Lili MarleneCustom Lampshades · Est. 1991
A sculptural ivory lampshade handcrafted by Lili Marlene

Aurora, Colorado · Makers for over 30 years

Lili Marlene
Custom Lampshades

A rare craft, kept alive by hand. We make, recover, and restore shades with the kind of care reserved for the things you plan to keep.

Begin a custom shade Explore our services
Scroll into the workroom

01

Made for the lamp. Made for the room.

The right shade does more than fit. It changes the light.

Bring us the lamp, the room, the fabric, or simply the feeling you are after. We balance proportion, shape, material, and finish until the piece feels inevitable.

Selected work

One workroom.
No two shades alike.

From quiet linen drums to sculptural silk forms, each piece is considered for its own lamp and its own life.

Pair of custom bird-print drum lampshades on the worktable
01 / Made in Aurora
Tailored rust-red square lampshade in the atelier
02 / Made in Aurora
Green botanical custom drum lampshade
03 / Made in Aurora
Large ivory notched lampshade with fine trim
04 / Made in Aurora
Classic ivory bridge lampshade with fringe
05 / Made in Aurora
Hand-finished custom lampshade
06 / Made in Aurora

02

At the worktable

New work.
Old favorites.
Second chances.

01

Custom & replacement shades

A shade designed around your lamp, your scale, and your room. Choose from our materials or bring a fabric with a story of its own.

02

Recovering & heirloom work

We give sound frames a new life and can transform meaningful textiles, including family skirts and pillows, into something useful and luminous.

03

Repair & relining

Worn lining is not the end of a beautiful shade. We reline, repair frames, replace harps, change fittings, and perform light welding when the piece allows.

A note from the workroom: we happily work with most materials, but do not accept rawhide due to its specialized processing needs.

A lampshade frame being prepared for restoration

Bring the whole lamp when you can. Proportion is everything.

How it begins

Start with what you have.

  1. 01

    Visit the atelier

    Bring your lamp, shade, fabric, room photos, or measurements. We will look at the whole picture together.

  2. 02

    Choose the direction

    Shape, scale, fabric, lining, trim, and fittings are selected for the piece, not from a one-size-fits-all menu.

  3. 03

    Let the hands work

    Your shade is built or restored in our Aurora workroom, finished with the same exacting standards passed down through three makers.

Talk through your project

A living craft

“Some things are worth learning slowly, and passing on well.”

Three makers.
One exacting standard.

Lili Marlene began when Linda Grove returned from Europe captivated by the art of lampshades. She discovered the craft was disappearing, then found Emma of Artistic Lighting to teach her.

Thirty years later, Linda found an apprentice of her own. Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry rose from apprentice to owner and carries the work forward today: not as nostalgia, but as a useful, beautiful craft practiced every day.

Come by with a lamp

The workroom is open.

Visit

2993 S. Peoria Street
Suite 116
Aurora, CO 80014

Inside the Peoria Professional Building, near the South Parker exit on I-225.

Hours

Tuesday–Friday
11am–4pm

Saturday and Monday by appointment.

Contact

(303) 623-3336
info@lilimarlenelampshades.com

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