Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW Be it a glowing half moon for a newborn's nursery or a big shining red apple for a retiring teacher, Claudia Walsh has a gift lamp for every occasion. "They're everlasting," Walsh said about the lamps on every surface of her Reflections by Claudia showroom. "Everybody just seems to appreciate the warmth and the beauty." Walsh has been in business for six years, though her store was formerly under another name. The niche lamp retailer began her business by specializing in remembrance lamps, which remains her biggest market. The idea for these came to Walsh shortly after the death of Walsh's elderly father. "On his last visit to my home, he was very sick," she said. "He asked me to put on a little light for him and after he passed, that little lamp just reminded me of him." In lieu of flowers or donations, Walsh markets specialty lamps as gifts to grieving families. Frosted pink roses with iron stems, petal shades adorned with sculpted butterflies and tiffany-style dragon fly lamps are all popular choices. "I had started to send lamps to friends when four of mine had lost parents," Walsh said. "I knew then that I had happened upon a good idea for an alternative bereavement gift." With prices ranging from $35 - $350, customers choose from a large variety of lamps to reflect a broad spectrum of personalities and statements. An embossed card, personalized to the recipient, is hand delivered with the lamp to the homes of local families. Beyond her courier service to South Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut, Walsh ships her wares to customers across the country. "People find a special place for them," Walsh said. "Often times, I get hand-written notes from the people who have received them." One of these notes stands out to Walsh as a perfect example of why she sells bereavement lamps. It was a two-page typed letter written by the father of a young woman who died of cancer shortly after being married. The lamp he was given was antique-looking with a soft pastel shade of a summer's day and butterflies, the universal symbol for life Walsh said. In the letter he talked about the antiquity of the lamp that was so respresentative of his daughter who loved antiques and nature, Walsh explained. The butterflies had reminded him of her summer wedding, when two butterflies danced by them. "Every bit of his sadness, grief and joy of his daughter sat there in those words," Walsh said. "It was so much from his heart." Reflections by Claudia is located at 23 North Main St., East Longmeadow. For more information call 526-9792. | ||||||
