley wallpaper on the opposite wall. Both the lamp base and shade were intended for selling...but I have been persuaded into keeping them. This is becoming a bit of a habit!

new (and sold) in my shop

I've been experimenting lately with hand dyed fabrics and screen printing. I always like to play around with different materials and techniques as when I try to follow one way of thinking too rigidly, I get a bit stuck. I had the idea a long while back to experiment with dyeing techniques and print. Recently, I've managed to give it a go and a couple of pieces have sold! I have been dip dyeing fabric to create an 'ombre' effect...I know it is EVERYWHERE at the moment and I don't like to normally make something that is so ubiquitous but I do really like the effect. So far I have tried orange and blue dyes. The orange worked wonderfully as a lampshade as it really glowed when lit... like a bright sunset. This lampshade sold along with the small orange ombre cushion that I made without screenprinting.

I still have a rectangle cushion to match the lampshade in my Etsy shop: 

 ... And I have just listed this lampshade in linen with blue dye and a white cow parsley screen print. Co-ordinating cushions to be listed soon.