Who doesn’t enjoy the sound of wind chimes ringing in the breeze? Woodstock Chimes offers a wide selection of chimes to enhance any patio. I had the opportunity to test and review the Capiz Solar Chime from Woodstock’s eco friendly, Asli Arts line. The Capiz chimes are made from natural, renewable resources and handcrafted by Balinese artisans – hand strung and hand dyed.
The Capiz Solar Chime we tested uses full capiz shells gently farmed in Indonesia. In the 1500s, capiz shells, the outer shell of the marine mollusk, were used as windowpanes in houses; however, today they are used in various home decorations, including lamp shades, vases and wind chimes.
What makes these chimes different is their solar panel and a LED light, which enables the chime to cast off a soft, mood enhancing light in addition to its chime. The solar panel charges the chime’s battery during the day and a sensor turns the light on at dusk as the sun goes down. The solar panel piece is removable making it convenient to hang the chimes with or without it.
Another feature of Capiz Solar Chimes is that they are not small. They are actually quite large, measuring 24” in length and approximately 8” in diameter. The circle shapes of the chimes are sliced, shaped, sanded and dyed. The string used is a strong, invisible nylon, like fishing line. The recycled shells hang from a round sturdy pieced of metal.
The chimes sound very pretty and brought a big smile to our almost two-year-old’s face as he listened to them tinkle. We all really liked the neat look of the chimes. We did not think they had a unique sound though, as they sounded like your typical chimes tinkling in the wind.
One of our daughters thought the wind chimes would look great hanging in the corner in their room, so perhaps we could start a new indoor wind chime fashion.
If holiday shopping is still on your to do list and you have an outdoorsy person or gardener on your list, (or a young girl looking to spruce up her bedroom), Woodstock Chimes might just be the thing you are looking for. The Capiz Solar Chime may be purchased at www.chimes.com for $54.95
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Solar wind chimes is definitely an interesting concept. It is nice to see new innovations on things that we are quite familiar with. Adding new functionality that is novel as well as environment friendly is a great way to make a product more attractive and useful. We run a web directory called Climatarians where we feature such green initiatives.
Lovely concept. how about pushing something made in America. Outsourcing is not an option for my buying power, green or otherwise.
Yes, I agree with both of you that it is a neat concept. They are actually very pretty. They seem to almost glow in the sunlight, even without the solar panel.
Joan, it would be great to push something made in America. If you have ideas, please send my way. I am always open to suggestions.
Thanks for the discussion.
i like this kind of chime and the capiz material makes it more elegant.