Memory Glass has recently discovered that all of our pieces can be made with soil, dirt, or sand from any location to create an Orb, Pendant, or any other available keepsake.
Examples include a pinch of soil from a loved one's burial plot, some sand from a favorite beach, or some dirt from a secret location that only you and your loved one knew about.
Typically, the soil or dirt will look white in the piece due to the extreme heat that burns off any organic materials during the glass blowing process. The outcome of sand will depend on the sand itself. Pure white sand will not be as visible as black sand for example, but either way, you will see it in the piece.
You may find that your local Funeral Home will offer Memory Glass at a lower price than us.
This is due to several factors, but the most important being that the funeral homes are set up to send us your ashes in the easiest way possible, and the "welcome kit" is not necessary.
You may find that your local Funeral Home will be able to get your Memory Glass back to you faster than through our website.
This is because the funeral homes are able to send your ashes to us immediately. They don't need to wait for the "welcome kit" to arrive to them.
Once the ashes arrive at the Memory Glass studio, they are stored in order of arrival using a strict numbering and barcode system to ensure the safety of your loved one's remains.
The creation of your Memory Glass piece(s) takes about 2-4 weeks to complete from the time the ashes arrive at our studio. This includes return shipping to you, but not shipping to us.
Each order takes about 2-4 days to complete depending on the size of the order. Pendants and touchstones are the quickest, and are done the day after being made. Orbs and hearts take 3 days min.
On a daily basis, orders are made in small groups to efficiently make use of electricity. But each order is created seperate from other orders to make sure no ashes are mixed.
The ashes are placed on a thick metal table in a specific pattern, depending on the design that is selected. A steel rod (punty) is inserted into bowl of molten glass which sticks to the tip of the punty.
The small ball of molten glass is rolled into the ashes & colored glass which stick to the ball of glass. The design is created at this point. Once we are satisfied with the design, it is dipped again in the bowl of glass to encase the ashes in solid glass.
The piece is given its final shape, and then placed in an kiln oven to control the temperature and slowly cool the pieces off.
To keep track of orders throughout the day, the oven used to store the pieces contains a numbered grid.
When a piece is put in the oven, the location is recorded on the invoice. The next day, when the order is removed it is returned to it's secure location with the vial of ashes.
Orbs and hearts take two days to completely cool to room temperature. At this point, the bottom of the piece must be grinded and polished to create a flat surface for the piece to stand on.
Then, the order number & a small "MG" are etched by hand onto the bottom of the piece for future reference. Custom etchings can be done, but space is limited to Initials, Dates, or "short names".
Orders are packaged extremely securely, and sent via Federal Express Ground delivery, unless other services are requested.
