“After 36 years, I’m closing my workshop” – Gwen (68) is selling her last Moggy Lamps at a special price. Her most-loved design is retiring.

In a small workshop in West Yorkshire, Gwen Ashby has made unusual lamps for almost four decades – every one painted by hand, every one a little work of art. Now the 68-year-old is stopping. And she is saying goodbye with her biggest success: the Moggy Lamp. Why is this little glowing cat suddenly so wanted? Because this is the last time it will ever be offered.

Hebden Bridge, October. The little workshop above the old canal smells of paint, warm solder and strong tea. The shelves are full of cat sketches, lamp bases and half-finished cats – some still bare, some already painted with tiny faces, green eyes and bright blue and amber panels. On the big table sit fine brushes, a soldering iron and a box of small warm-white lights. Gwen leans over one of her last lamps, the way she has done every morning since 1989. But this year is different. It is her last winter.

“I’m 68,” she says quietly. “My hands don’t want to do it any more. The joints ache, and the arthritis is getting worse.” She rubs her fingers. Decades of fine work have left their mark. “But that’s not the only reason. The world has changed. Hardly anyone pays for real handwork now. Everything is mass-made. My way of working is slowly disappearing.”

36 years, over 16,000 lamps – a life spent bringing warm light into people’s homes

Gwen has done the sums. In 36 years she has designed, painted and finished more than 16,000 lamps. Every single one went through her hands. “At first it was simple table lamps,” she says. “Then people started asking for something special – something with a bit of soul. That’s how the Moggy Lamp was born: a lamp that doesn’t just give light, but looks like a little cat quietly keeping watch over the room.”

What makes Gwen’s Moggy Lamps so special

It isn’t only the calm, almost tender look on the little cat’s face. It’s the way each lamp is built: like a small sculpture of light, made to be used every day – not something off a conveyor belt.

Inside sits a warm-white LED. It is placed so the light glows softly through the coloured panels of the cat’s body and tail, without ever dazzling you. The deep blue, amber and gold panels are framed by dark lines, just like a church window. The bright green eyes shine out of the dark face, so the cat seems to look right at you. Each Moggy Lamp sits steady on its own feet, on a bedside table, windowsill or sideboard. It plugs into any USB plug or socket, and a little switch on the cable turns it on and off.

The result is a lamp that does more than “on” and “off”. It turns a corner of the room into a calm, warm favourite spot – with a little cat keeping watch in the glow.

“Some of my customers have had their cat in the front room for over 15 years”

Gwen pulls an old biscuit tin out from under the workbench. Inside are hundreds of letters and cards. “These are thank-you notes from customers. Some have written to me for decades,” she says. She takes out a card dated 2011. It reads: “Dear Mrs Ashby, your cat lamp has stood on my bedside table for years now. Every night I switch it on and read a few pages – and it still glows as warm and lovely as the first day.”

There is a simple reason for this: care instead of speed. Big factories are built for volume. Gwen works one piece at a time. A Moggy Lamp takes many hours – from the first sketch, to painting every panel, to fitting the light and the final check.

The end of an era – and one last chance

Just before Christmas, Gwen will close her workshop for good. “There’s no one to take over. Nobody wants to learn this kind of work any more – it takes years before you really have it in your hands.” Around 480 Moggy Lamps are still stacked on her shelves. Her life’s work. The last collection that will ever pass through her hands.

To make sure they go to good homes before the workshop closes, she has made an unusual decision: a clear special price on every lamp. “It’s not about the money any more. I want my cats to sit in front rooms, bedrooms and reading corners where people really love them. With people who understand how much work goes into a piece like this,” Gwen says. “My grandchildren Ellie (24) and Josh (27) are helping me sell them online – at my age I’ve no idea how all that internet business works,” she adds with a laugh.

Josh also came up with the name. “He said the little cat looks like a moggy keeping watch over the house at night – a glowing companion that makes the evening feel calm,” Gwen says. The name stuck. And for many customers, a simple table lamp became a much-loved evening ritual: switch on the light, take a deep breath, and end the day in the company of a softly glowing cat.

