Memories never seem quite as important as when a loved one passes away. Not only do they serve as a daily reminder of how special an individual was, but they can also help us come to terms with the loss and deal with the grieving process.
To remember the memories, we believe that every urn can and should be able to tell a story using graphics, pictures and text. Our exclusive Keep The Memory® line of cremation urns, does just that! This urn makes it easy for our customers to design a tale of love and memories that they can see and relive every time they look at the urn.
What is the Keep The Memory® Urn?
Keep The Memory® is the perfect combination between quality and elegance. The urn itself is made by hand from solid birch, with a classic rosewood or black finish. It measures 11.5” wide, 7” tall and 7.5” deep. As a standard-size adult urn, it will hold up to 200 cubic inches of cremated remains. In the bottom, it has a fully removable plate that can be perfectly sealed after the remains of the loved one are placed inside.
Besides the great material quality of this urn, what makes the Keep The Memory urn so memorable is its level of customization. To this urn, there can be up to 5 different fully custom plates. One in the front, back and each side. Pictures, quotes, special designs, are just some of the many things that can be added to create the perfect personalized urn that holds every memory possible.
Choosing the Perfect Picture
When a person passes away, friends and family usually hold on to every picture of their loved one as a memory of their lives.A big part of memorials is when people bring those pictures with them and share memories with others.. This is what made us think of the Keep The Memory® urn series in the first place. Families want to have the perfect image of a loved one that they can look at and remember with fondness. They also want a well-crafted urn that reflects their love and undying respect for the person they lost. This urn can do both, with more personalization than people might think.
Artwork for the Ideal Representation
The process starts with a wide variety of images we offer that represent different interests, hobbies, careers and beliefs. People can select Keep The Memory® urns in many themes, including:
- military
- religious
- cars, trucks and motorcycles
- sports
- wildlife
- outdoors
- beach
- fantasy
- astronomy
This is actually just a small selection of all the various pictures that can be added. If none of the images we have suit the loved one’s memory, our graphic designing team can add any picture to it and make it the most memorable urn. Our goal is to feature only the best artwork and photography on our urns. To assure this, we have signed agreements with popular artists and photographers to present their classic and intriguing work in this urn series. The popular images of wildlife photographer Al Agnew are a delight to many. The fantastical designs of Anne Stokes grace the surface of many of our Keep The Memory® urns, as well.
Art by Al Agnew
Many families find comfort in images of nature, and Al Agnew brings the outdoors a little closer to them. Agnew's oil paintings are famous, featured in places like Bass Pro Shops. His eye for the natural allows him to create a full and luscious landscape in two dimensions, with wild animals proudly featured. An eagle in flight or a deer standing over a gorgeous vista showcase his gift. In The Light Urns is delighted to license many of his most iconic works in the Keep the Memory Urns and Journey of Love Urns lines.
Art by Anne Stokes
In Stokes’ works, she is accustomed to taking beings that do not exist in the natural world and giving them lives of their own. In The Light Urns expects that the addition of Stokes’ paintings to the existing selection will provide the perfect touch of fantasy for the person who loved science fiction or fantasy in books, films, games and more. The gothic religious loved one might like an urn with Gothic Prayer quietly displayed. A strong, confident, powerful woman could be remembered by The Avenger, while a lover of dragons, metal music and guitars would appreciate Power Chord, a mixture of fantasy, weaponry and music. Stokes provides options for more conventional choices, as well. For example, Enchanted Pool might be the ideal choice for fans of Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
Art by Abraham Hunter
As an artist, Abraham Hunter sees things as they are, and as they ought to be. His landscapes and portraits create a snapshot of a moment in time, whether in this century or in those past. He depicts the beauty of nature and the importance of a love that transcends time. This young artist extends his boundless enthusiasm into every piece. In The Light Urns proudly licenses Hunter's work for Keep the Memory Urns. His ability to extend the sky into eternity represents the endless memory of a loving family.
