About this piece

This is a handmade ceramic pillow urn for pets, a soft looking cushion shaped base with a small cat figurine sculpted by hand and resting on top. This personalized pet cremation urn is made to order from your photos, so the figurine reflects your companion's coat, markings and pose, and I add their name or dates by hand. Choose a rectangle or square pillow and add flowers, stars or symbols that hold meaning. Every detail is painted in underglaze that fuses into the clay and sealed under a fired glaze, so it will never scratch, peel or fade, and because fired ceramic lasts for centuries it becomes a lasting keepsake.

See more finished pieces in our gallery for the true look and feel.

Size and capacity

Both shapes hold the same volume and suit most cats, following the simple guide of about 1 cubic inch of space for every 1 pound of body weight. The rectangle gives a wider resting area while the square is balanced and compact, so the choice is mostly about the look you prefer. If your companion was at the very top of their weight range, please message me first and I will advise whether a larger urn would be a better fit.

Processing and shipping

Every urn is made to order, entirely by hand, so it takes time to create. For the pillow urn, please allow around 6 weeks from your order date, plus shipping. If you choose a fully bespoke figurine or design, please allow 8 to 10 weeks, as these need extra sculpting and modeling and often more than one round of refinement.

Shipping is always free, anywhere in the world, and every piece is packed with great care to travel safely.

Here is how your piece comes together: once you order, I confirm the details with you, then hand craft and shape the form in clay and add any engraving before the first firing. I hand paint your companion from your photos in underglaze and send you a painted proof to approve before anything is set. After any refinements you would like, I glaze the piece and fire it again, add any gold or overglaze details, then give it a final check and package it carefully for the journey to you.

Because each piece is made slowly by hand and depends on the kiln, I take on only a small number of custom orders at a time, so it is best to order early if you need it by a certain date.

What to expect from handmade ceramic

A few honest notes, because this is handmade ceramic and I would always rather you know exactly what to expect:

• Ceramic is unpredictable in the kiln. The exact result is never known until firing is complete, and that unpredictability is part of what makes each piece unique.
• Color cannot be guaranteed one hundred percent. Ceramic pigments shift slightly during firing, and every screen shows color a little differently.
• Underglaze always looks softer and lighter before firing. The kiln deepens every tone.
• Each piece is completely handmade, so no two are ever identical. Small natural variations are part of the character.
• My aim is a loving likeness of your companion, not a perfect photographic replica.
• Once fired, the design and colors are permanently set and cannot be changed.
• Engraving is permanent. Once a detail is carved it cannot be smoothed away.
• Occasionally a piece can crack or develop a small flaw in the kiln. If that happens I remake it fully, which can extend the timeline.
• Finely carved contour details carry a higher risk in the kiln, so there is a natural limit to how deep engraving can safely go.