Genesis Biopod - mini ocean reef urn

I stumbled across a mention of a new urn called Genesis Biopod.  This urn is meant to be filled with ashes and lowered to the ocean floor. The ashes dissolve leaving the urn to form  “a mini marine habitat for ocean critters” as they say on their website. The urn can be shipped anywhere and individuals can fill the urn, take it out on a boat and lower it themselves. The urn only weighs 10 pounds and is 22 inches wide and was inspired by the shape of a tortoise shell.

This the latest in the ocean reef burial idea.  I first heard of cement artificial ocean reefs created on land with pockets for ashes. Some companies mixed the ashes into the wet cement.    The structures weighed hundreds of pounds and required a crane to get them into the ocean waters.  These large artificial reef structures were deposited in close proximity to each other creating an underwater burial site. Florida companies like Eternal Reef and Great Burial Reef were the first to build and these reefs.  Other groups like My Living Reef, began offering artificial reef urns off the California coast.

The Neptune Society’s memorial reef took the artificial reef urn idea and added statutes of lions and staircases going nowhere to suggest a lost underwater city, Atlantis or something.

Great Burial Reef now offers a individual ocean reef urn that is much more attractive than their earlier cement block version.

Great Burial Reef's new Living Urn

Probably it’s better for the ocean to have the big concrete monolith artificial reefs, but these stylish urns are warm, personal and beautiful. Visit the Product Gallery’s Ocean Reef Memorials page to view various types of ocean reef memorials. - AC

Sunday Morning features modern caskets

My husband watches “Sunday Morning” every…. well, you know, every Sunday morning.  Anyway, a couple of weeks ago they did a feature on the changing consumer desires for caskets.

They address the personalization craze with caskets covered in pictures and  the African type carved into particular shapes.  They also address the green, simple casket movement.  They interview Ruth Faas and Sue Cross  from Mourning Dove Studio in Arlington, MA.

The piece is a few minutes long and interesting. Check it out  – http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6511594n&tag=cbsnewsVideoArea.0

Funeral planning has changed and you can see it in people’s changing attitude toward caskets. One size does not fit all. People want personal and some want simple and green. – AC

Water cremation has been around for years and is now gaining attention as people seek greener alternatives to cremation. On TheFuneralSite.com we’ve call this form of  disposition Resomation others call it Water Resolution or Bio-Cremation.

California is looking at amending the law to allow this form of cremation. Sounds like funeral directors like the idea. It supposed to be significantly less expensive than traditional fire cremation. Another advantage to funeral directors is that they do not need to go through the difficult and expensive procedure for obtaining air emission permits from local air pollution agencies that are necessary with fire cremation.

Right now Florida is the only state allowing this form of cremation. The first commercial bio-cremation facility is expected to become operational in St. Petersburg in the next few months.

I predict that in this new form of cremation will be the next big thing in the funeral industry.

It makes sense – - it’s less expensive, creates less pollution and is more, gentle, than fire cremation.  People will love it. – AC

Lundgren Monuments is the collaboration between two professional glass artists, Jim Nelsen and Greg Lundgren.

June 3-18, 2010 in Seattle,  Lundgren Monuments is hosting an exhibition of urns. As stated in their press release:

Lundgren Monuments is proud to present The Architect and the Urn – a west coast exploration of the cremation urn as architectural object, June 3 – July 18, 2010. Over thirty architects from Seattle to Los Angeles approach the design and concept of housing human ash in this complex and conceptually rich exhibition.

The Architect and the Urn, an exhibition on the design and concept of housing human ash

"Shell" an urn made from pressed paper that dissolves in water over time

I stumbled upon this gorgeous  urn for burial at sea.

It’s made by Lots and Swedish design company. Messages can be written on the urn and there is a small pocket on the top to place sentimental objects.

I don’t know of any companies in the USA that carry the Shell urn, but I’ll look around.  Shell would make a fantastic addition to the Product Gallery’s urn collection.  People shopping for a biodegradable urn will love this elegant design. Again we’re all about presenting people with funeral planning choices.

