Designing a Memorial

When I sit down with families to visit about their memorial they often say the same thing, "I have absolutely no idea what I want the monument to look like".

If you could easily find yourself uttering that very same thing, then this blog post is especially for you.

Each year I work with countless families who know that they want to place a memorial in the cemetery and often they even know what color they want. However, when it comes to the actual design, they could use some guidance.

Stock Designs for Sandblasting
At Emerson Monument Co. we have an entire library of designs that families commonly use. These designs are organized by the size of the monument and range from the very simple to the extremely elaborate. Sometimes families will select the entire design and other times the families will use the design as an "inspiration" and build on it.

We also have an entire library of components that are commonly used on monuments. Components are single images, such as an emblem, that represents a career, hobby, event, honor, etc.

Designs for Laser Etching
For those who choose to go the laser etching route, things work a little differently.
Typically when a family would like to do some laser etching I will sit down with them and go over their ideas and show them pictures of similarly etched memorials. We will then gather all necessary artwork from them and go from there.

Proofs.
At Emerson Monument Company we will not start making your monument until you have signed off on a rendering of the memorial. While the renderings are in black and white, they are to-scale and a great way to "see" the monument before it is complete. It is also an opportunity to allow both you and your family to make any necessary changes.

I hope you have found this information to be helpful. If you would like to start designing a memorial, please contact us via email and we will be glad to help.

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.