Bringing light to dark days

How to love your lighting - and perhaps design your very own shade…

Long, january evenings provide us with good reason to celebrate lighting up the dark. Whether it’s spending a quiet hour with a scented candle, or rethinking your entire lighting scheme in your home.

In our January issue’s The Comfort of Things feature, Clare Gogerty waxes lyrical on the positive vibes good lighting can bring to your home: “Coming home and switching on the lights banishes the darkness, replacing it not just with visibility but with emotional reassurance.”

There’s more on why lighting is so important to our homes in the January issue. However, if you’re inspired to really throw yourself at a lighting project you will also not want to miss The Simple Things’ Lampshade Making Workshop on Saturday 23 February in Hove, East Sussex.

The course is run with Lume Lighting’s Joanna Corney, a maker and designer who has run her homeware business for several years and will take place at her lovely working studio by the sea, in Hove.

The workshop is exclusively for The Simple Things readers and is ideal for beginners who want to learn the craft of contemporary lampshade making. You’ll be given all the skills you need to make your very own custom shade, meeting like-minded people and eating some delicious food along the way. You’ll make either a 20cm or 30cm diameter fabric drum lampshade, which can be used on a lamp base or ceiling pendant. At the end of the workshop you will go home with your very own bespoke lampshade – perhaps just the first of many more beautiful customised designs.

COURSE DETAILS

The Simple Things’ Lampshade Making Workshop, which has seven places available, will be held at Joanna’s studio in Hove, East Sussex, on Saturday 23 Feburary 2019. Time: 10.30am–3.30pm. Ticket price: £60, including all tools and materials for the class, plus tea, coffee, cake and lunch. You’ll need to make your own way there and home. The only thing you need to bring is the fabric of your choice to cover your lampshade.  

HOW TO BOOK

Email hello@lumelighting.co.uk. Joanna’s website is lumelighting.co.uk.

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from the January issue…

More ways to bring light to your home…

The Comfort of Things | A guide to outdoor lighting

Easy options that bring a little magic to the garden but don’t require an electrician

SOLAR LIGHTS

Most come with a stake to sink into your borders thus creating a row of lights to guide your eye (and guests) along the garden path. Try: Solar bubble outdoor stake lights, £24 for four (johnlewis.com), which change colour and add a little festival flavour to proceedings.

FESTOON LIGHTS

Bigger and brighter than fairy lights with round bulbs best hung in swags. They look good strung from trees or a pergola and provide enough light to eat by. Try: Elan solar festoon lanterns, 20 LEDs, £19.98, thesolarcentre.co.uk; LED connectable perspex festoon lights, £35, lights4fun.co.uk.

GARDEN TORCHES

Garden torches with LED lights exist but are tame compared to the guttering flame of an oil lamp. Try: Iron garden torches, £15.95 each; 120cm high (allthingsbrightonbeautiful.co.uk); bamboo garden torches, £5.90 each; 180cm high (homebase.co.uk).

HURRICANE LANTERNS

Created to withstand storms at sea, these robust lamps are fuelled with paraffin with a wind-up wick, and won’t blow out. Put one or two on the table or hang from wall hooks. Look out for them at army surplus stores. Try: Silver hurricane lantern, 10 inch, £5.99 (surplusoutdoors.com).

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

More home ideas:

More from the July issue:

Create the perfect workspace with The Stuff of Life

Inspired by our workspace feature in the February issue, our Stuff of Life shopkeeper, Louise Gorrod, has taken a screenbreak to bring you her pick of workspace products.

From space-saving bookshelves and seating to decorative notebooks for all those ‘To-Do’ lists, The Stuff of Life will make your 9 to 5 run more smoothly.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Images from top, left to right: In Flight Print by Quince Living, £26.00 | Fläpps Shelf by Ambivalenz, from £119.23 | Jungle Fever Notebook by Kith & Kin, £3.50 | Gold Wall Clock by Home Address, from £75.00| Mini Book Rack by Agustav, from £75.00 | Memo Card & Envelope by Alfie’s Studio, £1.50 | Fläpps Folding Chair by Ambivalenz, from £173.08 | Recycled Pickle Jar Light by Cachette, £42.31 | Concrete Holder by Cachette, £20.00.

Light up your life with The Stuff of Life.

So the clocks went back yesterday meaning our evenings will now get darker all the sooner. It needn’t be all doom and gloom though – with the right lighting you can create a warm and cosy home. Over at The Stuff of Life we have the perfect selection of lighting to see you through the darker months.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

From a statement design to a colourful drum shade, a new ceiling pendant can really uplift a living space, while a stylish table lamp will transform dark corners into cosy corners.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Group together a small cluster of tea lights or candlesticks, stock up on candles and create a cosy glow in the evening. Or if you’re feeling crafty, why not create your own lampshade? One of these DIY lampshade craft kits is all you need.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Images from top, left to right: Lampshade selection by Humblesticks, sold with a lamp base, £160.00 | Bike Lampshade by ByMarie, £45.00 | Geometric Beech Suspension Light by Cachette, from £43.00 | Recycled Can Suspension Light by Cachette, from £43.00 | Purple & Pink Vintage Lampshade by ByMarie, £45.00 | Bright Lanterns Demijohn Lamp by Humblesticks, £160.00 | Blue Paisley Vintage Lampshade by ByMarie, £ 25.00 | The Groove Lamp by Stuff of Dreams, from £155.00 | Pink & Brown Block Flower Shade by Lou Hopper Shop, £35.00 | Petal Lanterns by Quince Living, from £12.00 | Mercury Tea Lights by The Glam Camping Company, £7.50 for a pack of 4 | Bakula Candle Stick by Quince Living, £18.00 | Mini Jelly Mold Tea Light by From Victoria, £16.00 | Lampshade Craft Kit by Quince Living, £20.00

New products line the shelves at The Stuff of Life.

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen a number of new products filling our shelves at The Stuff of Life. There are now several new brands to discover as well as a fresh offering of products from some our most popular brands. 

How about a new art print for the bedroom or a set of knitted cushions to revive a tired sofa? Maybe your kitchen is crying out for a new set of chopping boards, or how about replacing those greying tea towels with a linen roller towel? All these products are on my wish list.

The Stuff of Life has new products across all its departments that include Wellbeing, Style, Escaping, Reading and Making. Browse the shop for yourself and let us know what’s on your wish list. Happy Shopping!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Images from top, left to right: For Rest Print by One Must Dash, from £35.00 | Small Ash & Brass Trug by Jane Crisp Bespoke Designer Maker, from £175.00 | Russian Cushion by Hattie Kerrs Knitwear, from £52.00 | Linen Roller Towel by The Linen Works, from £29.00 | Recycled Pickle Jar Light by Cachette, from £42.31 | Hand-carved Trees by Forge Creative, from £36.00 | Porcelain Hanging Planter by From Victoria, from £24.00 | Autumn Wallpaper by Sian Zeng, from £250.00 | Serving Boards by Forge Creative, from £40.00 each.