Freeman Brothers was first established as a funeral director in Horsham, West Sussex, in 1855. The company now has a further three offices across the county – in Billingshurst, Crawley and Hurstpierpoint. Today, Community Co-Ordinator, Becky, shares details of a memorial keepsake she spotted at the recent National Funeral Exhibition…

Following last week’s post on finds from the recent National Funeral Exhibition, there were a few suppliers which warranted a more extensive post, and I’m excited to share more about one of them today.

Hurstwood Keepsakes supplies a variety of bespoke memorial items, including ashes capsules similar to pieces of jewellery we often see. The things that really caught my eye were something I hadn’t seen before – their miniature memorial plaques and headstones.

The plaques are available in wood or stone. These are suitable for freestanding display, or to be wall mounted. They are customised with text of your choice – this might be a few sentences about the person, or some lines from their eulogy. It could simply be their name and a few other personal details. It’s also possible to incorporate an engraved portrait, which is developed via a photo you supply. As a sample of their work, the brand were taking photos of visitors to their stand at the NFE, and engraving this image straight onto a slate coaster – I’m delighted with mine, it’s an accurate portrait!

The product that I was even more impressed by is Hurstwood’s miniature headstones. These are a similar item, in that text and a portrait can be included, but additional elements are that they are freestanding due to being shaped like a headstone. As with full-size headstones, different shapes are available, and there is also the option to include a miniature urn within the base, so that a small portion of ashes can be kept with the miniature headstone.

As well as being pleased with the aesthetic of these items, I thought it could be a fantastic choice in terms of accessibility. We often hear that people aren’t able to visit a grave site as often as they would like, due to their own health and mobility, or the location of the grave in relation to their home, and even weather conditions. Additionally, a miniature keepsake which is kept at home such as this, is then something that you can easily take with you should you move house, unlike a fixed outdoor stone. The space this takes up is minimal, so if you are downsizing, it will still fit easily on a shelf, mantelpiece, or table in another location.

The company appreciates that it isn’t just people who might be memorialised in this way, and welcomes commissions from those looking to remember a pet – many people have lots of photos of their pets, so an image can easily be chosen and added, just as for humans.

The turnaround for products is typically 7-10 working days from ordering through to final production, and items are then securely shipped to your chosen address. This is a much faster process than for a full-size headstone – outdoor headstones are much larger and more complex to design and produce, as well as the stones typically being bought in from other countries and therefore adding significant time to the process. This is another way in which I can see miniatures being useful for those who are bereaved – it allows you to have a smaller, yet personalised memorial within a much shorter timeframe, and may be a source of comfort when you are waiting for a full-size memorial to be prepared.

Finally, should you wish to have additional copies of a miniature headstone or plaque made, this is also possible. Another function of full-size outdoor stone memorials is that they will typically be a one-off item, whereas miniature versions offer the opportunity to have several made which can then be kept by different people in a location which suits them. I, for one, see this as another significant bonus in terms of accessibility.

If you’d like to find out more about Hurstwood Keepsakes, you can visit their website. Check the blog again soon for further details of other items we believe could support our customers in their bereavement journey.