Founded by sisters Hermione and Ellie Gee, interiors brand Hum London started by accident during lockdown in 2020. They found themselves forced to move back home and like most people were looking for something to fill their time with.
With no luck finding colourful, playful shades on the lampshade market Hermione Gee decided to spruce up her room and paint a pair of old shades. Exceeding expectations, she and Ellie were surprised by how good they looked, and the sisters saw an opportunity.
Together they found a UK based lampshade maker and launched a collection of nine lampshade designs. They experimented with patterns, designs and paints, looking for materials that were both durable and attractive. The first lampshade was painted with watercolour, which they knew wouldn’t stand the test of time. Each shade is one of a kind, ranging from leopard prints and ginghams, swirls, squiggles and stripes.
Bringing together their backgrounds in fashion and costume design, Hum London are passionate about creating lampshades that bring a joyful, unique element to the home - transforming a simple space.
Social Media played a big part in the growth of the company, using Instagram as a main outlet throughout the pandemic period as a way of connecting with people to work and collaborate with.
The lampshades are suitable for a variety of fittings, from wall lights and lamps to pendants.
The design process involves lots of water colour sketches on paper. The lampshades are then made in England before being individually painted by Hermione at their London studio, drawing on her experience of art and textiles throughout school and her studies at Parsons School of Design.
The brand now regularly collaborates with interior designers and take commissions for bespoke pieces.
In addition to selling their shades, they also started hosting workshops to teach others their DIY homeware tricks.
By Anna Bance
January 2024
Anna looks at this beguiling collection of hand painted and limited edition lampshades.
By
Anna Bance
·
Published January 2024
Anna is the co-founder of Girls Meets Dress and a contributing editor to The Guide. She expertly guides us round the most covetable online fashion.