Cremation urns used to be simple, vase-like containers meant to adorn a bookshelf or a spot on the mantle. Nowadays, cremation urns run the gamut from biodegradable urns to pricey, highly customized art pieces. Some options are admittedly tacky, such as urns shaped into busts bearing the deceased’s likeness. Other options, such as birdhouses, are more poetic and symbolize the circle of life.
One Minneapolis-area company has expanded the possibilities for cremation urns using 3-D printing technology. Eden Prairie-based startup Foreverence provides custom 3-D printed urns that allow families to create unique urns in the shape and look of something symbolic of or personal to the deceased: cars, pianos, ballet slippers, golf clubs, and much more. Foreverence counts a celebrity as one of its clients: The company’s first custom 3-D printed urn was a replica of the famous red hat worn by the band Devo for Bob Casale’s death.
Foreverance ups the classiness of the urns by using ceramic, instead of the plastic typically used in 3-D printed objects. Their customized urns take approximately nine hours to complete and require a ceramic-composite powder to be fed into the printer. The shape and look of the urn emerges after it has been dusted and given the final touches by Foreverence staffers and designers.
The price for personalization? The urns run about several thousand dollars, making them more of an investment than other, standard options. However, families find it is well worth the price. According to Foreverence CEO Pete Saari, who spoke with TwinCities.com, Casale’s family receiving the energy-dome urn was “the first joyous moment in a dark period of time for them.” In fact, they liked it so much, they asked for a second one.
Cremation and the Personalization Trend
Families in Minneapolis and around Minnesota have chosen cremation over burial because, among other benefits, it allows families to personalize and customize their memorials. For many people, ground burials are somber, impersonal affairs that don’t allow friends and family members to remember their loved ones in a way that brings them comfort.
In contrast, cremation allows for customization. After a simple, affordable cremation service, families are able to scatter the ashes, bury the urn in-ground or in a columbarium, or keep the ashes in any number of cremation urns and keepsakes. For family members who don’t like the finality of lowering a casket into the ground and prefer to keep loved ones close, cremation is the optimal choice.
Plan your Minneapolis cremation with Neptune Society today and create the memorial that honors a unique life.
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The Neptune Society is the nation’s oldest and largest provider of affordable cremation services. Whether you have an immediate need or want to plan cremation services in advance, we are always available to assist you and your family.
Call 1-800-NEPTUNE (800-637-8863) today or contact us online to learn more.
