This month Clear Light Urban Farm Store will celebrate their 49th anniversary and debut their brand redesign done in partnership with Sunny505.

“Clear Light started in 1971 by former owner Joshua Peine. After building a successful acting career in Hollywood throughout the 1960’s and armed with a handful of film and television credits, Peine grew tired of auditions, rejections, and head shots. So, he did what thousands of actors did before and after him, and in1970 he left it all behind. He made his way to New Mexico and the small community of Placitas. Peine began packaging cedar needles from the nearby trees in sachets, as gifts for close friends and family. The demand for his small gifts grew into a business.

One of Clear Light’s flagship products is its Cedar & Piñon Incense, formed out of a day long cooked cedar tea and then mixed with cedar oil and a proprietary gum. The clay-like substance is then run through a mold and dried for four days before it’s packaged for the customers. The incense gained international fame since the Hyatt Regency Tamaya burns it in their lobby 24-hours a day.”

New Mexico speaks through the buzz of bees, the hubbub of the farmer’s market, the desert wind blowing through cedar branches. A feast for the senses awaits. Clear light is New Mexico.

In 1971 CLEAR LIGHT laid its roots on the high desert nestled between the Rio Grande River and the Sandia Mountains. Inspired by the area’s electric energy, CLEAR LIGHT set out to create products that reflect life here: vibrant, enchanted, and defined by nature.

URBAN FARM STORE

The Clear Light Urban Farm Store started out as just the entryway to the historic downtown Albuquerque building, back when there was only the small skincare spa. Now the Farm Urban Store has grown into a beautiful retail space inside the renovated, historic 9,000 square foot former Danfelser School of Music built in 1940.

The ultimate in eco-friendly, the building is solar powered and has a catchment system to harvest rainwater to irrigate the farm. It represents their wonderful corner of East Downtown with a curation of artisan products ranging from CLEAR LIGHT cedar apothecary line and our New Mexico TRUE Foods line with Native American potery, local ceramics, books and housewares.

WILDCRAFTING

CLEAR LIGHT formulate their Clear Light essences by distilling and extracting fragrance from cedar needles, wildflowers, plants, bark, moss, and tree trimmings that they harvest from nature. CLEAR LIGHT are building new fragrance profiles from the American Southwest. The company is built on the simple idea that nothing smells better than nature and that the only way to bring this beauty home is to strap on your hiking boots and go get it. Unlike synthetic fragrances, these wilderness essences are extracted from real, native-plant sources.

PROCESS

These ingredients have been used in the region for thousands of years as it was part of the trade route connecting the Americas with the rest of the world. CLEAR LIGHT infuse this historic knowledge into their artisanal products using innovative practices that combine the best of the past and the present.

FORMULATION

All Clear Light products are 100% Natural, Organic and Wildcrafted. They are produced using old perfume making techniques including distillation, tincturing, infusion and enfleurage. CLEAR LIGHT handle every step of the process ourselves, from beginning to end.

STEWARDSHIP

All of CLEAR LIGHT plants are wildharvested or grown on their urban farm with the utmost sensitivity and respect for the existing wildscape. CLEAR LIGHT never use alien or invasive species and are actively involved in native plant restoration projects throughout the Southwest. CLEAR LIGHT revel in the intact natural habitats of the southwest, and tirelessly work to promote education as to how best to protect them.

My favorite products

SHINE BRIGHT CEDAR 10 HOUR CANDLE

All of CLEAR LIGHT candles are hand blended and hand poured in small batches to insure quality. Non-GMO soy way blended to hold the maximum fragrance. They are highly fragrant creating a wonderful aroma throughout your home or business. For the ultimate experience in home fragrance. CLEAR LIGHT use 100% recycled glass and a recycled tin lid for safe storage.

ESSENCE TRIAL KIT – FOUR 10 ML SPRAY BOTTLES

All FOUR of CLEAR LIGHT Cedar scents

• Cedar
• Lavender & Cedar
• Saffron & Cedar
• Tobacco & Cedar

ORIGINAL CEDAR LOTION

CLEAR LIGHT moisture rich lotion has the essence of crisp cedar needles in clean high desert air. More complex than a typical Frasier or Douglas Fir, it has a punchy, brightness that is really pleasing.

CEDAR HAND SANITIZER GEL – 4OZ

It has a fresh balsamic, aromatic fragrance with piney nuances. A green woody balsamic fragrance with a sweetish undertone. It finishes with a punchy, brightness that is really pleasing. 66% perfume grade 200 proof alcohol. Bottle color may vary. Some have disc caps as CLEAR LIGHT use recycled packaging. Bottle color may vary. CLEAR LIGHT use 100% recycled plastic.

CEDAR OF NEW MEXICO SACHET

This sachet is filled with fresh green cedar needles that will last forever. Native Americans have used cedar needles for centuries in everything from medicine to incense. CLEAR LIGHT needles are natural, wildcrafted, and untreated. Place several in closets, chests, and drawers; a must in luggage; refreshing in cars and boats.

ABOUT THE SHOP