Handmade closed terrariums

alive-ish Closed terrariums for people who forget (they own plants).

Handmade little ecosystems designed to need a little less from you.

See What’s Available Start a Custom

Not everything has to be thriving to be growing.

A closed terrarium built inside a clear glass skull bottle — moss, a tiny fern and green stones — held up in the sun.

The skull one. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s alive-ish.

Small ecosystems. Less plant panic.

Every terrarium is built by hand from plants, moss, soil, stone and tiny details — then sealed up so it can mostly look after itself.

Inside the glass, water cycles, light does its thing, and the little world keeps going with very little from you. No two grow exactly alike, which is kind of the point.

What if the plant took care of itself?

A row of cork-topped jar terrariums lined up on a paint-splattered workbench, condensation fogging the glass.

Terrariums

Little worlds, ready to go home.

Every batch is a little different. Containers, plants and little details change with what I can find — prices hold, the exact pieces don’t.

A glass globe terrarium on a wooden shelf with a small fern, a mound of cushion moss and a bed of tumbled colored stones.
Globe, fern and cushion moss
A tall cork-stoppered bottle terrarium with moss, a white stone and a tiny trailing plant.
Tall cork bottle
A swing-top bottle terrarium standing in front of a shelf of cork-topped jar terrariums.
Swing-top bottle

The menu

Prices for finished pieces. Tap a group for what’s usually inside.

See what’s available now on Instagram Ask what’s in stock

Current pieces live on @aliveish_. Not on Instagram? The contact form or a text works just as well.

A square cork-stoppered bottle terrarium with fine-leafed plants over multicolored stones.
A cork-topped jar terrarium with a small fern and a tiny figure standing on the moss.
A mini spice-jar terrarium with a spotted nerve plant and a tiny yellow mushroom figure.
A mini spice-jar terrarium with a red-and-green nerve plant and a tiny ladybug.
A row of hanging glass tube terrariums with cork tops, brass hooks, moss and strings of colored beads.

The longer you look, the more you’ll see.

Custom terrariums · from $25

Your container. Your idea. Your tiny ecosystem.

Bring me a clean container, or I’ll find one. Then we build something that fits your shelf, your budget and your particular brand of weird.

Customs start at $25. Final pricing depends on the container, size, plants, decorations and how complicated the idea is. I can work around a budget, a size, a plant or color preference, a vessel you love, a theme, a figure that needs a home. Not every vessel is a good candidate — some can’t seal, some can’t hold light — but I’ll tell you straight before we start.

Got a container?

Skull bottle, old candle jar, thrift-store globe, a lab beaker you probably shouldn’t have. If it’s clean and clear, send me a photo and we’ll talk about what could live in it.

Customs can also happen on the spot at participating events — bring a clean vessel.

A custom terrarium built in a clear acrylic box: moss hills, pale green stones, a small white mushroom figure and purple butterflies on the inside wall.
Hanging test-tube terrariums on brass hooks.

Start a custom

Short answers are fine. I’ll reply with ideas and a rough price.

Online form setup is still in progress. For now, text a photo or idea to (720) 588-3189.

Preferred contact
Do you have a container?
or text a photo of your container to (720) 588-3189

Life Support™

When your terrarium isn’t so alive-ish.

Fogging up, drying out, mystery mold, a fern that has clearly given up? That’s what Life Support™ is for.

I troubleshoot what’s going on, repair terrariums, help with struggling plants, and answer care questions — mine or one somebody else made. I also do Life Support™ at events, so you can bring a patient by. The relationship doesn’t end when something goes wrong. That’s usually where it gets interesting.

My Terrarium Needs Help

Care, briefly

  • Terrariums 12oz and larger come with care information.
  • Those pieces also include an “insurance spray” bottle. It ships empty on purpose — the included instructions explain when and how to use it.
  • If something looks off, ask. That’s Life Support™.
Three smiling people at a workshop holding up the jar terrariums they just built.

Events

Come find alive-ish in the wild.

Markets, pop-ups, the occasional brewery table. This is where most terrariums find their people.

At an event you can shop finished pieces, request a custom, bring a clean vessel and have it built on the spot, get Life Support™ for a struggling terrarium, ask care questions, and meet me. I’m the one covered in moss.

Upcoming

No events announced yet — follow @aliveish_ to see where I’ll pop up next.

Hosting a market or want alive-ish at your thing? Ask about an event.

Workshops & kits

Buy one, or make one.

Making a terrarium is the part people remember. Here’s how that can happen right now:

  • I come to you. Birthday, team thing, backyard, living room — I bring the materials and the mess mat.
  • Virtual workshop. Materials ship to you, then we build together on a video call.
  • Self-paced kit. A kit plus a guide and video so you can make one on your own schedule.
  • A dedicated workshop space may come later. It’s on the list.

Workshop pricing lands in a similar range to finished terrariums, depending on format and materials. Ask and I’ll put together something that fits.

Ask About a Workshop
A DIY terrarium kit laid out on a green mess mat: small jars of stone, charcoal, moss and soil, bamboo tools, a scoop and a mini spray bottle.
What ships in a kit: layers, tools, a mat you’ll be glad you have.

Shipping & delivery

Finished terrariums

Fully assembled glass terrariums don’t ship. Glass, soil and the post office is a bad combination. Local pickup or delivery only.

DIY kits

Deconstructed kits can ship. Shipping is quoted case by case, and shipping questions generally get a reply within 48 hours.

Local delivery

Free for the first 10 miles. Each additional 5 miles adds $5. I’ll confirm the total before anything leaves the studio.

Ask about a kit or delivery in the contact form.

About

Hi, I’m Lex. I make terrariums.

I started making them because I wanted plants that could take care of themselves a little more.

I’m very much a semi-green thumb. I’ve somehow kept aquatic plants alive for years while a lot of my soil plants have personally chosen death. Closed terrariums were the compromise: a little world that mostly runs itself, and forgives you when you forget.

Somewhere along the way it stopped being only about plants. Sometimes people aren’t thriving either. Sometimes we’re just getting through it — and that doesn’t mean we aren’t growing. A terrarium asks you to slow down and look closer. There’s always something small happening in there if you give it a minute.

Basically, alive-ish is about plants, but it’s also about the humans looking at them.

Contact

Say hi. Ask a plant question. Send a photo of a jar.

You don’t need Instagram to reach me — but it is where new pieces show up first.

Send a note

Online form setup is still in progress. Texting (720) 588-3189 or sending an Instagram DM works now.

Whichever you actually check.
See What’s Available Text