coffins

Greg Holdsworth makes coffins in New Zealand.  He says:

We offer a wide range of real and hand-finished options made from sustainable wood, some with native timbers. Our designs are environmentally considered – if there’s a better way to do it we’re probably already doing so – and our appropriately priced caskets meet the highest performance requirements due to the functional construction techniques we apply. Environmental considerations include material choice, assembly options (fixings), handles, finishes and, of course, just using less material to make the caskets.

A great advantage of this coffin is that ‘mourners can sit with the deceased without having to stand and peer down into a box.’

I emailed Greg and asked him if I could use images of his Artisan coffin (above) on this blog. I also voiced a regret that no one in the UK is making them under licence. Greg says, “Return To Sender has the Artisan manufactured under licence in Australia and North America and would be keen to do the same in the UK if they find a suitable partner.” 

The words ‘suitable partner’ say it all. If you feel you are one, get in touch with him.

Find Greg’s website here. 

As far as Hallowe’en surprises go, finding a gang of men hiding in coffins bound for a funeral directors would be pretty spooky.

Especially when it’s a trio of stowaway immigrants trying to enter Britain illegally.

Border Force officers made the frightening discovery while searching a lorry from Bulgaria – across the border from Dracula’s Transylvania home.

Read all abaht it in (where else?) the Daily Mail. 

Some fine copywriting here from CoffinWorld: 

This PRISCILLIAN Cardboard Casket is manufactured using ash wood. This casket’s excellent high shine design is available in brown. Apart from the double cover top that gives selections for witnessing, this casket is available in the colour of Brown. The handles are dipped in gold-like brass tint. An intensive carving can be seen on top of the lid, plus the facet. To which are cautiously hand-sculpted with care.

 Inside you can discover the inner lining which is made out from the softest velvet fabric shaded in a delicate white hue. It truly is great for a beautiful funeral. This premium quality hand-sculpted casket offers nothing but dignity to the person you once adored.

More on CoffinWorld here. 

From the New Zealand Herald:

Greytown’s Mary Wait likes to be prepared for her adventures – death included. The 85-year-old has hand-painted her own coffin.

Mary bought the coffin from a funeral director and painted it in 1994, although she was not expecting to die any time soon.

“I think a funeral is a way of saying thank you, death is a thank you for having lived,” Mary said.

The coffin features a young woman, a self-portrait if you have got a good imagination, Mary said, holding a cup and communion wafer, a nod to her Catholic heritage. It also features the messages “Please, please release me” and “I will love to go out to a tune of my own.”

Full article here

Andy Clarke and his partner, artist Holly Bridgestock-Perris, have sold their first, innovative Curve coffin. Andy’s new concept was inspired by a “desire was to make a softer curved product, that moved away from the angular harshness of the traditional shape that’s been with us for hundreds of years, and yet retain the traditional robustness of timber in its manufacture.”

Inevitably, the story behind their first sale is a sad one. The coffin is for a baby. The family are arranging everything themselves. 

Andy tells me that he has refined the Curve coffin since we featured him on the blog back in April, and he’s very pleased with the way it looks now. 

The coffins come in plain or painted. The children’s coffin, the Bambini, is the one with the rope handles at either end.

You can find Andy and Holly’s website here.  

From the Waikato Times, New Zealand:

A Hamilton high school night class offering people the chance to build their own coffin has been inundated with budding box builders looking to cut funeral costs.

Clyde Sutton, a Fraser High School relief teacher, said a surprising amount of community interest was behind the move to teach carpentry with what some might consider a potentially macabre example.

“Death can be a bit of a taboo subject but this class is a sign of the times and is much cheaper (than buying a coffin),” he said.

“It’s a way for people to look at their own mortality and have some decision in their death, rather than leaving it up to someone else.”

Fraser High adult and community education director, Peter Faulkner,initially laughed the idea of coffin-crafting class off as crazy. “There was enough enthusiasm out there though, so I started to take it more seriously,” he said.

Mr Faulkner said people used coffins for all sorts of things, such as coffee tables and bookshelves.

“It’s not only about saving some money but rather taking charge of that part of your life,” he said.

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