Miniature ecosystems · sealed & living

A whole world,
kept under glass.

We build tiny, self-contained biomes and seal them into hand-blown domes — a rainforest the size of a grapefruit, a desert you could cup in two hands. Lean in. There is weather in there.

Peer inside the collection Build your own

“Kew, No. 01” — Cloud-forest cloche$168

The collection · four biomes

Four small climates,
each its own weather.

Every dome is a closed system — it makes its own rain. Choose a temperament: dripping and green, dry and patient, plush and slow, or quietly carnivorous.

Rainforest

A humid understory: nerve plant, baby fern, a single scarlet bromeliad. Fogs itself by lunchtime.

$168drips daily

High Desert

Golden barrel, haworthia, a scatter of quartz gravel. Wants light and long silences — water once a season.

$142near-zero care

Moss Garden

Cushion moss and haircap over a slate cairn. The slow one — it will outlive your houseplants and your moods.

$126plush & patient

Carnivore Bog

Tropical pitchers and a Venus flytrap in live sphagnum. Sits in rainwater; feeds itself if a fungus gnat is foolish.

$184rainwater only

How it keeps itself

A closed loop,
turning quietly.

A sealed dome is barely a chore — it is mostly a small machine that runs on light. Here is the whole cycle. Your job is four gentle nudges.

  1. 1 · Light

    Bright, indirect daylight drives photosynthesis. No direct sun — a sealed dome cooks. A north window is perfect.

  2. 2 · Transpire

    Leaves breathe out moisture. It beads on the glass — the weather you can see. This is the dome working, not failing.

  3. 3 · Rain

    Condensation runs down and re-waters the soil. The same cup of water falls again and again. You rarely add more.

  4. 4 · Tend

    Once a month: lift the lid to let it breathe, snip anything leggy, wipe the glass. A teaspoon of water if the soil looks pale.

Build your own · commissioned in-studio

Layer a world,
from the ground up.

Pick a vessel, a substrate, a hero plant, and a resident. The dome to the left updates as you go — it is roughly what will arrive on your doorstep, glazed and breathing.

Vessel
Substrate
Hero plant
Resident

Your world$146

Commission this dome

The studio

Built on a bench
by the river, in Portland.

Terrarium started as one leaking pickle jar on a windowsill and a stubborn question: could a jar of jungle keep itself alive if you simply left it alone? It could. It has, for nine years now — the original still sits, sealed, on the studio shelf, greener than the day we shut the lid.

We are three people, a kiln, and an unreasonable collection of moss. Each dome is planted by hand, tuned for a week under lights until its weather settles, then wax-sealed and photographed. We name them like ships.

  • 9years sealed & thriving
  • 2,400domes planted by hand
  • 1leaking pickle jar (retired)
The studio shelf, morning light — every dome making its own small rain.

Visit / commission

Come lean in.

The shop is open Thursday to Sunday on Water Avenue — pull up a stool, put your nose to the glass, and we will build a world to your climate. Or send a note and we will ship one, sealed and misted, anywhere it stays above freezing.

Studio 114 SE Water Ave, Portland OR

Hours Thu–Sun · 11–6

Say hi hello@terrarium.garden