Further Reading

Pick One
** Creative Cremains Containers

October 1998

Creative Cremains Containers
With a dykely flair

By Bill Strubbe

It's not as if every budding lesbian wakes up one morning and says "Mummy, when I grow up I want to design cremation vessels." So how did Debra Resnik conceive of her growing business The Vessels, creating beautiful cremains containers.

To help alleviate her sense of helplessness in the face of the AIDS epidemic, in 1987 she volunteered at the Names Project. With sewing skills and ten years of truck driving under her belt-- she's a versatile gal-- when the AIDS Quilt went on the road she naturally was chosen to be the driver, covering about 30,000 miles in two years.

"I realized that memorializing loved ones that died of AIDS, or any illness, was such an important thing," said Debra, who later became the Names Project's program director. "I also realized there were limited choices outside the traditional funeral setting for people who are inspired and creative.

The urns sold in mortuaries are uninspired, mass produced containers, and run from $250 to several thousand dollars for an etched brass one. After a laborious search for the right vessel for a friend who had died of cancer-- "The container has to be the right size, something that reminds you of them, and have a lid that is secure; you don't want to accidentally spill your friend on the carpet and have to vacuum her up!"; she ended up buying a ceramic piece at an antique store-- Debra thought she could provide a service for people who wanted other choices.

Debra works with three artists and currently has eight different designs made from exotic hardwoods, ceramics, and raw silk-- all which can be viewed on her internet catalogue, with plans to expand to disposable containers, such as baskets for scattering.

"Many people don't scatter the ashes right away, and sometimes live with this container that come to represent their loved one for months or even years on their mantel," she said. "I'm finding that even after people scatter they want to keep the box as a memento, and put letters or photos inside." **

The Vessels, PO Box 859 Brisbane, California 94005; telephone 415-333-1111; fax 415-333-1111; www.thevessels.com deb@thevessels.com.