My cremation urns are all one of a kind originals or one of a kind sets.
The only time I will make a reproduction burial urn is if a patron requests a matching
vessel to that of the loved one whom he or she intends to be lain to
rest with. Here, "one of a kind" actually means "one of a kind"
It does not mean that the only differentiating characteristic
in any cremation urn is the wood grain pattern. It does not mean that I make
a bunch of poplar urns with a duplicator, stain them different colors, and
call them unique. I won't insult you or your intelligence that way. What it does mean is they actually are
unique.
Your loved one was a totally unique individual with all of the hopes and dreams,
perils and pleasures, triumphs and tragedies and all of the combinations of
qualities that made them who they were. Should not their final resting
place be just as unique? That is why I make only totally unique cremation urns.
It may seem to some unwise to not mass produce a nice design,
and that is exactly what we would do if making money was our only goal.
We do have other goals, loftier goals, and while it is a good thing and the proper thing
to make money to provide a future for our children, when I am laid to rest, I don't want want my headstone to brag about
how much I made. I would rather it declare how I loved God, my wife
and kids and that I brought grace and beauty into this world through art.
That is what I prefer and this is my art, and that is why I make only totally unique cremation urns..
What is certain is that others will copy my burial urns most probably with cheap materials,
but you will always know that you bought the real thing that was made out of genuine exotic woods and
carefully selected domestic woods, made by human hands, guided by the heart. You will always know that you chose
the one of a kind best rather than settled for something mass produced on a cold machine, at some
smoggy factory in China or India. That is why I make only totally unique cremation urns.
So why do we sell only one of a kind cremation urns? We do it that way
because the cookie cutter way bespeaks conformity and with every breath I
draw let me never conform. We do it that way because good art by definition is non conformity,
and that places a duty on us to make it better, to make it unique because that is what your family deserves in
this difficult time.
Thanks for helping me succeed in originality.
Sincerely,
J.C. Sutherland
