Lighting

June 19, 2008

DIY - Making a lampshade is fucking hard!

     Have you ever wondered how in the hell other people's DIY projects always turn out so perfectly?  Do you spend countless $$ in materials only to produce an item strikingly similar to one you made in 3rd grade?  Relax, some of us suck too. In case you happen to also be DIY challenged, I thought I'd let you in on a little project of mine that turned out like shit.


Make the world's crappiest lampshade in

                only eleven easy steps!

Step One:  Buy an old funky lamp at your local thrift store. $15 is more than I'd have liked to spend but it's cool, dirty and I need a bedside light.

Lampbefore_2

 

Step Two:  Realize that the shade you had in mind is cheesy and think, "Hey, I write a design blog - I'll make one myself!"

Step Three:  Bask in the thought of your readers witnessing your mini-miracle of creation.

Step Four:  Get out the construction paper, wire hanger, elmer's glue and anything else you used in 2nd grade. Pour yourself a congratulatory glass of wine.

Step Five:   Attempt to bend the freakishly strong hanger into something mildly resembling a circle.

Step Six:  Keep pasting layers of cardstock on top of each other until it could pass for a shade.

Step Seven: Finally understand that one hanger and a bunch of paper do not make a lampshade. Dig around your house for anything else that holds shape. Have another glass.

Step Eight:  Attach old origami paper and janky metal strip to exterior of shade.

Step Nine:  Decide that metal and paper can not be held by .99 cent glue. Screw strip in place.


Diypolaroid2

 

Step Ten:  Take cute antler salt shaker you got for Christmas and rest it on the top like a finial.  This will fall off the second you breathe so don't.  Take Hipster Havens photos...........

 

                                   .............and, viola!


Hhdiyfinish

Step Eleven:  Drink 'til she's pretty.

It looks better from far away. Hope this helps the rest of you not feel like losers.  Maybe my mom will tape it to the fridge.

Diylamp

 


 

February 12, 2008

Counterfitting for fun and profit

Picture_3

So you can't afford the $700 price tag of the uber-famous Ingo Maurer Lucellino lamp? Who can? But if you live in San Francisco you can afford a trip to Chinatown where a knock-off may just be the next best thing.  Pop out of packaging, add 9volt battery and fool everyone into thinking you have style. (We'll know the truth.)

Wing_lamp1