Will our Funeral Home allow us to use an urn from Simple Wood Urn?
We would hope that your funeral home is already carrying our urns but in the event that they are not, yes, by law Funeral Homes and Cremation Services must accept any urn that you present to them. The Funeral Rule of the FTC is available here. You should inform the funeral director as to your intention to use your own urn. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, please, let us know and we will be happy to do so.
Are we allowed to transport the urn on the airlines?
Yes you are. You can carry it on with you or put the urn in your checked baggage. However, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Be sure to have the disposition permit with the urn.
If placing in checked baggage, let the airline know when checking in.
Choice of urn material is important. Metal urns do not allow screeners to view the contents and will most likely need to be opened for security reasons. Wood urns can pass through scanning without problems.
Are these urns suitable for scattering?
Yes all of our full size urns are suitable for scattering of the remains. Each of our urns opens from the bottom with the removal of four brass phillips head screws. Your funeral director will have placed the remains in a sealed plastic bag inside of the urn, allowing you to scatter as much as you wish. Make sure when making arrangements, to let the funeral director know of what you plans are in regard to scattering. This will allow him/her to file the proper permits needed to cover you particular situation.
Do we need to scatter all of the remains or can we hold on to some?
You may scatter all or part of the remains. Many times there are numerous relatives that may wish to retain a portion for their own remembrance and this can be done with a "Keepsake Urn". Keepsakes are designed to hold a small portion of the cremated remains and allow you to place them tastefully in the home or other site. Some keepsakes hold a fair amount of remains, like our Cedro and Laurel Keepsakes while others, like our Cocobolo Heart and Cocobolo Chest, hold a very small portion in a seperate interior container allowing you to place a memento or two along side.
Are all wood urns made the same way?
No, in fact, some "wood" urns are barely wood at all. They are made from a "manufactured wood product" like particle board and them covered with a veneer. These urns look like wood but are very inexpensive to make and therefor allow them to be sold at a very low price. Most of these type of urns are made by the thousands in China and are all identical as they are a factory product. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Others will be made of solid wood and stained to look like another more expensive type of wood. These urns use inexpensive types of wood like Radiata (pine) or Poplar and are then sold as Oak, Rosewood, Cherry, Maple or Mahogany. Many of these are also made in Chinese factories by the thousands.
There are a number of quality urn manufacturers producing some excellent products made of high quality wood and their pieces are very beautiful. These companies make their urns one-at-a-time by hand. This takes a lot of time and effort and the wood is expensive. Each one of these urns will be a little bit different and have it's own personality. The wood used will also bring it's own characteristics to the urn and give it a special natural look and feel.
In the course of our lives we hope to not have to make the decision of an urn purchase too often but when we do, I urge you to take a look at one of these Artisan Urn Producers.
Why are your urns made in Costa Rica?
