"Amphora Creations is a family owned and operated business in Calgary, Alberta.  We build custom spec terrariums with customer guided input.  What is your favourite colour scheme?  Do you like a light, bright or natural  finished look?  Are you a water lover, an earth lover or a down to basics plants only lover?  Co-owners Treena and Jason love to create one of a kind pieces that incorporate succulent plants and airplants with natural elements.  Sand, wood, stones and earth – all pulled together with brilliant and natural colours.  No terrarium is exactly the same as another.
 
My name is Treena Isherwood.  Amphora Creations began during the Christmas holidays in 2015.  I was asked to build a terrarium at work for a peer who lost her mother.  The result was an outstanding number of co-workers all asking for their own terrarium creation for holiday gifts.  I was given very little information from each person wanting their own plant based gift.  “Please make mine ‘blue’ and ‘pretty’ and with whatever plants fit the container”.  That was the spark of my own creativity – being allowed to pull together glasswork, plants, sand and stones in ways that I’d not seen in the retail stores to date.
 
My partner Jason Johnson became involved in the early part of 2016.  He saw a niche market for the bowls and creations I’d been working on in my spare time.  Eventually, we would try our hand at wholesale product supply around the city.  We had some light interest, but the issues at hand always came back to people wanting a product that is truly unique to their own tastes.  Carbon copy items on a retail shelf simply didn’t work for our goods.  Customers are looking for something special that appeals to them and their loved ones.
 
We started making visits to local greenhouses and garden centres around the city in the early part of 2016.  We love plants!  And while we were looking to see how other places feature their goods - we would bring home random succulents and air plants and find fitting settings for each one.  Eventually, friends and family members started asking for pieces for birthdays, parties and seasonal holidays.
 
Next thing you know, we have a logo and inventory at home – and we love to make our unique vessels for anyone who asks.   There’s a certain amount of zen that goes into each container, vessel, bowl and creation.
 
Jason and I each have a teen daughter – and both girls love to work on projects with us.  Each of them has them own flair and passion for building terrariums.  And it is a great feeling to see our family unit pull together when orders are placed with Amphora Creations.
 
We have adopted a policy of recycled pieces as much as possible – from glass teapots, antique vases and cookware pieces, we have worked in a variety of bowls, containers, pots and even wood boxes.  Our customers love our work!  Not to mention our unique vision and creativity on each and every project.  We source from all over the city – looking for one of a kind pieces that will appeal to every kind of customer.  Half the fun, is finding the parts!
 
We typically ask a few questions at the beginning of each sale.  And most of our clientele trusts our creativity and allow us to work on their project with only a colour scheme to go with.  We have completed works with Scottish themes, Hawaii themes, natural desert themes and more.
 
If there was one thing we would say to our audience and clientele list – it is that we work with passion for our projects.  Each one is special.  Each has their own unique value – and we cherish each vessel that we create.  Because the secret to our success, is simply passing a product along that is outstanding.  Our customers love what we do .. because we love what we do!