What The Color Says

Recently I had a sweet family in that was interested in purchasing a memorial for their mother. They wandered around the showroom, checking out our different styles and designs, when they asked an interesting question.

"We want a color that shows she was bold. Do you have anything bold?"
I sat and thought for a moment and in donned on me that I had spent a considerable amount of time studying the symbolism on monuments, but I had not necessarily studied how a combination of both color and symbolism can offer a very powerful depiction of one's life and life story.

So I set out to learn about colors and what their selection may say about a person, and I wanted to share my findings with you.


Blue. The two most popular blue granites that we deal with are Blue Pearl and Bahama Blue.

Blue Pearl Granite

Blue pearl gets it's name from the it's pearly specks of blue. It really sparkles in the sunlight and looks so much prettier in person than it does in this sample photo on the blog!



Bahama Blue

The second blue that we carry is called Bahama Blue. Contrary to it's name, Bahama Blue does not come from the Bahamas. (That is disappointing, I know!) This blue really varies in appearance and can look rather gray in the sunlight depending upon the stock that is selected. It also has streaks and/or dots of purple throughout.


Based on the information I have found online, blue can indicate a personality that includes the following character traits:

Peaceful - Stable - Calm - Confident - Tranquil - Sincere - Affectionate - Having Integrity

 

 

 

 

Ebony Mist Granite

Black. Believe it or not, there are countless variations of black granite! The difference in the black colors lies in the grain and also in the color combinations. So you may see black with a misty gray throughout such as Ebony Mist.

 

Or, you may see a black granite with "gold" specs throughout called Gold Star Black.



Gold Star Black Granite



 

Of course there are many, many options when it comes to black granite (too many to list on the blog!), but black can indicate the following character traits:

Sophisticated - Powerful - Mysterious - Formal - Saavy

 



 

 

 



Gray. There are several gray granites to choose from, with our most popular being the classic Georgia Gray. Our Georgia Gray granite comes from Elberton, GA. You will notice it is primarily gray with a smattering of black and white fine grain dots throughout the stone.   This color can change in appearance depending upon if the stone is polished, sawn, dusted, frosted, or honed. It is a classic color and frequently found in cemeteries, especially in the south. Gray can indicate the following character traits:

Stable - Secure - Strength of Character - Authoritative - Mature

 

 

 

Pink. There are several rose or pink colored granites to choose from, with each color looking very different from the others.



Chapel Rose Granite



 When a family comes in requesting pink granite, the granites available versus their expectations may vary wildly. Because granite is a natural stone, there is no "hot pink" or "pastel pink" to choose from.

 

Two of our most popular pinks are Morning Rose and Chapel Rose.





Morning Rose Granite

Pink can indicate the following Character Traits:
Beautiful - Sensitive - Compassionate - Faithful - Friendly - Romantic - Loving & Kind



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

India Red Granite

Of course you are probably wondering what color the family I referenced at the beginning of this blog post chose. You'll recall they wanted something BOLD.

And, after learning more about their mother, we decided that an India Red Granite would be most appropriate.

 

Character traits most commonly indicated by Red are:

Loves Danger - Passionate - Daring - Romantic - Stylish - Excited - Energetic

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many granite colors to choose from, that I couldn't possibly include them all in this blog post. However, if you are interested in creating a memorial that tells your loved one's unique story, give one of our professional memorial counselors a call and we will be glad to help!

 









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.  

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