The purchase of every Vessel includes a collection kit; shipping the collection kit to you, then back to us; custom laser engraving of your Animal’s name, birth and death dates; and shipping the final Vessel home, to you. We also insure every package, in both directions.

Each Vessel is almost completely handmade. They are made in Toronto, Canada, of sterling silver. The bulk of the work is done by Uli, a German born and trained Master goldsmith (and a Certified Cat Guy).

Everyone involved in the manufacturing process is paid a Canadian living wage.

The end product clearly reflects the expertise and passion of everyone involved. Because you wouldn’t want anything but the best for your beloved.

The short answer is yes.

Each Vessel is made from sterling silver. The nature of this material is to tarnish and dull over time, especially when left out and uncovered.

Constant handling is the best way to maintain a polish. If you would like your Vessel to stay shiny, touch it, regularly, like we do. The Vessels we keep in our pockets, and fidget with regularly, remain the shiniest; the Vessels we keep out in the open, have tarnished to a lovely warm, dull grey.

We think both look beautiful. Which do you prefer?

The Vessels will not hold the entirety of your Animal’s remains, unless it was a particularly small Animal.

The Big Bean is our largest Vessel, and has a capacity of up to 50 grams of cremains or aquamains.

Once a Vessel is sealed, we will not unseal and reseal it.

If you would like to have the cremains of multiple Animals inside a single Vessel, we need all the cremains at once.

In order to remove remains from a Vessel, the Vessel must be breached: either drilled, sawed or otherwise entered.

Once a Vessel is opened, we will not reseal it. Sterling silver is not invulnerable: if you change your mind and want your Animal removed from a Vessel it can be done. It will incur irreparable damage to the Vessel, and will be done, by us, only with the full consent of the Vessel’s owner, at their cost, and with the understanding and agreement that we will not undertake any attempts to reseal or repair the Vessel.

We have chosen and manufactured the sizes that best speak to us.

That said, if you have the budget to go bigger, please inquire. Please remember that any changes in proportions will require a set-up fee on top of the regular manufacturing we currently charge.

We do not work in non-precious metals. If you have the budget for gold or platinum, however, please feel free to inquire.

Hand engraving is a gorgeous choice. It is a very special way to mark your Vessel, and is charged accordingly.

Whilst laser engrving is included in the price of your Vessel, hand engraving requires an additional charge of approximately $5 per character.

Hand engraving is most effective on the Big Bean; we recommend laser inscriptions for the Pocket and Baby Beans, as well as for the Bubba.

Please enquire directly if this is an option that intrigues you.

Yes, absolutely you can!

Let us know when you order that the name and address of the recipient are different from those of the payee.

We do recommend that the recipient knows what’s coming, though, when you have a collection kit sent to them.

We ship within Canada and to the US - at least for the time being.

We do not otherwise ship internationally.

We insure everything that we ship. If, in spite of our best packaging, your package is damaged in transit, please contact us.

If the issue is truly that the piece was damaged during shipping, we will make things right.

The Big Bean holds up to 50 grams of cremains.

The Pocket Bean and the Bubba each hold up to 20 grams of cremains.

The Baby Bean holds 2-3 grams of cremains.

Your Vessels are intended to be held, but they may break if dropped.

Carry your Vessel with you; sit it somewhere safe where you can admire it; do a little of both; stash it away, somewhere safe. All of these are perfect options to care for a Vessel.

If your Vessel tarnishes, you may wipe it with a silver cloth, readily available at most jewellery stores; or with a soft cloth and some commercial silver cleaner.

Do not submerge your Vessel in water or any other liquid.

One of the advantages of laser engraving is that it does allow, to a point, a different degree of customisation.

It is possible to laser engrave handwriting or a simple graphic image onto your Vessel. Your limitations are simply the size of the Vessel and the legibility of your text or image.

Please inquire as to pricing for custom engraving.

The Vessel fabrication takes up to two weeks.

With every collection kit comes a waiver for you, the customer, to sign, affirming that you are not sending us anything poisonous, flammable, explosive, or otherwise dangerous.

If you would like to inter, for example, fur or whiskers, either instead of or in addition to cremains or aquamains, please contact us prior to ordering your Vessel. We are happy to discuss the what we are and are not willing to handle and inter.

It was absolutely gut wrenching to allow the vet to take Cocoa’s body from us. We really have no way of knowing that what was returned to us was, in fact, the physical remains of our sweet beast. At some point, we just needed to make a choice to trust the people who had been instrumental in helping us navigate our last moments with her. While our choice of providers was a forced, last second choice, we were treated with such genuine care and kindness; we ultimately chose to trust that the people who were handling Cocoa’s body were doing so ethically, and to believe that what was returned to us was, in fact, the final remains of Cocoa’s body. 

We wish there were some way to further assure you, but ultimately you are the only person who can decide whether you feel good about sending a teaspoon of your Sweet Beast’s remains to us.

We always insure the (bits), both on their trip to us, and on their return trip, once interred. in a Vessel. We are meticulous about keeping remains separate and contained prior to and during internment. Only one Vessel is ever filled at a time; they are filled sequentially, not concurrently. There is no risk of cross contamination between (bits of dead stuff).

We do not take lightly the trust and responsibility you bestow upon us by sending us the remains of your loved one. We promise to handle their remains with all care and respect we expected for our own Cocoa.