String lights give a garden light. Coloured glass gives it colour. This lantern is built from stained glass mosaic pieces set by hand, and when the LED comes on at dusk the light doesn't just escape through the glass — it picks up the colour of every piece it passes through and throws it onto whatever is nearby. A table, a wall, a paling fence. The lantern lights up; the area around it turns jewel-toned.

Why It Stands Out

• Glass cut and set by hand — each piece is placed individually, so the mosaic layout differs between lanterns and the light it throws is never quite even
• Colour that lands on surfaces — different glass densities throw deep saturated colour from some panels and a paler glow from others, shifting depending on where you stand
• Runs itself, every night — a dusk-to-dawn sensor switches the LED on as the light fades and off again at dawn; no switching, no app, no timer
• 8–10 hours per charge — a 600mAh battery filled by 4–6 hours of direct sun covers a full night through most of the year
• 60,000-hour LED — no bulb to replace, which realistically means years of nightly use
• IP44 weather rated — handles rain, splashes and humidity outdoors
• Hangs or stands — a hook for branches, beams, shepherd's hooks and fence brackets, plus a flat base for tables and steps
• Two designs — Cylinder-Red runs warm through amber and deep red; Cylinder-Blue runs cool through teal, cobalt and green

Where to Use

• Verandah, pergola and under eaves — the best homes for it, because the colour lands on the structure around it and it stays sheltered
• Over an outdoor table — hung 30–50 cm above the table, the coloured light falls across the surface instead of disappearing into the air
• Against a fence or wall — the closer it hangs to a surface, the more you actually see the mosaic pattern
• Garden and backyard — from tree branches or shepherd's hooks, spread through planting
• Front door and entryway — beside a door or gate as a decorative welcome light
• Balcony and courtyard — compact enough where a full garden light would be too much

Worth being straight about the weather rating before you hang it. IP44 covers rain, splashes and humidity, but it's a lower rating than a fully sealed light. Under a verandah, pergola, eave or tree canopy it will be fine year-round. Fully exposed in the open through a heavy east-coast storm season or a tropical wet season, you're asking more of it than the rating covers. If your only good sun is out in the open, hang it there through the day and lift it under cover when serious weather sets in — it comes off the hook in a second.

Choosing between the two: Red suits warm timber decking, terracotta and brick. Blue suits grey, render and coastal planting. Pick for the surfaces you'll be lighting rather than the colour you prefer in daylight.

How It Works

1. The panel charges by day — the solar panel on the top surface converts sunlight and stores it in the 600mAh rechargeable battery. A full charge takes 4–6 hours of direct sun.
2. The sensor detects dusk — a light sensor reads when ambient light drops below its threshold and activates the LED automatically.
3. The LED lights the mosaic from inside — the integrated 60,000-hour LED illuminates the glass body from within.
4. The glass refracts the colour out — each coloured piece bends light differently depending on its density and angle, casting shifting patterns of coloured light onto nearby surfaces until the sensor switches off at dawn.

How to Use

1. Pick a spot with 4–6 hours of direct sun — on the top panel specifically, since partial shade is what cuts runtime.
2. Hang it or stand it — use the included hook on a branch, pergola beam, shepherd's hook or fence, or set it on a flat outdoor surface.
3. Switch the base to ON — this enables the automatic dusk-to-dawn operation.
4. Let it charge for one full day — before the first night, so you get full runtime straight away. After that it runs itself.
Tip: if the runtime seems short, it's almost always partial shade during the day rather than a fault. Even a few hours of shade across the panel cuts the charge significantly.

Care and Maintenance

• Wipe the solar panel — a soft damp cloth when dust builds up; this single habit does more for performance than anything else
• Rinse off salt near the coast — salt film builds up invisibly on the panel and quietly cuts charging efficiency long before the glass looks dirty
• Clean the mosaic gently — soft damp cloth and nothing abrasive; scrubbing can scratch the glass or work a piece loose
• Battery, not the light — if runtime drops off sharply after a long period of use, it's usually the battery reaching end of life. Get in touch and we'll point you to the right replacement
• Store it dry — if it's going away for a season, switch it off and keep it somewhere dry indoors

Specifications

What's Included

• 1 × Solar Stained Glass Lantern — design selected at checkout
• 1 × Hanging hook