Power of Personalisation: Custom Guitar for Lee Villaire

We were contacted by Roger shortly after the unexpected passing of Lee.  Separately and together, they wrote music and lyrics. He was looking for a special memorial that represented her lifelong love of music and singing.

To give us a connection to who Lee was, he emailed us some photos of her and some of their most recent songs.

Video of Lee and Roger performing "Worth the Wait" together

Roger decided he would like a guitar urn modeled after the guitar she had played the last 10 years... her curvy Yamaha Compass cut-away. 

Extra special and sentimental touches were added... a raised microphone adornment, engravings of song lyrics they wrote, and a love note in her handwriting. One song he sent with us was "Walk You Through", a song about losing a loved one.  We shared with him this moment of engraving her handwritten inscription...

Prior to completing Lee's guitar, we received the most thoughtful package from Roger that included 5 CDs of their music <3  We deeply appreciated his sweet words and the kind gesture given to us, even in his time of grief.

His note enclosed read:

Hello Jamaica & Rob,

Please find a small token of appreciation from Lee and I for the kindness, the personal touch and the love you have provided. Such a rare commodity these days. Service.

In the box are 3 early recordings of Lee, including her Canadian release. Also included are my only recordings with Lee helping, and Lee's last recording (solo that is), "Victory Dance".

Hope you enjoy,
Roger (& Lee)

We LOVED getting a chance to listen to a collection of Lee's music dating back nearly 20 years.  As well as, hearing Roger sing- we love his folky, soft-rock style.

We were honored to create this piece in her memory, finding connection through her music, and offering Roger some comfort with a tribute handmade with love.

 

 

The Power of Personalization: Cowboy Joe's Boots

Recently, we were asked by friends of the family to sculpt an urn for their loved one Joe.
Joe loved to ride his motorcycle, and was affectionately known as "Cowboy" to his bike club friends and loved ones.  It was decided that the most fitting tribute to remember him would be his cowboy boots.

His wife, Robin, sent us pictures of his most recent pair of boots, of which he wore with a spur on his right boot.  We used these pictures as our references to sculpt Joe's Boots.

Additional personal touches included engravings of his name, dates, a handwritten note to Robin.

We were able to hand deliver Joe's boots to his family. We were so touched by their warm response and kind words for Joe's memorial. We greatly appreciate Robin and her sister, Laura, for working with us to honor him through our artwork.

Inspiration Found: "Sing Me Back Home"

It's important to us to keep mindful of the gravity of bereavement art...to find empathy for each family we are serving. In order to feel more connected, we like to search for obituaries of those who are remembered with our art. We want to know the stories of their lives, for which, we sometimes cry and are often humbled.

With this guitar YURN, the family wanted the quote "Sing Me Back Home" engraved on his memorial.  We found this gentleman's obituary which mentioned his YouTube channel. We enjoyed listening to his music as we worked on his memorial. It was a great find to hear his cover of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home"....what special memories and music that he left for his family.

BEYOND AWESOME!!!...Connecting beyond the purchase

When given the opportunity, we love to connect with families.

It is hard to know everything our customers are going through following the death of their loved one. Often, we can only imagine the profound loss they are experiencing. When communicating with customers, we just allow that space to unfold how it needs to for those in mourning. 

Sometimes there is no communication beyond the email order, and that's certainly understandable. However, other times we have the chance to connect and collaborate ideas with the customer....we truly value these opportunities. It touches our hearts deeply when we can learn more about who the YURN is remembering.

Recently, we had a wonderful experience getting to know more about Mark through his wife Diane.  She shared photos and opened up to us about the great health challenges he experienced preceding his death....she told us about their 30 year relationship, his love for music, their travels together, their devotion to fostering hundreds of pets through the years, and how she loved to make him laugh.

She wanted his guitar YURN to be a perfect expression of him and her love for him.  We shared with her the different personalizations we could do to make it a unique and special piece.  We added a handwritten note with his frequent "Love you today" sentiment to her...a line from his favorite song along with his signature...her "Eternal Love" expression for him...his name and dates....and even painted it to match his favorite Martin guitar.

To be of service to her is a blessing to us. These opportunities to touch each others lives in a loving and heartfelt way is what it's all about, and we'll remember this connection always.

Practing Prototypes: Painting Our New Butterfly YURN

Practicing painting our new Butterfly YURN model. www.awesomeurns.com #funeral #art #cremation #urn #sculpture #butterfly #yurns #rememberance #memorial #patina #handmade #love

A photo posted by www.AwesomeUrns.com (@yurns.by.morzart) on Feb 1, 2017 at 7:55pm PST

New Model in the Works: Large Butterfly

That moment you open the kiln lid and find beautiful new YURN models... www.awesomeurns.com #cremation #urn #art #memorial #ashes #beautiful #memories #big #butterfly #angel #heart #wallart #sculpture #funeral #bereavement #remember #yurns

A photo posted by AwesomeUrns.com (@yurns.by.morzart) on Oct 29, 2016 at 10:31am PDT

New Model in the Works: Heart with Floral Engraved Design

We love this new YURN! MorzArt is pouring up a new model...a wall hanging heart-shaped urn with floral engraving along the sides...plus, this model can have Angel Wings added to produce flying heart sculpture! #heart #cremation #urn #wallart #angel #sculpture #love #unique #handmadewithlove #funeral #memorial #flyingheart #yurns #awesomeurns

A photo posted by AwesomeUrns.com (@yurns.by.morzart) on Aug 13, 2016 at 3:32pm PDT

Practicing Prototypes: Angel with Heart

We have been working on prototypes for our new Angel with Heart YURN. The first few casts of a new models is where we work our processes and color finishes. With this model, the angel's dress is the main vessel for cremains placement.

This prototype was made with Jamaica's grandmother, Doris, in mind. We personalized this model by engraving her initial "D", along with "Mom" and her grandma name, "Doie".  It won't be used as an cremation urn, but will hang on the tree that she rests under at the cemetery.

Soon we will be perfecting this model, taking pictures, naming it, writing copy and rolling her out into our production line!

New Model in the Works: Angel (Wings)

We've been working to perfect our new Angel YURN model. We molded our third pair of Angel Wings...the first two sets just weren't right, and we knew we could do better. Here we are slip casting the latest set... #thirdtimesacharm #keeper #angel #wings #cremationurn #heavenly #memorial #art #yurns #handmadewithlove #sculpture

A photo posted by AwesomeUrns.com (@yurns.by.morzart) on Jun 12, 2016 at 12:44am PDT

How It's Made: Wire Hanger for Wall Mount

Installing the high-temperature wire hanger used for hanging this YURN on a wall. The wire is fired into the clay body during the kiln firing process. All hangers on our YURNS are weight tested to 25lbs. to insure their safety when mounted as wall art. #cremation #urn #sculpture #remembrance #handmade #memorial #art #funeral #howitsmade #wallart #clay #guitar #grief #safetypatrol #care

A photo posted by AwesomeUrns.com (@yurns.by.morzart) on May 2, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT