https://casketkit.com/products/build-it-yourself-pine-casket?variant=30999408214039
A New Brunswick casket-maker is hoping to change the way people use caskets, one shelf at a time.
Jeremy Burrill is the owner of Fiddlehead Casket Company in Fredericton, where his specialty is do-it-yourself casket assembly kits.
Burrill has recently started to sell the kits with shelves, turning the “simple pine caskets” into unsuspecting bookcases.
“On it’s own its a nice looking shelf, it just happens to have some handles on the sides and can be used for something else down the road,” he said.
He says he got the idea from a couple of customers, who reached out and asked to add shelves inside their casket, turning it into a functional bookshelf.
“Is there something else we can do with the casket in the meantime besides storing it for 20, 30, 40 years? A few had asked about, well can we put some shelves in it and use it as a bookcase, and after a few inquiries we decided to make it available a few months ago,” he said.
Adding five pine shelves turns the caskets into inconspicuous bookcases. (Submitted: Fiddlehead Casket Company)
So far, Burrill says he’s already sold a handful of the bookshelf kits.
“One of the customers was really excited about the casket kit idea but her boyfriend was not too keen. The bookshelf was kind of a middle ground for them.”
Burrill says the kits give caskets a new purpose—new life if you will—before people are buried in them.
“People are liking the idea of a casket that’s simple and natural, but would also like to get some use out of it in the intervening years. So by giving it a second purpose, you get a whole lot more use out of the one item. It’s not just kind of a single-use item as most caskets are,” he said.
Burrill says the caskets are also eco-friendly. They’re made of 100 per cent solid white pine and require no glue or metal to put together.
The DIY kits, which are available online, retail around $860. Burrill says that’s half the price of a traditional casket.
“Around here, the least expensive option at the funeral home are I think around $1200,” he said.
Adding the five adjustable pine shelves raises the price to $1145 plus tax.
The kits come with everything you need to assemble, including a hammer.
