Urn Studios reimagines memorial objects into expressive celebrations of life

‘For decades, the funeral industry has offered families generic products with little regard for individuality or design,’ says Urn Studios co-founder Merel Swart. Founded in 2024, the platform is reimagining memorial objects as thoughtful pieces that reflect the lives they commemorate. Building on their success in the UK, they have now introduced their first collection in the US.

Discover Urn Studios' US collection

‘Since launching Urn Studios, we’ve seen strong demand from customers in the US, so creating a dedicated collection with American artists felt like a natural next step,’ says co-founder Jonathan Hancock.

For this collection, the UK-based studio invited seven American artists to reinterpret the urn as an object of identity, intimacy and enduring design. Abbey Peters, C.C. Boyce, Hui-Yong Kim, Jesse Hamerman, Marianna Jamadi, Michelle Wen and Philip Kupferschmidt were all selected for their distinctive approach to form, craft and materiality. ‘We chose artists whose work feels contemporary, characterful and original,’ Swart explains.

California-based Philip Kupferschmidt of PK Ceramics created vessels animated by raised droplets and tactile glazes. Meanwhile, Brooklyn-born ceramicist Michelle Wen produced forms that reference historic ceramic traditions. Others, such as Hui-Yong Kim, explored a more sculptural, pared-back approach, while Marianna Jamadi of Kunokaiku designed a minimalist sculptural item that smartly integrates candles and flowers.

‘The collection is intentionally eclectic, bringing together pieces that express individuality while offering a fresh perspective on what an urn can be’, notes Hancock. Across the collection, bold handles, unexpected silhouettes, and irregular surfaces transform memorial objects into expressive celebrations of life.

‘What united the collection wasn’t a particular style, but a shared departure from the traditional idea of an urn’, says Hancock. By making contemporary options more visible and accessible, the studio hopes to broaden public understanding of what an urn can look like and the role it can play within the home.

‘Many people still aren’t aware that alternatives exist, because traditional, conventional memorial products remain the default’, adds Swart. Urn Studios also rejects the idea that empathetic design requires visual restraint. ‘We don’t see emotional sensitivity and bold design as being in conflict. If anything, we’d argue that the opposite is often true,’ says Hancock.

Looking ahead, the studio plans to expand its artist collaborations while also developing its first in-house range. ‘Together, these collections will allow us to offer an even broader spectrum of contemporary memorial design’, says Swart. This growth will enable the platform to offer an increasingly diverse range of options that reflect personal tastes, stories, and approaches to remembrance.

Ultimately, Urn Studios’ US collection demonstrates how thoughtful, expressive design can approach grief with care while moving beyond the conventional visual language often associated with memorial objects. The range reimagines the urn not simply as a vessel for ashes, but as a creative object through which a person’s memory and story live on.