• Memorial Bead Colors
      • Examples

If you would like to order a bead, please visit my Etsy store, or, if you live in Anchorage, please contact me for a consultation.
 

Memorial Beads
 

My beloved Henry.

My beloved cat Henry passed away in February, 2010, at the age of 15 and a half years old. His death due to cancer was a deeply felt tragedy by our family and friends. Henry's loss was especially poignant for me; I got him when he was 7 weeks old, and he had been my special boy.

In my grief I wanted something of Henry's that I could carry with me every day, so I set about learning how to encase ashes into beads. This is not a new art form—artists have been incorporating ashes, or cremains, in glass beads and other glass items for some time. I thought a bead that I could wear every day would be perfect. I liked the finished result very much. And, most importantly, I have taken so much comfort in wearing Henry's bead that I am now making them for other people incorporating the ashes of their beloved pets.

My first Henry beads.

Henry's bead turned out to be a small portrait of a heavenly sky, complete with stars and galaxies. The stars I made are called murrini, which are slices of glass cane that contain a picture. Murrini-making is an ancient Italian glassblowing technique, and basically entails building a large glass shape and pulling it to a small diameter, then cutting the glass cane into tiny slices. These slices are then added to glass pieces as decoration.

Losing a beloved pet is so hard. I know I'm not saying anything profound, or that people don't already know this. But I'm hoping that my glass beads might make the loss of losing a loved one a bit easier to take.

I've developed four different styles of memorial beads, and sell them through my Etsy store, or if you live in Anchorage I can meet with you in person.

I would be honored to make a bead for you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or custom requests.

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elise@koicreekbeads.com      (503)580-2447