Ivy Karlsgodt

1. Lamp shades sure have gotten bland from their vintage counterparts, heck it’s even difficult to find a shade that isn’t some shade of white or beige! What inspired you to start making the lamp shade cool again?

I started making lampshades in 2020 during the shutdown. At the time, as I’m sure everyone remembers, it was like everything was frozen in place. I was laid off from my costuming job for Broadway and was now spending so much time in a cramped NYC apartment, one I hadn’t really considered too much before because it was just where I slept. But all of a sudden it became the place I was spending all of my time, and as I looked around I realized this space didn’t really feel like me. So with ample time on my hands and a need for a new creative outlet, I started gradually swapping my Ikea furniture for antiques from Facebook Marketplace that better reflected by personal style. I was very inspired by the glamor and maximalism of the 1900s-1940s. When looking for inspiration online, I fell down a vintage lampshade rabbit hole and decided I absolutely needed one to complete the space. The process is kind of similar to some hat-making techniques that I’d used before. So I decided to try my hand at making one myself and was able to pick it up super easily. Once I made my first and saw the way a lampshade can make such a statement and completely transform a space, I was hooked! 

2. Can you describe the process of creating one of your intricate vintage lamps, from design ideation to the first lighting?

The design process usually begins with either a shape or a fabric/applique that I want to incorporate. When I’m making something unique for a customer, I start really broad by getting to understand the shapes they like, the colors, the feeling they’re going for, and then I gradually drive into specifics like imagery, fabrics, and techniques – so they’re really involved in the design process from the start to finish. Although occasionally, a trusting customer will give me something very basic like a photo of the room or a color they like and give me full rein of the design. From there, I create a detailed rendering of the lampshade on my iPad, often revising the design a couple times before I find the right balance and feeling. Once the design is finalized, I work with a welder on fabricating the frame and buy all the fabrics and materials I need, most of which come from the garment district of NYC. Once I have everything together, I start the fabrication process. I spray the frame with an anti-rust coating and wrap it tightly with cotton twill tape so I have something to stitch through. Then I cut my fabrics which usually consist of colored silk charmeuse for my base with a layer of white habotai underneath and a combination of things over top like lace, embroidery, velvet burnouts, or netting. I pin a single panel on, stitch around the perimeter with a strong whip stitch and trim the excess fabric away using special double curved applique scissors. Sometimes, I’ll add a layer of neatly pleated silk chiffon on top of the charmeuse to create a fan or rosette effect. Once all of my panels are stitched on, it’s time to complete the lampshade with fringe, tassels, braid trim and appliques. Fringe, which is either beaded or rayon twist fringe, is adhered using a strong fabric adhesive along with the braid trim. Appliques and tassels are stitched on. As a last step, I glue my little ‘Ace of Shades’ label onto the inside of the frame. Once all’s done and dusted, I step back, switch the lamp on and admire my handiwork! It’s always exciting to see how the lampshade changes when lit. I can’t always anticipate exactly how the light will transform it. 

3. Do you ever design your shades to tell a story? If so, can you share a tale behind one of them?

A lot of my lampshade designs do tell a story. The most direct one that comes to mind is the time I made a lampshade for someone featuring an image of their brain scan printed onto silk. She’d recently survived a very serious brain-related health scare and gifted the lampshade to herself in celebration. This was a really unique challenge, not just because a brain scan is so different to my typical imagery, but also how emotionally moving the process was because I knew what it meant to her. Outside of that specific story, the lampshades that tell stories of love and family always feel so special to work on. Like a lampshade made using the lace of a customer’s wedding dress, or passementerie from a customers grandmother’s old notions collection, or even a whole (usually very damaged) heirloom lampshade to redo that lived in a family’s historic home.

4. You use so many different materials and fabrics in your pieces, how do you come to find all of them?

I find most of my materials and fabrics locally in the garment district of NYC. My days working in the costume industry clued me into all the best places to find unique materials you can’t find online. Some of my favorites are NY Elegant, B&J Textiles, Lauren Trimming, and M&J Trimming. I usually make a trip every Monday to pick up everything I’ll need for the lampshades I have planned for that week. I also like to work with vintage and antique materials when I can get my hands on them, and those can be found in places like antique shops, vintage stores, flea markets and even online in places like Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, and eBay.

5. If you could design a shade for any of the locations we have showcased on Accidentally Wes Anderson, which one would be your dream location to design for?

While pretty much any of the locations you’ve showcased would be a dream to make a lampshade for, I think it would be especially fun to make them for something like the Golden Pass Railway. Probably mini sconce shades or little table lamps. Not only would I be designing something historically accurate to match the train’s luxe turn-of-the-century interior, but I would also be designing with the movement of the train in mind. Glass beaded fringe that glistens with movement and reacts to varied points of light or silky rayon twist fringe that moves in a wave pattern when shaken come to mind.