Each piece of jewellery or ornament requires a different amount of hair or ashes. Please don’t send all that you have in case of loss in the post. Any that isn’t used will be returned with your order unless you request otherwise.
NOTE: I cannot return unused ashes or hair to customers in Australia due to the Australian Customs policies.
RINGS
I only need a few hairs for a ring, or a tablespoon (15ml) of ashes.
BEADS
I need just a few hairs for each bead. If sending horsehair, the finer hair from the mane works the best. Pet fur or human hair is also suitable. Please order the cremation beads if you want embedded cremation ashes.
CREMATION BEADS
I need about one tablespoon (15ml) of ashes for each bead. Please order a regular bead, faceted bead, or metallic leaf bead if you want embedded hair or fur.
RESIN PENDANTS
I need a pinch of hair a few inches long for each pendant If sending horsehair, the finer hair from the mane works the best. Pet fur or human hair is also suitable.
GLASS SPHERE PENDANTS
This pendant works well with both long lengths of hair or short pieces – whatever you have available. Pet fur or human hair is also suitable. It is ideal if you have fine, fair hair which won’t be visible if embedded in resin.
BRAIDED BRACELETS
Bracelets require a length of hair approximately 50cm/20″ long and about as thick as 2 pencils. Please ensure it is secured at least at one end with a band, and washed clean before you send. Please take a look at this video about how best to cut hair so enough is usable and little is wasted!
CUFFLINKS
I only need a few hairs (a pinch) for cufflinks, or two tablespoons (30ml) of ashes.
LOCKETS
I only need a few hairs (a pinch) for a locket, or two tablespoons (30ml) of ashes.
MEMORY LOCKETS
Just a small pinch of hair, or a tablespoon (15ml) of ashes.
TASSEL KEYRINGS
I can make keyrings from as little as 5″ of hair, though the shorter the hair, the smaller the tassel will be. Ideally please send more if you can. This item is suitable for any long hair (horse, dog, human etc).
RESIN HORSESHOE
I need small handful of hair a few inches long for each horseshoe, though it can work with less. Horsehair, pet fur or human hair is suitable.
TEALIGHT HOLDER OR PAPERWEIGHT
For a tealight holder or pyramid paperweight, I need a decent lock of hair, or three tablespoons (45ml) of ashes.
In my beads and other ashes jewellery, I only use ash pieces that are about 1mm in size, which is what gives the jewellery its clean, stone-like look.
Every crematory processes ashes to a different degree – the amount of ash I request for an item ensures that I can find enough pieces the right size to complete the jewellery, even if the ashes are very finely powdered. For example, a bead requires a quarter teaspoon of ashes. I ask you to send 1 tablespoon, so even if the ashes are very fine I can usually find a quarter teaspoon of ashes that are the size I need.
Don’t worry if you don’t have enough – often I don’t need all that much, and if there isn’t enough (for a bead, for example) I will add quartz pieces to fill it out.
I return everything that isn’t used – you might be surprised at how much you get back, but this is why!
US orders over $35USD and UK orders ship for free.
Unless otherwise specified, UK orders will be shipped Royal Mail Signed For 1st Class – THIS IS NOT A TRACKED SERVICE. Choose a shipping upgrade at checkout if you wish to upgrade to Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm.
US and Australian orders will be shipped by Royal Mail International Standard – THIS IS NOT A TRACKED SERVICE. If you want your order to be tracked, you must upgrade to Royal Mail International Tracked & Signed at checkout.
Tail hair (in long lengths) is best suited to braided bracelets. Shorter lengths can be used in glass sphere pendants. Tail hair is not ideal for embedded resin items if avoidable.
Mane hair is finer (and usually shorter!) and better suited to embedded resin items, such as beads, rings and pendants.
Pet fur, human hair and ashes can also be preserved in resin. Typically I only need one or two teaspoons of ashes for an item, although once you place an order I will contact you with more specific instructions.
Light-coloured hair can turn transparent and be difficult to see once embedded in resin. The same with white fur and white or flaxen horse hair.
Unfortunately, baby’s first hair cut is usually very fine and fair, and may be difficult to see.
If I receive hair that I think will be hard to see when embedded, I will message you to confirm you’re happy for me to proceed – some people are happy just knowing the hair is inside the item.
If not, glass sphere pendants are a good alternative choice if your loved one, horse or pet has pale coloured hair.
Not all fine or fair hair is invisible in resin. Hair that appears white because the hair shaft is pigmented white is usually OK – hair that appears white because the shaft is transparent is likely to be difficult. You can sometimes tell the difference by looking very closely at a single hair.
You can also test it by taking just one or two hairs and dipping them in a glass of water, and see whether they remain visible or not. This can give you a decent idea of whether or not it is worth ordering an embedded resin item.