I like it, but some may feel it looks like something out of a science fiction movie.  – AC

The Association for Butterfly Release offers a free class on how to release butterflies at funerals

The Association for Butterflies is offering a free class on how to release butterflies at funerals.   With spring around the corner butterfly release may be a wonderful experience  for people grieving the loss of someone they loved.

Butterflies are symbolic of  regeneration and transformation. Plus, they are amazingly beautiful.

We have a category for Butterfly Release in the Product Gallery and are seeing that after urns and caskets, butterfly release generates a lot of interest from people doing funeral planning. Lots of clicks out to vendors butterfly websites each month.  – AC

Handcarved Headstone from Stone Letters

Take a look at these beautiful one-of-a kind headstones.

Stone Letters is a UK company looking at growing its market into the USA.  We hope to add their products to the Product Gallery’s  Monument Category.

The Product Gallery is the best place to find a wide variety of funeral products and services.  For people doing funeral planning it’s  a great place to explore ideas and connect with businesses.  – AC

TheFuneralSite.com's new Product Gallery will help transform the funeral industry

That’s what I’m up to here at TheFuneralSite.com, transforming the funeral industry.

We want to see the industry open up so that people have more information and choice when it comes to funeral planning.

TheFuneralSite.com has the best objective funeral planning information on the web and is now building the Product Gallery to provide more information and to help other funeral businesses grow.

In the three years that I’ve been working in the funeral industry I’ve seen many small funeral businesses fold. They typically are a mom and pop working from home, making urns or caskets to sell to the funeral homes or to the public.  Unless they find a a couple of funeral homes willing to sell their product these small businesses fail within a year.

We want to help these small independent businesses survive against the truly monolithic funeral industry.  And are doing so with a new feature on www.thefuneralsite.com called the Product Gallery. We will pack the Product Gallery with as many funeral related businesses as possible. The obvious companies like casket and urn companies, but also service companies like ash scattering airplane pilots, butterfly release companies, DNA storage companies…..

Why? Because having as many businesses as possible in the Product Gallery moves us closer to our goal of transforming the funeral industry.

The more beautiful and diverse products we have in the Product Gallery, the more traffic we get, and therefore, the more leads we send to vendors in the Product Gallery. The more successful these businesses are in connecting with customers, the more the funeral industry will have to open up to businesses not necessarily partnered with funeral homes and, as a result, people will have more information and choice when funeral planning. Easy peezy!

I care. I want people to love the Product Gallery.  This model is a win – win for everyone.

Together we can transform the funeral industry.  – AC

I’m impressed with the material. Landmark isn’t magic or religion. It is a “greatest hits” collection of the world’s best teachings on how to be a fulfilled human being.

I’m new at all this but sometimes I do feel empowered by the work; like I can make just about anything happen for myself.

Right now, TheFuneralSite.com is a website packed with information to help and encourage people who want to get involved in creating thoughtful and personal funerals, memorials and other end-of-life rituals for themselves and their loved ones.

Right now, TheFuneralSite.com helps small businesses gain traction in reaching families looking for unique products or services.

What else is possible for the site? Lots.  – AC

We want to add more dimensions to MY FUNERAL with an interactive gallery of options where appropriate. For instance, in the section asking about special readings  you want at your funeral, we’d like to add a searchable list of poems/readings to consider. Same thing with the song selection. Need to find a song for your funeral peruse the song gallery.

Here’s an example of a recent comment we received on MY FUNERAL:

Thank you for this tool.  What a gift to family to be able to make so many decisions ahead of time and record them, and to be able to update them annually. . .

Thanks again for making this tool available.  You have thought of so many details that I would not have thought of.

I intend to print my plan and give copies to family members, even though I am only 40, because you just never know…. It will be the last gift that I am able to give.  Thanks again for providing the tool on your site. – Dawn S.(quote used with permission)

When I told David about this I teared up. This email isn’t unique,  just one of the better written comments we’ve received.

This work means a lot to me.  I’m not giving up. I’m going to work to promote the growth of  thoughtful, personal, engaging, meaningful funerals and other end of life ceremonies in America.

Here we go! – AC