Urns Give Memories New Forms           Feb 15, 1999

Joan Morris
Contra Costa Times

When Marie Beaumont died a few years ago, her family struggled to make sure they did everything right. Well, if not right, at least fitting.

Her four daughters tried to think of what would please their mother, what best represented her heart and soul, and to plan a funeral that would center on those qualities. The daughters agreed on everything from cremation to the silly green frog that would adorn the table at the memorial service. But when it came to deciding what to do with Marie's ashes, no one had an answer.

Some of the family wanted to scatter the ashes at the places Marie loved. Some wanted to keep the remains in an urn. Marie, herself, was no help. She'd been vague about her wishes and some of the family said she'd talked about being buried in Colorado, near her mother.

So on the day of the memorial, they placed Marie's ashes inside her favorite sewing box, and after the eulogies and tears, they brought her home to wait for a consensus.

But Rena Fregosi, one of Marie's daughters, was convinced she had the perfect answer not only for her family, but for others: to divide the ashes and place them in unique urns.

So with the assistance of her longtime friend, carpenter David Riccomi, the two started Creative Cremains of San Francisco, offering custom-designed urns and modified mementos.

The pair has taken an uncommon approach, contracting with area artists to create one-of-kind, made-to-order urns in clay, wood, bronze, stone any medium a customer wants. They also take family treasures or collectibles and transform them into funerary urns.

In Fregosi's case, she solved the problem with what to do with her mother's ashes by taking Marie's collection of ceramic, plaster and wooden frogs and encasing a portion of the ashes in each one. They will be distributed among family members. The remaining ashes will be divided and scattered.

"My mother was very arts and craftsy," Fregosi says, "so when we were doing her frogs, it was like doing arts and crafts with my mom. It was very healing."

Although the business is in its infancy, Fregosi and Riccomi say they're convinced there's a market for their special brand of urns. Cremation continues to increase in popularity, and a recent law written by Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch permitting Californians to scatter ashes with only a few exceptions, has given survivors more options, Riccomi says.

"We're not expecting to set the world on fire," Riccomi says, "but we're here to stay. We're committed. We're hoping in the future, we'll be a big hit."

The minimum cost of converting a memento into an urn is $150. Prices for custom-designed urns vary substantially, but usually start at about $2,000. You can find about the same price range for standard urns sold through funeral homes.

"If you spend $10,000 for a casket, you're burying $10,000 worth of bronze," Riccomi says. "For a fraction of the cost, you can have something done by a future Picasso."

On custom orders, clients meet with Fregosi to discuss style, design and medium, and then to choose an artist. A cost estimate is written up and the customer then decides whether to commission the urn. When the piece is ready, Riccomi and Fregosi place the ashes in the urn.

The benefit of a custom urn, Fregosi says, is that it can be personalized to reflect the deceased's loves, passions and dreams. The urns can be free-flowing statues for the mantel or a Greek fountain for the garden or bronze busts that depict the deceased or wooden carvings of sea creatures. The only limits are imagination and finances.

The urn business has changed over the years to reflect the public's desires. Mourners can buy traditional urns as well as containers that have more personality. The difference, Fregosi says, is that a Creative Cremains' urn reflects the unique personality of the person whose ashes are placed in it.

For the mementos, about anything can be hollowed out and sealed, keeping the ashes safely inside.

Riccomi, who lives in Pleasant Hill, describes himself as the nuts-and-bolts half of the team and Fregosi as the creative, people-person. But he has his own ideas about his memorial.

When he dies, Riccomi says, he wants his ashes encased in fishing rods that will be distributed to family and friends. Then, long after he's gone, he says, he'll still be able to go fishing.

In addition to the urns, the firm hopes to offer jewelry and will have hand-made cards that contain a portion of the ashes and flower seeds. The cards are then cut up and planted.

Because the business won't be scattering remains, it doesn't require state licensing. Riccomi and Fregosi say, however, that they have established strict guidelines in an effort to reassure customers they will handle the remains carefully and with respect.

Until the urn is ready, they say they won't accept the ashes. And when they do, each package will be weighed and tagged. Customers will know exactly how much was placed in the containers.

Riccomi and Fregosi say they don't want to compete with the funeral industry. They point to stories about a couple who had their infant child's ashes placed in a doll, a man who requested some of his ashes made into an egg timer for his wife, and the cigar connoisseur who had his ashes placed in a humidor.

"We're not for everyone," Fregosi says, "but the interest is definitely there."

For information about Creative Cremains, call 415-468-6044.