WHEN LOVE IS URN-ED

world for decades,” Frondoso says. “Bohemian glass is renowned for being one of the best in the world. Their glassblowers are highly skilled because they train from a very young age and apprentice for decades with glass masters. They also have the proper raw material for glassblowing and are able to produce crystal that can be cut, sandblasted and engraved with complex designs without shattering.

Stephanie saw firsthand how these urns were made at the glassblowing studios. “It is a multi-step process, completely handmade from beginning to end. The designs are uplifting and bring comfort and joy to the families who select them for their loved ones.”

Her partner in the urn business is Lucie Cerna, wife of the Czech consul at the time and a personal friend of the master glassblower they worked with, Jiri Pacinek.

“Lucie and I brought Jiri to the Philippines on two occasions so that he could demonstrate glassblowing using his portable furnace,” recounts Stephanie. “We held these two workshops at Museo Orlina in Tagaytay, with the support of Ramon and Lay Ann Orlina, and at the A-11 compound with the support of Eric Paras.”

Stephanie currently supplies the urns to various funeral homes like La Funeraria Paz Araneta, Manila Memorial, Heritage, Golden Haven, Paz Sucat and Loyola. She herself chose Czech crystal urns to hold the ashes of her beloved lolo and lola, even naming a glass collection after her grandmother.

“As an offshoot to the glass art project, I made a collection of historical glass forms in the color red, which requires the addition of gold salts to produce this color. I named the collection ‘Aurelia’ after my grandmother; coincidentally, ‘Aurelia’ also means ‘gold.’”

This series was first exhibited at Aphro gallery in 2019. “Another precious piece is one of our red crystal urns with the design of an iris flower. It is the urn my mother selected for herself when she was still alive. She passed away this year. I drew some comfort in seeing her ashes in a beautiful, elegant urn, knowing that she specified this particular one in her wishes.”

Perhaps it’s like Czech author Franz Kafka once wrote: “The cruelty of death lies in the fact that it brings the real sorrow of the end, but not the end.” With Frondoso’s designs, the part that lingers on can still look beautiful.