Creating Timeless Memorials

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity to really get to know the families I work with and help them create beautiful memorials for their loved ones. That is also the hardest part of my job, as it is tough to watch families hurt and try to cope with the pain they are feeling. However, it is always an honor to know that they have chosen to trust both myself and my team here at Emerson to create their loved one's memorial.

When families come into our store they often come in with an idea of what they would like the memorial to look like. Sometimes the idea is something they thought up that represents a hobby, belief, or life long mission. Other times the family might bring in photos of something they have seen out in the cemetery that they would also like to have for their loved one.

I recently worked with a sweet family that came to me with an idea for a memorial for their beautiful daughter. They brought in this photo (below) and asked if we could do something similar.

There were several things the family liked about this monument. They loved the shape with the detailing on the top and bottom sides. They also loved the raised carving (you can see the carving just above her name appears to "pop out" from the granite) and the two bases that it sits on.

As I began to visit with the family about their ideas I came to learn that they wanted the design to be soft and feminine yet classic. We decided that a raised, shape carved rose in place of the hand would be stunning, along with a raised, shape carved ivy border up top.

The family also told me that the monument would be going in an older section of the cemetery and that the surrounding monuments looked like this (below).

Isn't that beautiful?! Those old monuments are stunning and timeless, two elements that the family wished to accomplish with their daughter's memorial. Keeping the surrounding monuments in mind, we suggested that the monument be "steeled". A steeled monument is a monument that has had the shiny polish removed to create a classic look.

Once we worked with the family and they approved of the shape, size and design, we began working on the monument. I have added photos of the process below.


We sandblast the monument

We carefully place a specil stencil on the monument.

We shape carve the monument by hand

Beautiful!

Completed monument in the cemetery

This stunning memorial is a beautiful reminder of sweet Cara's life and the legacy that she left to her family, friends and to others whose lives she may not have even realized she touched.

If you are interested in creating a memorial for yourself on a pre-need basis or for a loved one, please contact Emerson Monument Co. and we will help guide you through the process.



When Inspiration Strikes

If there is one thing I love about my "job", it is listening to each familys' inspiration and making it become a reality in honor of their loved one. In fact, the more I help folks, the more I realize that we are all truly individuals: with individual likes, dislikes, interests, loves, opinions - the list could go on.
It also seems that each family, as a whole or as individuals, always holds tight to something that reminds them of their loved one: a favorite song or saying or verse...a photo or piece of artwork...a memory or single moment in time. The inspirations are countless.

A few weeks ago I had a sweet customer bring in this photo. She had found it online and immediately fell in love with it; and I can see why- it is absolutely beautiful!

Although I have admired their beauty for years, I never really knew much about the cherry blossoms and their significance in several Asian cultures. And as the daughter explained it to me, the more interested I became in researching the meaning behind this beautiful flower.

In the Japanese culture, these sweet little blossoms are most commonly held as symbols of purity, good fortune, love, life and mortality. So why do they act as a symbol of mortality? My research shows that it is due to the blossom's short life cycle.

In the Chinese culture it appears that the cherry blossoms take on a whole different meaning. In China it appears that the cherry blossom is associated with feminine beauty, love and passion.

With that symbolism being known, it is easy to understand why this sweet daughter would want to incorporate the cherry blossom into her mother's memorial. On  occasion a customer will come in with a specific design idea that is completely unlike anything I have in my design library. When this happens, as it did in this situation, we search our system to see if there is anything relatively close to what the customer wanted. And when it appears there is not, we are left to draw our own the design by hand.

You will notice the design on the left (the closest match from our system) does not have the same clarity as the one on the right (the one we drew by hand). You will also notice the symbols- all of which we drew by hand as well.

After completing the drawing we let the family review both proofs and select the one they felt was most like their initial inspiration. The family selected the hand drawn proof (the one on the right) and then we began the manufacturing process.

I was very pleased with the way this monument turned out; it is such a beautiful memorial for a special mother and her daughter.  

Like Emerson Monument Company on Facebook!  or
Check us out online!

A Custom Tribute, Post 3

I never knew what a Tesla Coil was until I met Cassie.  In fact, when she mentioned she wanted one on her father's memorial, I had to look it up to see what one was; and they are actually pretty cool!

Cassie went on to tell me that her father built Tesla Coils in his free time and loved Science.  Therefore, she felt confident that incorporating one into his memorial would be very appropriate.  She went on to show me some photos of what she had in mind (see above) and, after further discussion, decided that the coil would be most recognizable if it was laser etched as opposed to sandblasted.

Why?

Because we are able to pick up so much more detail with the laser than we are with standard sand blasting. 

