Spirit Pieces Memorials FAQ
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.
Who is Spirit Pieces for?
Spirit Pieces is for anyone who wishes to memorialize a loved one with art.
Are These Memorials for Pets or People?
Any of our work is compatible with cremains from either pets or people.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 4 weeks out.
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.
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 (~$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.
How many kits do I need to ship?
The amount of kits you need to ship depends on the amount of artists you ordered items from. One kit needs to be shipped to each artist regardless of the amount of items ordered from that artist. For instance, if you ordered 5 items from one artist, they would receive one kit; if you order 1 item each from 5 different artists, then 5 different kits would need to be shipped.
New 2025: We are now allowing you to ship multiple kits to Austin for further distribution to the artists. This should in almost all cases save on shipping costs, however it may delay your final delivery by 1-2 weeks as we are batching up orders and sending to non-Austin artists at the end of each month.
Will I receive confirmation once ashes have been received?
An automated confirmation will be sent once the artist has logged your kit into our system as received. Our artists can take a couple days to get kits logged in so the notification may be received a few days after tracking shows delivered.
*Please note, if sending your collection kits to our Austin office for monthly distribution, you will only receive confirmation of kit's receipt for Austin artists. Confirmations for any non-Austin artists will only be sent after the transfer when the artist has your kit on hand.
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.
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.
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.
Do all my Spirit Pieces need to be the same style/color
No, they can all be different
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.
What is the turn-around time?
Our targeted turn-around time is approximately 6 weeks.
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.
Do you do international orders?
We currently offer shipping to the US and Canada.
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.
I don't like how mine looks, can I get my money back?
Unfortunately we don't offer refunds/remakes for artistic elements or aesthetics. 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, opal/glass color combinations or the exact size.
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.
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.
What are your terms of service and privacy policy?
You can read our Terms of Service here and Privacy Policy here.
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.
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.
Why is ID verification requested?
ID verification will be requested for orders over $1500 (before taxes or discounts) before the collection kit(s) will be mailed. ID numbers can be blocked out, we just need it to show picture, name and address. Utility bill is an acceptable alternative to ID as long as the name and address match the information for the order.
