I started making lampshades 15 years ago using vintage wallpaper from my earliest collections. Over the years I have explored amazing papers from around the world, including intricate, colorful marble patterns from France, Italy and India, among other resources.
My collection of papers is huge, to suit any style: papers made to look like leather; flocked papers with beautiful patterns; seagrass paper (one of my favorites), where the blades of grass are woven to look like fabric, just like wallpaper from the turn of the last century.
I also collect papers to use in my work that have hand-blocked patterns (paisley, gold-leaf squares, leaf reliefs), and papers that have been stitched with metallic threads.
My largest collection of paper is of vintage wallpaper, the material I used to make my first lampshades. I have more than 3,000 rolls dating from 1870′s -1950′s, including florals, geometrics and others.
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Shandell's is the creative home of me, Susan Schneider, a longtime collector of things vintage with a passion for recycling them into things that make you smile. Shandell's, a working lampshade and vintage lighting studio, has just relocated to 2976 Church Street, Pine Plains, NY 12567. I draw on a collection of thousands of unique handmade papers, antique wallpapers and other very special materials in my work. We will be open by chance or appointment. 
