Tamara Maynes‘ DIY Quilt Light
Tamara Maynes‘ DIY Quilt Lights customised using MT tape
Tamara Maynes is a NSW-based designer, crafter and maker of many things – she has worked in product design and development, and has also spent many years creating soft props and custom craftwork for various stylists and interiors magazines. These days she’s taken up a permanent post as craft contributor for Inside Out Magazine, producing DIY projects for each issue. When she’s not crafting up a storm in her own studio, Tamara can also be found teaching a variety of crafty classes at The School in Sydney.
One of Tamara’s recent creations is this charming but super simple DIY Quilt Light! Originally designed for a feature in Inside Out, the original version went on to be exhibited with Supercyclers at Milan Design Week in April.
The genius thing about the Quilt Light is that it’s not sold as a finished product. It’s available to purchase only as a downloadable template. You essentially become the co-designer of your very own Quilt Light when you download and choose your own custom details - you can make as many as you like, in any size you want, and paint it, tape it, stitch it – it’s up to you!
Thanks to a grant from NSW Arts, Tamara is heading to the London Design Festival this month to exhibit her light and hold DIY workshops as part of the festival. Also, AMAZINGLY, fashion designer Marc Jacobs has somehow been roped in to make his own version of Tamara’s Quilt Light for display in London’s iconic Liberty store during the festival! Now THAT seems like a seriously big deal for a sweet little project designed in the Southern Highlands of NSW!
You can purchase a Quilt Light template for $20 from Tamara’s online store, OR you can sign up for one of Tamara’s upcoming Quilt Light making workshops in either Melbourne (at Glen Proebstel’s beautiful Establishment Studios) or Sydney (at Megan Morton’s School) in October, where all templates and materials are provided! Places are very limited in these workshops – if you’re keen, don’t dilly-dally!
Tamara has also recently committed to DAILY posts on her sweet blog, which focuses on all kinds of modern craft and interior projects - check it out!
Tamara Maynes with her DIY lights
This is amazing! My brain is exploding right now – well done Tamara!
oh fantastic!! thanks for this, another fabulous blog to add to my HUGE reading list xx
OMG love, must get to one of her classes!
Oh, for Pete’s sake. These are just too clever and beautiful. And her blog is right up there among the best. So lovely to read a crafter whose love of clean design gives her own work such elegant restraint.
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Go Tamara!
Too clever! Can’t wait to create one myself….
Very nice modern design, seems very expensive for a template however. Basically selling you instructions to make one, no materials provided and $20? Also it says on the site you can’t use it for commercial purposes, what is that supposed to mean.
$20 is an entirely justifiable price. Consider the labour: someone had to conceive and design this, make a pattern, make the template, experiment with prototypes, make an uploadable digital version, market it, and so on. $20 is a small price to pay for beautiful, original design, and you can re-use the template. I doubt this price will even compensate for the time and trouble. You pay for a dress pattern, don’t you? Why not a lightshade pattern? What does it mean that it can’t be used for commercial purposes? Just that. The design is the designer’s intellectual property: you can’t sell it.
Loving these…so cute!
Brilliant!
The template is one thing, but where to find the bulb and cord set up? I need a plugged cord, not one that is hard wired. Any ideas??
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Love you Kath W… your understanding of what it takes to offer a seemingly simple product makes my 12 hour days and no weekends all worth it!
Pippa, you just need to pop in to an electrical/lighting supplies store and they will be able to point you in the right direction. Ask for lighting flex (cord) with a bulb holder (specify that it needs to hold a shade) on one end and a plug on the other end. Generally a lighting supplies wholesaler or electrician will make them up for you.
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This is so cool, great idea!
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Very cool!
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Great Info :-)
Before I order the template, where do you get the cardboard for this project? Is there a certain thickness?
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