Rawhide Lamp Shade Conditioner
It’s hard to make yourself do it often enough, especially with chandeliers. Once or twice a month would be great most of the time. Certain times of the year are worse for rawhide.
Dryness is the problem, the conditioner helps keep them a little more flexible. The change of the seasons is a tough time for rawhide. Just before going into winter and using heat is one of the most critical times. Air conditioning also dries the air.
Larger shades hold up better but need the same care. Small chandelier shades get a lot of heat from the bulb because they are so close so they need more attention. Rawhide lampshades wear out sooner or later but low wattage bulbs, moderate use and conditioning helps.
If you don’t have the right conditioner, get some soon. If you already have it, it’s probably a good time to condition your rawhide shades.
