Paradise Urns Offers Affordable Option for Cremation

DAYTON-What will be the last product you ever use? You are on the right track if you are thinking about a container to hold your remains after death.

Local business owner Vicky Beckmeyer, of Snapdragon Floral and Gifts in Dayton, has found a niche in the more affordable range, for the cremation urns she has been turning out since 2007.

Last summer, Beckmeyer and her daughter, Cara Watts, attended a seminar for funeral directors in Marysville, Wash. They received kudos from the funeral directors in attendance for bringing the actual product with them, instead of photos or pamphlets. Beckmeyer said the funeral directors liked being able to touch the urns and judge the quality of the product.

Urns decorated in Seahawk colors and urns with grandma-themed colors did especially well at the seminar, and they sold 40 out of the 70 they took with them.

Beckmeyer said one director told them an affordable option was needed for everyday working people.

"It was informative for us," said Beckmeyer. "We got some ideas. We giggled all the way home," she added.

Beckmeyer said she had to do quite a bit of research into the making of urns in order to comply with codes.

She starts the process by pouring liquid clay into a mold for thickening. The mold must be drained and left for twenty-four hours before opening. She will dry an urn on sheetrock, then clean, sand and fire it.

The kiln is programmed for every setting for every project, Beckmeyer said. "I push one button."

After firing, the urn is washed and a clear glaze is applied to the inside. Paint is then applied to the outside, and the urn is fired again.

Beckmeyer said she can apply scanned photos, decals or other decorations to the urns, as requested by the customer.

"I will do whatever the customer wants," she said.

One of her favorite creations featured a deck of cards, Bingo, a cigarette and an ice cream cone, which were all of the things the deceased enjoyed in life.

She can also make urns to hold the remains of two people. And she has developed a line of small keepsake urns and glass jewelry keepsakes for preserving some remains.

The urns range in price from $60 to $90, and the keepsakes range in price from $10 to $30. Watts said that business has been consistent.

Watts and Beckmeyer are thinking about branching out into Spokane, Idaho, and Montana, when the weather permits. "We have to take care of our town first," Watts said.

"The coolest part is the personal factor," Beckmeyer said about doing business locally.

She said the first urn she made was for her son in-law's dog, Jodee, and the second was when a customer came into the shop to order flowers after the death of her mother in 2007.

The customer expressed remorse that her mother wouldn't appreciate the flowers, because she would be "in a box," said Beckmeyer. Watts told the customer that Beckmeyer could make an urn to replace the box.

"I made one, and the customer told everybody," Beckmeyer said. "People started asking for them."

"The word of mouth was amazing," Watts added.

Watts quit her job as a preschool teacher in Waitsburg at the end of last school year, telling her mother that they would need to expand the business. The pair began visiting some local funeral homes, where they found funeral directors to be receptive.

"Deaths have an unexpected financial expense. It's nice to have options," Beckmeyer said. "It makes me feel good to help with closure, without costing a million dollars."

Beckmeyer's love of making ceramics began when she was a second grader, and in the Bluebirds.

"I absolutely love it. Throughout the years I have purchased a computerized kiln, a large pouring table that holds 300 pounds of liquid clay, and probably four sheds full of molds," she said.

Beckmeyer admits to having thousands of molds, not just for urns, but for yard ornaments, dishes and holiday decorations, to name a few.

"This has taken over my husband's three-car garage," Beckmeyer said sheepishly about her passion for ceramics.

"My lifetime friend, Dundee, died last year, and I made a marbleized urn in blue for that," she said. "This has been awesome for me."

For more information about Paradise Urns, contact Vicky Beckmeyer and Cara Watts at (509) 382-2565, or by email at: snapdragongiftsandfloral@gmail.com.