Creator Mundi (“Creator of the world”) is a Christian gifts store offering symbols of faith that are biblically-based, of the finest artistic quality and culturally authentic. We offer beautiful and authentic sacred gifts. You are welcome to visit our gallery located in Englewood, Colorado (click here to visit the Contact page for address and map).
Biblically-Based
- Rooted in and expressive of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.
- Communicating ecumenical breadth, spiritual power and theological depth.
- Illuminating our own sacred stories and parables.
Finest Artistic Quality
- Bearing the weight of mystery, awe, reverence and wonder.
- Expressing the transformative power of spirituality and religious faith.
- Mediating meaning through authentic materials, skilled workmanship and graceful beauty.
Culturally Authentic
- Emerging from religious and culturally authentic sources, artists and monasteries.
- Conceived and borne out of the unique spiritual journey of artists justly compensated for their labors.
- Not mass-produced in culturally-dissimilar countries.
Creator Mundi – Distinctive Sacred Art & Gifts is a brick-and-mortar gallery and a unique online retail e-commerce website (www.creatormundi.com) providing culturally authentic Catholic and Christian art & gifts. Creator Mundi is also a provider of sacramental and heirloom-quality gifts to nonprofit institutions nationwide, and a wholesaler to religious, spiritual and boutique gift shops throughout the U.S. Creator Mundi – Distinctive Sacred Art & Gifts is a woman-owned business founded in 1987.
Creator Mundi designs and imports Catholic & Christian art and symbols of faith including bronze crosses, crucifixes, statuettes, figurines, Patron Saint plaques, and nativities from Germany; dolomite statues, nativities, and rosary plaques from France; exquisite enamel-on-bronze crosses and crucifixes from France; glass millefiori cross pendants from Murano, Italy; and one-of-a-kind artwork from Western Europe and the U.S. Creator Mundi is the official and exclusive importer for Catholic bronze crosses and quality religious gift items from the Benedictine Abbey of Maria Laach, Germany as well as the North American representative of several other German bronze foundries and Catholic French art studios.
The Creator Mundi collection focuses on quality of design and materials and on culturally authentic religious art and gifts made by skilled artisans. Culturally authentic art emerges from religious and culturally authentic sources, artists, and monasteries. Such art is conceived and born out of the artist’s unique spiritual journey. Culturally authentic art is not mass produced in culturally unrelated countries. Each bronze piece starts as an idea in the artist’s imagination and is crafted into form. Then, it is made into a unique sand cast and compressed into a mold that can withstand the heat and pressure from 1200 degree molten bronze. In the final stages, each piece is tumbled and sanded, patina added, and then polished by goldsmiths who bring the artist’s vision to life. Artisans who create the bronze crosses and plaques apprentice for three years to learn the Old World techniques. Each piece is touched by at least a dozen pairs of hands. Customers feel the weight and quality of our pieces and are inspired in truth and beauty. Our pieces draw you in and allow you to connect meaning to your own life. Celebrate meaningful milestones with our symbols of faith, love, hope and comfort. Celebrate the Catholic & Christian sacraments with heirloom quality gifts from the Creator Mundi collection.
Creator Mundi began with a small shard of fine china discovered by a young child, Hildegard Letbetter, in the bombed-out rubble of her hometown of Cologne, Germany. This small piece of beauty in the midst of the horror and ugliness of war’s aftermath became the leitmotif of Hildegard’s search for beauty in our broken and suffering world, and her encounter with Absolute Beauty which we name “God”. Hildegard treasured the Christian gift items and articles of religious devotion of her Catholic childhood and remembered these beautiful gift items when she moved to the U.S. in the 1970’s. She continued to bring them over again and again from Germany to her family and friends in Littleton, Colorado, where they enjoyed a reception which soon reached far beyond the boundaries of Colorado and even of the United States. These bronze pieces stood out as truly distinctive and sacred in a plastic ocean of gift items of religious kitsch, mostly made in sweatshops in China. She realized she wanted to give others an alternative to plastic and cheap metal crosses and have the Catholic and Christian faith tradition be represented and celebrated by quality and noble materials. She decided to gather sacred art that is handcrafted by artists who share and are devoted to the Catholic and Christian faith, are justly compensated for their labor and who work in a safe and healthy environment. Creator Mundi helps these artists and communities reach a wider audience by promoting their powerful symbols of faith.
Creator Mundi is Latin for Creator of the world. By using Latin – the liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church for over 1,500 years – Creator Mundi is affirming its rootedness in Catholic faith and sacramental sensibility. However, while rooted in the Catholic tradition, Creator Mundi is fundamentally and intentionally ecumenical. “Ecumenical” — derived from the Greek οἰκουμένη (oikoumene) — refers to the “entire inhabited world” (hence the “mundi” in Creator Mundi). Creator Mundi honors all faith traditions with its primary focus on the many denominations that make up the rainbow spectrum which is Christianity in North America today. The Creator Mundi logo highlights the silhouette of two spires rising up in the middle of its name. This image calls to mind the two majestic spires that adorn the magnificent Cathedral of Cologne, Germany, the city where Hildegard Letbetter (the founder and owner of Creator Mundi) was born and raised. The name distinctive sacred art and gifts succinctly embodies what Creator Mundi offers: uniquely distinctive sacred art of heirloom-quality for the home, hospital, school and church, as well as exceptional, heirloom-quality gifts composed of noble materials and suitable for every occasion, season, recipient, and sacramental celebration. Hence the motto of Creator Mundi: Quality is indeed always the best value!
Creator Mundi strives not only to address the interests and needs of Catholics, not only to speak in truly ecumenical fashion to all other Christians and those who profess other religious traditions, but also to respect and honor every person of conscience and goodwill who is in search of the transcendent, of truth, of beauty, of the holy and the sacred. Creator Mundi invites them to consider a collection of the finest heirloom quality sacred art and religious gift items available today not only for Catholics, other Christians, those of religious faith, and those of none, but also for anyone and everyone who believes that love is stronger than hate, life is stronger than death, and that beauty – the beauty of the sacred – is stronger than the seemingly inescapable and harsh ugliness and dull mediocrity which creeps into our lives, our family gatherings, and even into sacramental celebrations (baptisms, confirmations, first communions, weddings, ordinations), as well as into celebrations of life’s milestone (birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, funerals, and condolences).
Sacred spaces…
Sacred places…
Heirlooms for the family.
At home and at work.
Comments Welcome!
We welcome your comments and suggestions so that we may continue to help you to create inspiring, sacred spaces–bringing a spiritual presence to the places where your life and the lives of your families and communities unfold.
Hildegard Letbetter, founder & the Staff of Creator Mundi