Like so many things in life, a chance meeting of two people gave one of them a totally new direction in their life.  As a designer, always looking for inspiration, I found myself sitting next to a Funeral Director at an awards banquet. Because I had designed the awards for this occasion the conversation revolved around how I go about creating new pieces.  A meeting at our facility was arranged.  The funeral industry does not have beautiful pieces to offer families who choose to cremate their loved ones.  At present rather ordinary urns and boxes are provided in which to keep the ashes.  During his visit to our showroom, the director found many beautiful pieces of crystal including containers and vases.  When questioned further, he said that only a few ashes were needed, as many families want to share these with their extended family.  Therefore different sizes and price points would be necessary.

In my research and development of our concept, I wanted to include pieces of many sizes, from a pendant to a statement sculpture.  To start our experiments in permanently preserving loved ones’ ashes, I used our beloved dog’s ashes.  It then occurred to me that preserving the ashes of our loyal and cherished pets was also very important.

All of our research and efforts have been rewarded with the issuing of my third Patent. We are proud to present our initial collection, hand crafted in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania by the Artisans of Crystal Signatures.