I was chatting with one of my recent students, who came from Wales to attend a five-day lampshade making course with me in my Brighton studio. She asked, “How many lampshades do you need to make before you feel confident in your skills and can say, Yes, I’ve got this?”

I had to smile — I remember feeling exactly the same when I first started. After a rocky beginning, it took me a while to make my first few lampshades, and I really took my time. I had to make many, many shades before I began to trust my hands — and even then, I didn’t always get it right. Some went a bit wonky, some took far longer than I expected, and I made plenty of mistakes along the way. Each one, though, taught me something about patience, technique, and learning to let go of perfection. What I loved most, and still do, was figuring out problems as they came up. It gave me such a buzz when I managed to work something out on my own.

What really helped was taking things one shade at a time and learning to enjoy the process, even when it wasn’t perfect. I didn’t always get it right, and sometimes I worried, but I tried not to let mistakes get me down. Being organised, keeping my tools handy, and jotting down little notes along the way made a real difference. Slowly, I began to feel more confident in what I was doing.

Looking back, it’s the small wins and quiet improvements that add up over time. I learned to enjoy the journey, celebrate the shades that went well, and laugh at the ones that didn’t.

So the bottom line is: take it one lampshade at a time, have a laugh when it’s a little off, and remember — confidence is just lots of lampshades later. ✨