Grain's Urn for JOIN at NYCxDESIGN

This week as part of NYCxDESIGN, we presented a new piece at JOIN, a group show, curated by Colony. The call asked twelve designers to explore the tactile meanings and emotional complexities of togetherness after so much time apart.

Over the past two years we have all experienced an inordinate amount of grief. As communities, we have had to bear witness to losses that we were not always able to mourn together.

Mid-way through the pandemic, we had a loss in our own family that required us to build a cremation urn. The piece was very simple and somber, but it made us think more about what these vessels could be and about how we could go on living with them.

For JOIN, we were drawn to rethink the urn. Our final design was informed by a trip to a local cemetery where we explained to our daughters how many families decide to be buried together within the same plot of land. It was a sweet conversation about life and death and how the ones we love continue to live on in each of us.

We envisioned a cremation vessel that could be used by a family - father, mother and child - at rest together. The seemingly separate components form one volume on the inside.

We see this piece as an individual work that could be designed to meet the needs of any type of family that finds beauty and comfort in community.

For information on our urn or any of our work, please reach out. We love to hear from you!