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The Truth About
Lamp Shades
Now here’s something I bet you’ve
never thought about. I went and visited the Victoria Lampshade
Shop recently and after seeing all of the different designs they
make, I began to wonder how exactly they’re made. Let me tell
you, the process is a bit more intricate than I thought.
When I first walked into the shop the first thing that I saw was
a pleasant environment surrounded by shades of all types.
After seeing a couple of really complex ones, I was left
intrigued as to how they made something like that. When asking
the store owners’, Greg and Guylaine Spiro, to show me how they
are made, they took me to the backroom which is set up like a
workshop. It’s sectioned off into two areas: one area is where
the wire frames, or as I like to call them ‘the skeletons’, are
made and the other area is where the fabric is placed onto the
frame.
Now, in terms of the wire frames, I bet you didn’t know that
welding was involved. Greg works on making the wire frames from
scratch. Each part of the frame is made out of a single piece of
wire. There are a couple of different devices that will bend
them to the desired shape. One will make wide bends, another
device will make smaller and sharper bends, and another one will
make squares.
Once all the pieces have been shaped, they are then welded
together to form the final shape of the lamp. Then, after it has
cooled down, it can either be dipped into a specific color in
order to produce a certain look or left as is.
Now comes the second part of this creative process. It then goes
into the other room where all of the fabric is. Depending on the
desired style and shape of the lamp, that determines what
pattern will be used. There is usually a hard fabric base placed
onto the frame which is then ‘rolled’, meaning that it is
fastened securely, onto the wire. Then it goes over to a table
where pleats and trim and all other fabric ideas are sewn onto
the shade. Then the finished lampshade is wrapped in plastic in
order to protect it and off it goes out into the world!
It’s fascinating how much work goes into them. They truly are
works of art. Especially when considering that Greg and Guyliane
are creating new Lamp Shade designs for people all the time.
They are constantly being exposed to the unique tastes of
everyone that comes to their shop, which then goes on to further
enhance their creative skills.
Amy Clay
Freelance writer for
Excalibur Communications
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