What sets Gwen’s Moggy Lamps apart:

• Made in Gwen’s workshop: Every Moggy Lamp is painted, assembled and checked one by one – no mass production, no conveyor belt.
• Soft, warm-white light: A quality LED inside gives a cosy, gentle light that is easy on the eyes – perfect for the sofa corner, bedside table or reading chair.
• Built to last: A sturdy body, steady feet and a neat cable with its own switch – made for many years of daily use.
• Mood light instead of harsh glare: The Moggy Lamp glows softly without dazzling – ideal as an evening light, night light or background light.
• Simple to use: Plug it into any USB plug or socket, flick the little switch, done. No bulbs to change, no fiddly wiring.
• Limited: Only around 480 Moggy Lamps left from Gwen’s final collection – when they’re gone, there will be no more.

What real customers say about the Moggy Lamp

• ★★★★★

  “I never thought such a small lamp could change a room like this! When I switch the Moggy Lamp on in the evening, my front room turns into a cosy little island. The light is warm and the cat looks so calm – I often just sit and look at it for a minute.”

  – Sandra H., 56, Leeds
• ★★★★★

  “I work long days and usually get home late. Since the Moggy Lamp has been on my sideboard, I actually look forward to switching it on. No glaring ceiling light, just a soft, calming glow. Perfect for winding down.”

  – Linda B., 38, Manchester
• ★★★★★

  “I was worried it would just be a bit of tat – but I’m completely won over. It feels well made, stands steady and the light is lovely and warm. In the evening it really does look like a little cat keeping watch over the room.”

  – Margaret M., 64, York
• ★★★★★

  “My son fell in love with it straight away. He calls it ‘our goodnight cat’. Every evening he switches it on himself before we read a story. Bedtime has been so much calmer since. You can tell a lot of love went into it.”

  – Tom K., 41, Sheffield

“The perfect present for the people you really love”

Her customer Susan M. (48) from Harrogate agrees: “I gave my mum a Moggy Lamp for her bedside table two weeks ago. She had tears in her eyes – not because of the lamp itself, but because she could feel straight away how much love and work had gone into it. Now she only switches on the cat in the evening, reads a few pages and says: you can’t put a price on that feeling of calm.”

Where can you buy Gwen’s Moggy Lamp?

Gwen’s Moggy Lamp is only available through Cedar & Tin – an online shop that specialises in real handwork from selected makers. Her grandchildren Ellie and Josh run Gwen’s own little corner of the shop there. Only there will you get the original Moggy Lamps from her workshop. Similar-looking lamps from mass production have started to appear on Amazon and other big sites. At first glance they may look alike, but they have nothing to do with Gwen’s work.

Only this winter – then it’s over

Gwen plans to close her workshop for good just before Christmas. “By then I’d like every Moggy Lamp to have found a good home. After that, it really is the end,” she says quietly. She gives a wistful smile. “36 years. It’s been a lovely time.”

If you would like one of the original Moggy Lamps from Gwen’s final collection, don’t wait too long. With the special price and so much demand, the remaining stock is not expected to last.

It is the last chance to bring a piece of real handwork into your home – before Gwen’s glowing cats are gone for good.

The verdict

The Moggy Lamp is the lamp people fall in love with. It is made by hand in Gwen’s workshop and feels like a small, glowing place of calm for your home – with warm light that makes the sofa corner, bedside table or reading chair instantly cosier.

A feel-good piece with real heart – lovingly designed, well made, thought through – and every time a small moment of magic when the Moggy Lamp starts to glow in the dusk. Thank you, Gwen!

The internet loves the Moggy Lamp

• ★★★★★

  “It makes me sad that makers like Gwen are dying out and hardly anyone values their work any more. I ordered two Moggy Lamps straight away – one for our bedroom, one for my parents. We all love them, especially in the evening when only the cat is glowing and the whole room feels calm and warm.”

  – The Novak family, Bristol
• ★★★★★

  “I love the look on its face – the Moggy Lamp really does seem to watch over everything. The warm light is so cosy, no flickery cold LED. It’s part of our evening routine now: light on, book out, wind down.”

  – Laura S., Nottingham
• ★★★★★

  “Our reading corner used to be just a corner. Since the Moggy Lamp moved in, every visitor stops and asks about it. My children call it ‘our light cat’ and want to switch it on themselves every evening.”

  – Jane P., Norwich
• ★★★★★

  “So much charm, so cosy – we’ve never had a lamp like it! When it gets dark outside and only the Moggy Lamp is glowing, it feels like it’s quietly watching over our home.”

  – Maria K., Edinburgh
• ★★★★★

  “Bought one for my nan’s 80th. She’s had cats all her life and now she says she has one again that never needs feeding. It sits on her windowsill and the neighbours wave at it.”

  – Sarah G., Cardiff