I've had a bee in my bonnet just recently. You see, a while back, I came across an eye catching ceiling pendant in a local homewares shop that I was really taken with. It was a simple black shade studded with chandelier crystals that sit suspended in little cutouts, allowing the light to glisten through the crystals. All I could think was how PERFECT it would be in my studio.......... and I really wanted it. If only it weren't a ceiling pendant! I didn't end up buying that light fitting (althought I am still tempted) but it did inspire me to recreate the look in a more practical and compact table lamp that will glisten and gleam and be just as sparkly, if not more! All it takes to create your own dazzling sparkle-icious lamp is an inexpensive black lamp with a chrome base....... and as many Swarovski crystals as your heart desires (or your budget allows). Here's what you'll need: A straight sided lamp shade (mine is a black 6" shade) and a chrome lamp base Your......

Good lighting is essential when you do a lot of close up work. When I moved in to my studio 5 years ago, I had a suspended double fluoro installed above my work table to make sure that the work space was well lit. But even with this central light, tasks lights were still needed at every station around the table. Having a suspended light seemed like a good idea at the time but with light only hitting the tables, the rest of the room was dark. And with so many cables and cords dangling from the ceiling, it looked untidy. But today, all that has changed. I had an electrician install two new ceiling lights which are flush mounted to the ceiling.  I am quite impressed with how much light they give off and as I sit here at my computer, I am amazed that the light is reaching this far. You can see that I still have the power cords dangling from the ceiling (for power at the work tables) but it's much tidier now without the cables suspending the old lightfitting. But the best part of these ......