Memorial jewellery and other memorial keepsakes could help to provide a little comfort to a grieving family. You only need to read some of our heart moving feedback to understand this and if you search online you'll see all the various memorial gift options available to a bereaved family.

A memorial keepsake is a tangible item that commemorates a loved one's memory with a photo or something special that has a deep meaning to them.... Everyday items such as these are made extra special by the personalisation that can be done in loving memory of the deceased.

It could feel a little daunting with all of the beautiful keepsakes on offer at a time when a family need fewer options and more guildance. The first thing to start thinking about is if you need the funeral director or hospital to capture any prints from your loved one, like fingerprints for example. Once prints have been captured and are safely in your possession, other decisions can wait a while.

1. Are you buying for yourself or are you buying for someone else? the latter can present a few issues, in our experience. We would suggest discussing your gift idea with the recipient, as a surprise of this nature. however well intended, might not play-out as you expected. The exception to this rule is, if you are buying a memorial keepsake for a child, such as a memory box or something similar that they can treasure and keep close.

2. If one of your preferred choices is memorial fingerprint jewellery, chat with the funeral director and request that they capture a few fingerprints. We would suggest at least two fingerprints. If you are buying some fingerprint jewellery for someone else, please understand that the funeral director will have to have the full permission from the family before they will capture any prints. Funeral directors will likely have an ink pad for this purpose and some may even have some fingerprint capture kits. Fingerprint capture kits are the best way to capture a full 3d print. Here is a link for more information about fingerprint capture kits. We have good relationships with many funeral directors in Hampshire and they will often call us in to capture the prints directly.

   
   If you haven't got time to wait for a fingerprint capture kit to be delivered, you can easily capture a fingerprint by simply using a pencil, sellotape and paper - full instructions can be found here.

3. If you are buying for someone else, how many will you be buying for? This will have an impact on the cost. If you are hoping to buy something special for every person in the immediate family for example, will the choice of gift need to be reconsidered or has the deceased touched their lives so greatly that the cost is of little importance.
4. How will the memorial keepsake make you feel? will you look at it when you are at home or would you prefer to have it with you all the time. Are you able to wear it next to your skin or is it on a mantlepiece over the fire? Aplogies for all the questions, they are designed to really dig deep and help you to think about how you or the recipient might feel.

5. Do research and select quality memorial keepsakes from highly reviewed and reputable memorial keepsake companies. The last thing you'd want to happen is for your cherished keepsake to break or deteroiate. This includes considering the material it is made from. Clothing materials are projected to last between 2-10 years, glass, wood and sterling silver will last easily more than a lifetime.

   Can your priceless keepsake be recreated if something awful was to happen like you lose it? For example; fingerprint jewellery, if the prints were captured using a fingerprint capture kit, it can be used time and time again to recreate more pieces of jewellery.

Here are a few of our chosen memorial keepsake ideas to help keep someone’s memory alive and provide healing to those left behind. We understand that choosing what to give can be difficult. To let them know you’re thinking of them in their time of sorrow, your memorial gift should be thoughtfully chosen in remembrance of the person loved and lost xx

Fingerprint Heart Bracelet Charm

These two are from The Lovely Keepsake Company-

Luxury Wooden Keepsake Box

Grandpa's Shirt Memory Bear