Some customers are happy just knowing the hair is in there, even if they can’t see it – but if this isn’t right for you, I would suggest an alternative where the hair isn’t embedded in resin, such as a glass sphere pendant.
Firstly, it’s no saving in time or effort for me to use fur or ashes other than that which you send – the process would still be the same, so there’s no point! I’ve been making memorial jewellery for years and have a very careful and organised process so that I know exactly which orders are where and at what stage. I work on one order at a time and clean down in between.
I can only stress that I have loved and lost pets and family of my own and find the thought of getting it wrong quite upsetting. I’m not a big factory, just one person, and so there’s no reason I should mix things up – when the sole purpose of my ‘business’ is making memorials for people, sending them the wrong thing would be literally the worst thing I could do! It would undermine the whole point.
100% sure! I am very careful to ensure that the right hair goes in the right order with no cross-contamination, it’s very important to me. The reason hair may look darker in a resin piece is because resin is a liquid chemical until it cures – when you add hair, it may darken slightly the way it does when it’s wet. Not a lot, but it might be enough that it’s noticeable to you. Also as I explain in the question about light hair, hair with little pigment can be hard to see in resin (light fur, and hair from very young or elderly people can have little pigment). Therefore if the hair is mixed, it’s possibly that the lighter parts are not visible, emphasising the darker parts and giving an overall darker look. I can reassure you that your order definitely contains the hair that you sent me, but that may be why it looks a little different.
I’m sorry for your loss, but please don’t send me the only remaining hair or ashes from your precious friend! While I take all the care I can, I cannot control what happens while it’s in transit. And while we’ve not have anything go missing in the post yet (touch wood!) it’s not totally impossible, so please don’t take the risk.
I suggest ordering one of the jewellery items that does not require much hair or ash, and not sending all that you have.
When you place an order I will message you letting you know how much ash I require for the order, my address and shipping information. Please put this amount in a small ziplock bag, or the corner of a larger bag, and make sure it is secure. Use a padded envelope or bubblewrap to ensure the ashes don’t pierce the envelope.
Please wash any horse, human or pet hair and dry it thoroughly before mailing it.
With long horsehair, secure it at one end with a plaiting band and soak the hair in hot soapy water (washing up liquid or baby shampoo will cut through the grease).
Rinse off the soap and hang the hair to dry.
Once it is clean and dry, it’s ready to send.
I always return any hair or ashes that haven’t been used in your order. The only time I can’t do this is if I am returning an order to Australia, as it is prohibited by the county’s Customs regulations.
Of course – but it is up to you to ensure you have the permission of the owner to send me the hair, fur or ash for inclusion or braiding. By placing an order, you are accepting responsibility for this, and I will assume you have permission.
Brush or condition the tail so that you can easily run your fingers through it and separate it.
Gather a handful at the end (furthest away from the horse!) and follow it up to the dock, separating it from the rest of the hair. Trim it close to the dock, and secure the end with a plaiting band or similar. Repeat if you need more hair.
NOTE: if you just grab a handful at the dock you will notice that not all the hair will be the required length (it will get much thinner towards the end). You’ll find yourself cutting off a large chunk but very little of it will be usable! Instead, gather it at its longest point and work back up towards the tail – this will ensure most of it is long enough and little is wasted.
If you already have a ring that fits you, you can use our printable ring size guide – download it here. Alternatively, most high street jewellers will be happy to tell you your ring size. If you are buying for somebody else and have no means of finding out their size, I suggest you choose one of our adjustable rings (fitting ranges are given on the product pages).
If you are in the US and don’t know which size to order, take a look at this ring size conversion chart. If you fall between sizes, let me know – I can increase a band by a half size. If you’re not sure, choose a smaller size – a jeweller local to you will be able to increase the band size a small amount without damaging the setting – but making a ring smaller is much more difficult.
Horse tack in the UK is typically categorised into four sizes – Pony, Cob, Full and X-full. These are just arbitrary sizes – just because you own a cob doesn’t mean he wears Cob sized tack!
With regards to browband sizing, they translate as follows:
Pony – 13″
Cob – 15″
Full – 16″
X-full – 17″
If you don’t know what size you need, measure an existing browband that fits the horse you are shopping for. Measure end to end, including the loops through which the headpiece feeds.
My processing times are deliberately set long as I cannot make your custom item until I have the hair or ashes! Some of my customers are shipping from other countries – some order before they’re ready to send the hair or ashes. None of this is a problem, but I do try to set my expected delivery times a little longer to accommodate this.
Typically, resin items will be made and returned to you within 1-2 weeks of when I receive the hair/ashes.
If you have a particular need for fast processing (a Birthday or special date), contact me and let me know.