A NEW craft company is helping to light up this year’s Manchester Christmas markets.
Mouse and Moon are making their debut this year with their ‘Moonlighting’ range. Susan and Graeme Long from Shropshire founded the company in 2003 and friend Joe Beale is giving a helping hand.
The Longs have hand crafted hundreds of unique pieces of light art using glass bottles, images and light in their home studio, to create warm and ambient decorations,
Joe said: “It’s a tissue fabric that is hand placed around the bottle and then a resin is used over the top.”
This year alone the Longs have made around 3,000 bottles in a variety of patterns and colours.
The company began by using recycled bottles to create the art, however since the demand for the bottles increased, the company had to start buying new bottles and using recycled bottles just for larger pieces of work.
Mouse and Moon are the first company to create this type of artwork and because of it have been able to, as they say, ‘re-home’ thousands of recycled bottles, making the art not only eye –catching, but green too.
Susan is also an award – winning artist and sculptor.
Joe said: “The main line of business is garden statues. This was a side line, but has become one of the main products.”
There is a pattern to suit a warm and romantic room or to keep a babies’ room lit at night, a bottle to suit many needs.
With the bottles becoming more popular, Mouse and Moon are starting to need extra help to keep up with the high demand.
Joe said: “I know they’ve brought in a couple of friends over the last year or so to help run the business.”
Even though ‘Moonlighting’ has not been seen before at the Manchester Christmas markets, it is still popular elsewhere.
Joe said: “Susy started at the Chelsea flower show.”
The lights come in many different designs such as nature, African animals, music and even a Christmas themed bottle and work well for different occasions.
A new 2017 ‘Moonlights’ range will be available on the Mouse and Moon website from 1st February 2017.
If you would like to see the creations for yourself, ‘Mouse and Moon’ can be found on New Cathedral Street or go to the website at http://mouseandmoon.com/
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