Handmade Hanging Lampshade

This lampshade is for a hanging lamp. It was the first one I had done with this style of ring. Basically, it is made the same as other shades with spiders but it just seemed so unusual to me. it was a fun project. I used a white shantung on styrene to form this custom-made lampshade. It is a short drum shape and wide. It only measures about 8" tall.

Funeral Home Drum Lampshades

They are all done! All eight drum lampshades have been handmade using shantung fabric and trim. These are not lined as they are hardbacked shades. The customer wanted more light in the room than the old shades were providing and these drum lampshades did the trick. I didn't take a close up of the fabric and should have.


The original order was going to be 16 drum lampshades; however, we didn't feel that drums would look good on the lamps below. So instead we ordered lined, shantung lampshades. These were made in the USA.

What's Up?

My blog posts seem to be missing or it's taking a long time for them to come up. I wonder what's up with that? I'm still having trouble with the text in the header too. I wonder if Wordpress is better?

I've been busy remaking lampshades for customers in PA and FL. All three were drum style lampshades. They came to me because they couldn't find replacement shades in the stores. That's my niche...to replace lampshades by remaking them using the original frames. Remaking shades gives the lamp a new look and saves the landfills.

Finished Shade for Unusual Lamp

This a picture of the old lamp and shade in Florida.This is the shade redone. A perfect example of re-purposing instead of putting something in the landfill.

Repairing Old Lampshades

It's finished. Well actually two of them are done and waiting to be picked up. These were drum shades of a large size. I enjoy being able to recreate shades for old lamps; especially when the customer has been looking for a while with no success. It's a great way to help out the environment by not adding metal to the landfills and help customers find ways to re-purpose old items.

Another Handmade Lampshade Order in Process

I started handmade lampshade order today for another lamp that was 40 years old and still had the original shade. I am remaking the shade, which was a drum shade. Here is a little of the process.

First make the pattern on styrene. Then cut out the pattern and fit it to the rings.

After refitting and gluing, the shade is ready for trim. The finial she chose looks like a diamond.

After the trim is selected, it will be ready for the antique lamp looking like a new one.

If you have an old lamp with a shade that is falling apart, don't throw it away. Call me for an estimate. Most shades cost around $75 for drums this size. This is another way to help our environment by repurposing old items that still look great but need some fixing up. AND it is a lot cheaper than replacing the lamp with something similar.

Recovering Old Shades

February 17, 2009

This is the most unusual antique lamp I've seen so far. The shade is a drum with no top wires. It just sits on the green bars below.

This is a before picture of the shades ring. I've just finished cleaning up the rings so they are ready to be painted to prevent rust. This is an after rust removed picture.

February 20, 2009

I have now added the fabric to the rings. Next is the trim.