A Kiwi man is taking the “one size does not fit all” theory quite literally, and designing custom coffins for people’s final farewells.
And when we say custom, we mean custom.
Ross Hall has made coffins adorned with doughnuts, lego, blocks of chocolate – whatever it is that will perfectly capture the spirit of the coffin’s owner.
Hall told RNZ he thought of the concept while writing his will – the last thing he wanted was to be farewelled in a plain ol’ brown box.
He wanted a bright red casket with flames on it.
And thus, Dying Art was born.
Hall said they now get up to five requests a week for custom caskets. And given the nature of the business, those requests need to be turned around very quickly.
“For me, I get so much enjoyment out of making a tragic day a little bit lighter for families,” said Hall, who works out of Auckland.
“We get some fantastic responses back from families about what a difference the casket made, because when they looked at it they saw their loved one within there and that’s what they were all about you know … They just put a whole different twist to a sad moment.”
Hall finishes the deal by driving his customer to their funeral in a 1991 Cadillac hearse.
