The MoonTree HandWorks Story!

Monica, one of the owners of MoonTree HandWorks, tells the story of how the Carmel Cottage Lamp came to be...

"The idea for our lamps was formed many years ago (longer than I care to admit!), when I lived on
Paseo de la Concha (Avenue of the Shell) in Redondo Beach, California. I took the top from a lamp I had
made from an empty wine bottle and combined it with a glass jar containing an arrangement of sand,
shells and dried flowers. I liked the result: a lamp filled with a display of things I love. It suited the casual
beachy style of home I lived in at the time. The lamps I made looked very different then, being quite a bit
smaller and having cork tops. I started a business and began selling them locally.

A cottage garden in a lamp!

I enjoyed some success, but living in Southern California with the traffic and crowding got to be too much for me. I had to get away to a smaller place, a place that felt more comfortable, less crowded. In time, I moved to Maine. I have always longed for a place, a home, that felt so warm and welcoming that it was like a soft blanket wrapped around me, holding me safe. And in the meantime, the idea of making the lamps I had made long ago that could be personalized to fit in with a casual, cozy, and welcoming home stayed in the back of my mind. After many years, the Carmel Cottage Lamp was created. I gave our lamps this name because the word "cottage" seems to perfectly capture a style that is casual, cozy, and welcoming. As to the "Carmel" in Carmel Cottage Lamp? I changed the name recently from Cottage Terrarium Lamp to Carmel Cottage Lamp after a trip to Carmel, California, which seems to me to be "cottage central" - a perfect cottage destination! I was freshly inspired by the many and various cottages found there, and so was inspired to give our lamps a new name! I think our lamps make it easy to give your own unique interpretation of cottage style. The variations can be endless! We encourage people to take their Carmel Cottage Lamp and create something they find especially beautiful, and send their photographs of their lamps to us. Our goal is to have our site a place where people can share their special version of natural cottage style!"