However, as we visited with Cassie we learned that her father was terminally ill and had a short time to live.  This information was very important for us to know because it meant that we would need to sandblast her father's first name and his date of birth. 

Why?

Because her father's memorial would likely be placed in the cemetery before he passed, it was important that we accommodate her need for future lettering (i.e. engraving his date of death on the stone).  You see, all final date cuts are done at the cemetery with a portable sandblaster.  There is not a portable laser capable of doing final date cuts and, thus, not a way to match the style of a laser etched birth date.

Working with both sandblasted and laser etched designs on the same memorial is really very common.  Working with two mediums adds a variety of textures to the memorial and looks really good.

Keeping that in mind, we explained why we needed to both sandblast and laser etch the stone and provided Cassie with the following proof.  The blank space below his last name is the area in which we would sandblast his name and birth date.

Once Cassie approved the drawing, we had the stone etched for her father. 

After laser etching the stone we added the sandblasted inscription.  You will notice that the family decided to arrange his birth date a little less traditionally with the month spelled out and the "rd" after the 3.  It is important to note that there is no "right or wrong" way to inscribe one's dates of life.  We have inscribed dates in several different languages, numerically and even symbolically.  

At Emerson Monument Company we take pride in our ability to create beautiful custom memorials that may be found no where else.

A Custom Tribute, Post 2

I will be honest, little Joel Smith captured my heart from the moment I saw his sweet pictures.  His smile was so big and bright and hid the fact that he was actually fighting a very difficult battle- the battle against cancer.  Aside from his smile I also noticed something else about Joel, something that everyone who knew him also knew- Batman was his hero.

Working on a child's headstone is always extremely difficult for obvious reasons.  Of course part of me always wants to cry for (and sometimes with) the family, for all of the pain and heartache they have been through.  And then the other part of me wants to give the family my absolute best efforts in honor of their child.  So, when I begin working on a child's stone, I always listen to the parent's ideas and try to come up with a design that is both beautiful and appropriate given the child's interests and hobbies.  While many parents do know exactly what they want for their child, others have no clue what they would like and simply want us to take an idea and expand upon it. 

In Joel's case we visited with the family and then got the opportunity to "meet" Joel through a news broadcast about the Make a Wish Foundation and how they made Joel Batman for a Day.  Check out the link below to learn about Joel and what an amazing super hero he truly was.

Joel as Batman by the Make a Wish Foundation

Of course, after watching the videos we knew that the memorial needed to incorporate Joel as Batman and, with the help of his family, came up with this proof....

One of the wonderful things about technology is that we can make changes to monuments until the family is 100% satisfied with the way the memorial looks, and this case was no exception.  The family wanted to move some text to the back thus resulting in the second proof:

Many families choose to put information on the back of their memorials and there is really no right or wrong inscription to use.  Of course I prefer to recommend that you go with an inscription (or epitaph) that is natural and truly "fits" your loved one's personality.  In this case "Our Little Super Hero" is completely appropriate.

Joel's memorial is absolutely beautiful and is such a special tribute to an amazing little boy.

A Custom Tribute, Post 1

What a blessing it is to work with families and create stunning memorials that truly capture who they are and what they were "all about"!  And while it is SO difficult to truly capture a life story on one single piece of stone, the Reeves family has done a great job of honoring the husband, father and son that they love and miss.

Franklin & Anita Reeves memorial.

Racing was a family affair at the Reeves' home.  It was a sport that Franklin was passionate about and his wife, Anita, was supportive of.  In fact, even the kids got involved, eventually earning them the title of "Reeves Racing pit crew"!  As I sat and listened to Anita passionately describe her husband...and the father that he was...and the abilities he had...I couldn't help but to suggest a memorial that featured the car- a piece of their lives that the family enjoyed together.

After much discussion and planning, it was decided that we would use an actual racing photo that, I believe, was taken by Franklin & Anita's daughter.  If you look closely below at the space just behind the back window, you will notice the words "Pit Crew" followed by the Reeves' family's names.  

Original photo provided by the family.

When we received the photo we immediately had it cropped and enlarged to fit a double stone.  This part was tricky because we had to ensure that the car would enlarge without losing the level of detail that we desired.  But it all worked out!  Calculations were then made to determine the exact size of the stone and the positioning of every cut to ensure the stone would be an exact fit to the image.  Once that was done, we sent a series of proofs to the family for them to review and change until they had it just the way they wanted it. 

Final proof.

Once we had a final approval from the family it was time to begin etching. Of course the first photo I posted is a photo of the semi-complete stone. It was laser etched and, at this point, is awaiting lettering on both the front and the back.



What a beautiful tribute!



Placed in the Cemetery!

At Emerson Monument Company there is nothing we love more than to help families design and create lasting tributes in honor of their loved ones.