Colourful coffins lighten mood at funerals
WHEN THE pall-bearers brought Phil McLean’s coffin into the chapel, there were gasps before a wave of l aughter rippled through the hundreds of mourners.
The coffin was a giant cream doughnut.
“It overshadowed the sadness and the hard times in the last few weeks,”said his widow, Debra.“The final memory in everyone’s mind was of that doughnut, and Phil’s sense of humour.”
The doughnut was the latest creation by Phil’s cousin Ross Hall, who runs a business in Auckland, New Zealand, called Dying Art, which custom-builds colourful coffins.
Other creations by Hall include a sailboat, a fire truck, a chocolate bar and Lego blocks. There have been glittering coffins covered in fake jewels, a casket inspired by the movie The Matrix, and plenty of coffins depicting people’s favourite beaches and holiday spots.
“There are people who are happy with a brown mahogany box and that’s great,” said Hall. “But if they want to shout it out, I’m here to do it for them.”
WRITING A WILL
The idea first came to Hall about 15 years ago when he was writing a will and contemplating his own death.
“How do I want to go out?” he thought to himself, deciding it wouldn’t be like everyone else. “So I put in my will that I want a red box with flames on it.”
Six months later, Hall, whose other business is a signage and graphics company, decided to get serious. He approached a few funeral directors who looked at him with interest and scepticism. But over time, the idea took hold.
Hall begins with special-made blank coffins and uses fibreboard and plywood to add details. A latex digital printer is used for the designs. Some orders are particularly complex, like the sailboat, which included a keel and rudder, cabin, sails, even metal railings and pulleys.
Hall said the tone of funerals has changed markedly over recent years.