Remembering Loved Ones
Each image imprinted on the Keep The Memory® urns tells a story, their story. We encourage families to think about the tale they would like the urn to recount of their loved ones. With so many choices available, people can customize the urn to tell any story, anyway possible. Adding pictures of the person at the height of their life, at a favorite yearly event, or just before they passed is a great way to use imagery to feature a loved one as they would want to be remembered. We work closely with every customer to identify a layout that will encompass all that a person is, and was. This might involve a custom design with different photos, or perhaps many photos on the urn for an extra charge.
Personalizing the Design
Although our selection of images gives people a starting point, there is a whole world of personalization available afterward. Customers are welcome to choose one of these images, add to it, or create a completely unique design with the help of our expert graphic designers. In order to really explain how much customization people can make on these urns, we have to talk about a particular Keep The Memory® urn we made for Bucky Moore.
The Bucky Moore Urn
Bucky Moore spent a long career as a rail man. A few years ago, he asked us to make him an urn that would feature the varied aspects of his career before he retired. On the front of the urn, he requested a picture of a train like the one he ran for many years. Our graphic designer put in a picture of him as the “throttle jockey,” as he put it. In the corner, we put scans of organizations that he supported throughout his career.
On either side, he sent photos of himself in different positions he filled throughout his time on the railroad. On the top, he contrasted a picture of him at the height of his career with a photo of him just before he retired. The result was a delight to him and his family, because it did not just provide a single time stamp in a career that lasted four decades. Instead, it told a story of a man who was proud of what he did, from beginning to end. Our commitment to our customers means that we are willing to go the extra mile like this for anyone who asks.
Memorializing the True Individual
The extraordinary advantage of this urn series and our use of technology is that it is so current, showing the cutting edge of modern cremation urns. People want to idealize their individuality, and we can help. In a world that places so much focus on taking pictures all day long, the technology to print crisp photographs on almost any surface shifts from merely interesting to incredible. It can capture a person’s unique style without a single flaw. Artists may want to feature a print of their work, as well as their pictures. The technology and our graphic designers allow us to print it as clearly and cleanly as the original.
An Elegant Surface
This level of careful work would only make sense if the urn base on which it is placed is just as amazing. The Keep The Memory® urn series uses a popular urn style that our customers find both graceful and excellently made. “Not only is this urn a beautiful masterpiece, the work and detail on it is awesome,” Bucky said in a review of the urn he designed for himself.
Cremation Urns to Stand the Test of Time
Now that cremation is the preferred method of handling human remains after death, interest in finding appropriate places for cremation urns is more important than ever. Many cemeteries that ran out of traditional burial space years ago have begun to construct and maintain columbaria, structures that will hold a number of urns for ashes. One complication of placement in columbaria is that the urn must be both sturdy and not too large to fit inside a cremation niche. We are happy to say that the Keep The Memory® urns should easily meet both requirements for most columbaria. With their hardy construction and relatively compact size, they offer families more options for a loved one’s final rest.
The Design and Imprinting Process
Since we know that the work customers request is of the utmost importance, we place a great emphasis on skill, technology and ensuring the right design from the start. When we talk to a client who wants to expand upon our existing creations, or construct something new, we collect the desired images and work with them to design a plate. They receive a copy of the graphic we build before we print it. If they agree that it meets their expectations exactly, we move to printing the image. For the Keep The Memory® urns, we use full-color printing on metal plates, with lines of engraving that are easy to read. The process may not take very long, and we aim to ship soon after completion.
Compliments for Loved Ones
Our command of such a variety of technological tools makes it easy for us to customize complementary keepsake urns perfect for extended families and memorial services. Once we have created the image that a customer loves for the front of a Keep The Memory® urn, we can print that image on other surfaces. One popular choice is our keychain urns. On the ring is a small urn that is made of stainless steel and can be permanently sealed. It holds about one cubic inch of ashes. The keychain fob uses the same imprinting process to provide a crisp image to match the one on the urn. We offer engraving on both the urn and the key fob.
It is hard to imagine telling a loved one’s entire life story from start to finish, but pictures can aid in the tale. The Keep The Memory® urn series allows people to combine popular images with their own pictures in a unique design that suits their loved ones perfectly. This way, families have a beloved keepsake, a fitting reminder and an elegant final rest for their loved ones, all in one.
