How a commission works · Memorial Pieces
When It Is Made After
Many of these are commissioned after an animal has died. It changes nothing about how the piece is made and quite a lot about how we handle the conversation.
Four or five good photographs is enough to tell you whether this will work, what it costs, and how long it takes.
.999
Fine silver, hand-poured, made in the USA
1 of 1
The design is retired after casting. Yours is the only one
2004
Casting solid metal since
Approved
You see and sign off the design before any metal is poured
There are no new photographs
Everything we work from already exists and cannot be added to. That is the practical difference and it is a real one — if the photographs are thin, no amount of care makes up for it, and we would rather say that gently at the start than deliver something that does not look like them.
People also frequently apologize for the quality of what they have, and they should not. Photographs taken casually over years are exactly what most people have, they are usable more often than anybody expects, and it costs nothing to look before deciding anything is impossible.
What to know
- Send everything you have. More is better and none of it is a burden.
- Older and lower-quality photographs are usable more often than people expect.
- There is no deadline unless you set one.
- Engraving a name and dates is common and entirely optional.
- You can stop at any point before casting.
There is no schedule here
Send what you have whenever you want to. If you then leave it for six months, that is completely normal and nothing about it is a problem. Many of these commissions pause and come back, sometimes more than once.
We will not chase an approval on a memorial piece and we will not follow up an inquiry that goes quiet. If you want to pick it up again, it will be here.
How we handle it
- 01Review whatever you have and give an honest answer.
- 02Design and let you sit with it as long as you need.
- 03Never chase an approval on this kind of commission.
- 04Ship insured and discreetly packaged.
There is no hurry and we will not create one. If you send photographs and then want to leave it for six months, that is completely fine — a great many of these commissions pause and come back, and nothing about that is a problem.
Said plainly
Where we stop
We make a statue. We do not incorporate ashes, fur or any other material, and we are not a cremation jewelry business. If that is what you are looking for, this is not it, and we would rather say so now.
FAQ
Common questions
- Can you use ashes or fur?
- No. We cast solid silver statues and do not incorporate any other material. If that is what you want, this is not the right place.
- What if the photographs are old?
- Send them anyway. Older photographs are usable more often than people expect.
- Is there a deadline?
- Only if you set one. These commissions pause and come back often, and that is fine.
- Can we add a name and dates?
- Yes, engraved. Entirely optional.
The animals
Dogs
The most commissioned subject, and the one where people notice the smallest thing being wrong. A dog's owner knows that face better than they know most human ones.
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Cats
Cats are recognized by how they sit, curl and hold themselves far more than by facial detail — which changes what we need from your photographs.
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Horses
Horse people can read conformation at a glance, which makes this the least forgiving animal we cast and the one where accuracy matters most.
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Birds
Parrots, raptors and companion birds. Feathers look like fine detail and behave in cast metal like a trap.
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Small Pets
Rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, rats and hamsters. Frequently a child's first animal, and frequently the one that matters most in a household.
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Reptiles & Exotics
Snakes, lizards, tortoises and the rest. The one group where cast silver does something no other material does as well.
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More how a commission works
The Photographs
The photographs are the whole brief. Everything about the finished piece comes from what we can see in them.
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Size & Metal
The weight of metal is the largest single input, so size and cost are almost the same decision.
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Turnaround
Four stages, and the one that varies most is the one you control.
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Next step
Run it both ways before you decide.
No credit check and no obligation. Tell us what you hold and what the money is for, and if selling is the better answer for your situation you will be told that first.