Shades of Light: Making Tailored Lampshades

Gomes is an expert on making lamp shades, a “craft that has enabled me to develop my interest in fabric, color, design, trim, and embellishment.” In this reference book, she distills her 15 years of experience into a concise guide to the craft, as well as an overview of the surprisingly interesting history of lamp shades. The topic may seem unpromising, but by the time reader gets to chapter 18 (on fan pleating a shade) or chapter 23 (on kitchen shades) this misapprehension will be put to rest. Every kind of shade is presented, along with details and sketches to make the ways of creation clear. Gomes’s work leans toward the feminine end of the spectrum, but a variety of lamp shades are shown in photographs. The book, however, is British and the measurements are in the metric system, which can prove tricky. But perhaps the bigger question is whether there is a market for a nearly thirty-dollar book on lamp shades? (Jan.)