“After 39 years, I’m closing my workshop” — Raewyn (71) from Nelson is selling her last Moggy Lamps at a special price. Her most-loved design is retiring.

In an old apple-packing shed at the top of the South Island, Raewyn Fairbairn has made unusual lamps for almost four decades – every one painted by hand, every one a little work of art. Now the 71-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.

Nelson, October. The old packing shed behind Raewyn’s white weatherboard villa smells of paint, warm solder and a fresh pot of tea. The apple crates are long gone. Now 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. Through the open door you can see the big Pōhutukawa by the gate, already full of buds. On the long table sit fine brushes, a soldering iron and a box of small warm-white lights. Raewyn leans over one of her last lamps, the way she has done every morning since 1986. But this year is different. This is her last Christmas collection.

“I’m 71,” she says quietly. “My hands just don’t want to do it anymore. 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 overseas. My way of working is slowly disappearing.”

39 years, over 14,000 lamps – a life spent bringing warm light into Kiwi homes

Raewyn has done the sums. In 39 years she has designed, painted and finished more than 14,000 lamps. Every single one went through her hands. “I started with a folding table at the Saturday market in Nelson,” she says. “Simple table lamps at first. Then people started asking for something special – something with a little 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 Raewyn’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 blinding 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 base, on a bedside table, windowsill or bookshelf. It plugs into any USB charger or port, and a little switch on the cord 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 – and for many families, the little cat has become the night light that sends the kids off to sleep.

“Some of my customers have had their moggy on the bedside table for over 12 years”

Raewyn reaches for an old biscuit tin on the shelf above the workbench. Inside are hundreds of letters and cards. “These are thank-you notes from customers all over the country. Some have written to me for decades,” she says. She takes out a card dated 2012. It reads: “Dear Raewyn, your cat lamp has been 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. Raewyn works one piece at a time. A single Moggy Lamp takes Raewyn about six hours A Moggy Lamp takes many hours – from#8211; 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, when the Pōhutukawa by her gate turns red, Raewyn will close her workshop for good. “There’s no one to take over. Nobody wants to learn this kind of work anymore – it takes years before you really have it in your hands.” Around 440 Moggy Lamps are still lined up 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 anymore. I want my cats to sit in lounges, bedrooms and kids’ rooms where people really love them. With people who understand how much work goes into a piece like this,” Raewyn says. “My grandkids Ruby (24) and Nikau (26) are helping me sell them online – at my age I have no idea how all that internet business works,” she adds with a laugh.

Nikau also came up with the name. “He said the little cat looks like a moggy keeping watch over the house while everyone sleeps – a glowing friend that makes the evening feel calm,” Raewyn 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 Raewyn’s Moggy Lamps apart:

• Made in Raewyn’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 gentle light that is easy on the eyes – perfect for the bedside table, the kids’ room or the reading chair.
• Built to last: A sturdy body, a steady base and a neat cord with its own switch – made for many years of daily use.
• Night light instead of harsh glare: The Moggy Lamp glows softly without blinding – ideal for falling asleep, for a late cuppa or as an accent light.
• Simple to use: Plug it into any USB charger or port, flip the little switch, done. No bulbs to change, no fiddly wiring.
• Limited: Only around 440 Moggy Lamps left from Raewyn’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 lounge turns into a calm little island. The light is warm and the cat looks so peaceful – I often just sit and look at it for a minute.”

  – Gillian T., 58, Christchurch
• ★★★★★

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

  – Aroha W., 39, Tauranga
• ★★★★★

  “I was worried it would just be cheap rubbish – 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.”

  – Lynne P., 66, Dunedin
• ★★★★★

  “My daughter fell in love with it straight away. She calls it ‘our goodnight moggy.’ Every evening she switches it on herself before we read a story. Bedtime has been so much calmer since. You can tell a lot of love went into it.”

  – Ben R., 42, Palmerston North

“The perfect gift for the people you really love”

Her customer Kirsty M. (46) from Timaru agrees: “I gave my mum a Moggy Lamp for her bedside table last Christmas. 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 switches on the moggy every night, reads a few pages and says: you can’t put a price on that feeling of calm.”

Where can you buy Raewyn’s Moggy Lamp?

Raewyn’s Moggy Lamp is only available through Cedar & Tin – an online shop that specialises in real handwork from selected makers. Her grandkids Ruby and Nikau run Raewyn’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 show up on Amazon and other big sites. At first glance they may look alike, but they have nothing to do with Raewyn’s work.

Only until Christmas – then it’s over

Raewyn 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. “39 years. It’s been a wonderful time.”

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

It is the last chance to bring a piece of real handwork into your home – before Raewyn’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 Raewyn’s workshop and feels like a small, glowing place of calm for your home – with warm light that makes the bedside table, the kids’ room or the reading chair instantly more peaceful.

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 at dusk. Thank you, Raewyn!

Everyone is talking about the Moggy Lamp

• ★★★★★

  “It makes me sad that makers like Raewyn are dying out and hardly anyone values their work anymore. 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 moggy is glowing and the whole room feels calm and warm.”

  – The Patel family, Hamilton
• ★★★★★

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

  – Sophie L., Napier
• ★★★★★

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

  – Hayley J., Invercargill
• ★★★★★

  “So much charm – we’ve never had a lamp like it! It even came to the bach with us over the holidays. When it gets dark and only the Moggy Lamp is glowing, it feels like it’s quietly watching over everyone.”

  – Mere K., Whangārei
• ★★★★★

  “Bought one for my nana’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.”

  – Jess D., Blenheim