Spirit Pieces Memorials FAQ
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What is Spirit Pieces?
Spirit Pieces is an online memorial arts gallery showcasing wonderfully beautiful memorial from some of this country's leading artists. We specialize in glass and crystal resin paperweights and cremation jewelry but also have a selection of ceramic urns.
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Who is Spirit Pieces for?
Spirit Pieces is for anyone who wishes to memorialize a loved one with art.
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Are These Memorials for Pets or People?
Any of our work is compatible with cremains from either pets or people.
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Are Spirit Pieces Handmade?
Yes, every item (other than the silver keepsakes) are handmade and unique in form. Our artists treat each memorial as a work of art in its own right and maximize the beauty inherent with working with glass. As such the patterns of colors you see on the website will differ than what you receive. All our glasswork with infused ashes is made in the USA with the exception of a small selection of pendants from Jonathan in Canada.
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How do we know you used our loved ones ashes?
We customize each kit with double labeling on the collection baggies and carefully process each order to ensure you receive the memorial with your loved ones ashes. We have workflows that keep each order separate so you can be sure you're getting your loved one back.
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How Much Cremation Ash Do I need for a Spirit Piece?
With just a few exceptions we only need 1/2 a teaspoon or less per Spirit Piece. The listings should have more information on the exact amount needed and our collection kits clearly specify how much cremains is needed.
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How Do I Order a Spirit Piece?
Generally your first step would be to place an order on this website. We will then send you a collection kit for the cremains. Once the kit is received, you need only to add the indicated amount of cremains and return the kit to us. We'll generally have the memorial back to you in 4-6 weeks. You can read more on this page.
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I Need Them by a Specific Date - Help!
Let us know about your deadline in the order notes. Keep in mind there is about 7 business days of shipping; we can't go any faster than that. Even with rush orders we won't guarantee anything less than 3 weeks out.
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How Safe are These to Ship?
Our paperweights and jewelry are surprisingly robust and very rarely have breakage in shipping. We have under 1 in a 1000 with breakage issues. If it does happen, you just need to send us photographic evidence of the breakage and we'll either redo or refund the purchase assuming you are still in the warrantee.
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How Does Shipping Work?
If you are purchasing a memorial with cremains, as of May 2025 you now have a few options:
You can send in cremation ash from
- FedEx people and pets (~$15),
- USPS people and pet (~$50)
- UPS pet ashes (only) via UPS (~$15)If you are sending via the post office (USPS) you are now required to ship in a official priority express cremation box. This is orderable online.
We will send you a collection kit including a ship-safe plastic baggie and instructions; please note we do not send you prepaid labels to send the kit to us. You can ship hair or fur first class. We'll return your Spirit Piece ground advantage mail or UPS with optional signature.
If you aren't doing the cremains option, then you just have to pick your colors options. In both cases, we'll ship you the memorials back via USPS Ground Advantage Mail with optional signature. If you are ordering jewelry, we will ship that back ground advantage with optional signature.
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The cremains are in one place but we want the memorials shipped to a second location - is that possible?
Absolutely, just mention all this in the order notes when you check out (including the addresses) and we'll take care of it. You also should put the final destination address as the shipping address.
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Can you Combine Ashes into a Spirit Piece?
Yes, We've had people combine cremains from both pets and people into a single piece. You would just combine on your side.
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If I order from different artists, does that affect the discount?
Discounts are based on total cart value, so every item can be a different color/artist. As long as it's all in the same order you'll get the discount.
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Do all my Spirit Pieces need to be the same style/color
No, they can all be different
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Can we extract/remove the cremains?
No, once the cremains is mixed into the Spirit Piece, it is effectively part of the glass matrix. Even if the memorial were to break, be run over, ground up, etc it would still be very difficult, if not impossible, to extract the cremains. The cremains effectively stops being cremains at this point.
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What is the turn-around time?
Our targeted turn-around time is approximately 6 weeks.
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Can we ship to multiple locations?
At this time we only offer one shipping address per artist, meaning if you order multiple items from an artist, they will only ship to a single address. If you are working with multiple artist, each artist can ship to a different address.
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Do you do international orders?
Sadly due to all the recent regulatory and tariff changes we've decided to suspend international shipping as of May 2025.
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If the worse happens and the memorial breaks once we get it what happens?
For glass Spirit Pieces we offer a 30 day money-back warranty and/or replacement of the Spirit Piece with photographic evidence of breakage along with 50% coverage of the shipment. For resin our warranty varies between 7 and 60 days.
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I don't like how mine looks due to bubbles or color patterns, can I get my money back?
Unfortunately we don't offer refunds for artistic elements you may not like. These are handmade and there's always a degree of variability in how these come out. This includes differing patterns of how the color swirls, the presence (or absence) of bubbles or the exact size. We offer a discounted redo pricing if you would like to try again.
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Do we get any of the cremains back?
There are usually some cremation ashes left. You can either have the artist scatter the ashes locally at a serene nature location, or have the ashes returned. We do charge $15 to $50 (based on carrier) to cover the shipping costs of sending ashes back. You can pay for that here.
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Will my Spirit Piece look like exactly what's on the website?
It will look similar but not the same. As these are handmade items, there will be differences in how each piece will look compared to others, even in the same order.
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What are your terms of service and privacy policy?
You can read our Terms of Service here and Privacy Policy here.
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How do I clean and care for my Spirit Piece?
Clean occasionally with soapy water and a soft cloth then rinse. Do not place on highly flammable surfaces as intense direct sunlight can be parabolically reflected into a small hot spot, especially with our clearer and more spherical Spirit Pieces.
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Do You Work With Memorial Fundraising Sites like GoFundMe?
We do not have a direct relationship with crowd fundraising sites like GoFundMe, however we've worked with numerous clients who have utilized them and do recommend them.
General Cremation Jewelry FAQ
Can you shower with cremation jewelry?
In almost all circumstances you can shower with cremation jewelry. The only thing you want to be careful of is exposing cremation jewelry (all jewelry) to any chemicals such as hair dye.
Are there any permissions required to put human ashes into jewelry?
There are no specific laws or regulations regarding usage of cremains in jewelry. You will, of course, need the permission of the owner of the ashes.
Is cremation jewelry waterproof?
Yes, cremation jewelry is waterproof. With that said, you want to avoid exposing it to chlorine or salt water as that can corrode the setting.
Can I fly with cremation jewelry?
You can fly with cremation jewelry without issue.
How long do cremated ashes last for?
Cremation ashes do not expire or go bad. We've worked with ashes from 40 years ago. The big thing is no other materials are introduced into the cremation ashes.
What jewelry can you make out of ashes?
We can make any jewelry out of ashes, there is no restriction. We carry most categories of Cremation jewelry here at Spirit Pieces.
