Custom Pet Urns

Handmade sculpted portrait pet urns inspired by your photos

Create a custom urn in solid wood or porcelain ceramic that captures the legacy of those you love. We shape each urn by hand, then carefully carve it with the likeness of your loved one. Each urn is made to order in the United States.

Most pet urns are made for anyone.

Yours is one of a kind

To start, choose a material and style to customize

Hand-thrown Rainier Porcelain Urn (50% Deposit)
from $375.00

This made-to-order urn is thrown from porcelain, trimmed, sculpted, glazed, and fired by hand in the Mont Arbor studio in Virginia, USA. Choose the size and the glaze when you order.

This Rainier style carries inlay sculptures on the shoulder and lid. Glaze color is chosen from the options offered for this design. Fired porcelain is among the most durable materials made; with proper care a piece like this can last for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Each urn is glazed and finished by hand, so glaze depth and surface vary slightly from piece to piece. We photograph each finished urn and send you the images before it ships.

Sizes:

Pet - 100 cubic inches of capacity

Petite - 150 cubic inches of capacity

Full - 250 cubic inches of capacity

As a general rule, choose a capacity equal to or greater than your pet's weight in pounds.

A bronze threaded lid closes the urn securely and is designed to keep working through seasonal changes in heat and humidity. Each urn is completely sealable. Urns ship empty; the lid can be opened and resealed when remains are transferred.

Current completion time: [4–6] weeks, or [6–8] weeks from sketch approval with a sculpture.

A deposit of 50% of the total price, shown beside each option above, begins your order and covers materials and about half the labor. Place a deposit or schedule an introductory call to start; if you choose the sculpture, the sketch follows your deposit. The balance is due when your completed piece is ready and before it ships.

Hand-thrown Lucerne Porcelain Urn (50% Deposit)
from $375.00

This made-to-order urn is thrown from porcelain, trimmed, sculpted, glazed, and fired by hand in the Mont Arbor studio in Virginia, USA. Choose the size and the glaze when you order.

This Lucerne model carries inlay details and  the vertical channels that run around the lower body with inlaid bands on the shoulder and lid framing the form above. Fluting is one of the oldest ornaments in ceramics and architecture; under the glaze it gives the base a rhythm of light and shadow. Glaze color is chosen from the options offered for this design. Fired porcelain is among the most durable materials made; with proper care a piece like this can last for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Each urn is glazed and finished by hand, so glaze depth and surface vary slightly from piece to piece. We photograph each finished urn and send you the images before it ships.

Sizes:

Pet - 100 cubic inches of capacity

Petite - 150 cubic inches of capacity

Full - 250 cubic inches of capacity

As a general rule, choose a capacity equal to or greater than your pet's weight in pounds.

A bronze threaded lid closes the urn securely and is designed to keep working through seasonal changes in heat and humidity. Each urn is completely sealable. Urns ship empty; the lid can be opened and resealed when remains are transferred.

Care: wipe with a soft, damp cloth; avoid knocks and sudden changes in temperature.

Current completion time: [4–6] weeks, or [6–8] weeks from sketch approval with a sculpture.

A deposit of 50% of the total price, shown beside each option above, begins your order and covers materials and about half the labor. Place a deposit or schedule an introductory call to start; if you choose the sculpture, the sketch follows your deposit. The balance is due when your completed piece is ready and before it ships.

Hand-thrown Classic Porcelain Urn (50% Deposit)
from $375.00

This made-to-order urn is turned from a single block of solid hardwood in the Mont Arbor studio in Virginia, USA. Choose the wood and the size when you order.

Each vessel is shaped on the lathe and finished by hand. No two blocks are alike: grain, figure and color change from one to the next, so your urn will differ in small ways from the one photographed. We photograph each finished urn and send you the images before it ships. With reasonable care a solid hardwood piece like this lasts for generations.

Woods:

  • Walnut — dense and fine-grained; deep chocolate to purple-brown, sometimes with a band of pale sapwood; the color warms slightly with age.

  • Maple — hard maple; pale cream with a fine, even grain and occasional figure; the lightest of the five.

  • Ash — cream to light tan with a bold, open grain that stays visible under the finish; the wood of tool handles and baseball bats.

  • Cherry — warm red-brown with a satin grain; darkens noticeably in its first year in daylight and slowly after that.

  • White oak — tan to light brown, dense and heavy, with a distinct ray fleck where the grain is quartered; the wood of barrels and boat frames.

Sizes:

  • Pet - 100 cubic inches of capacity

  • Petite - 150 cubic inches of capacity

  • Full - 250 cubic inches of capacity

As a general rule, choose a capacity equal to or greater than original weight in pounds. If you need a larger urn urn, we can accommodate you, just let us know prior to checkout.

A bronze threaded lid closes the urn securely and is designed to keep working through seasonal changes in heat and humidity. Each urn is completely sealable. Urns ship empty; the lid can be opened and resealed when remains are transferred.

Engraving is available on request. On the plain form, the full body of the vessel is available for a name, dates or a short inscription.

Care: keep out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources; dust with a dry cloth.

Current completion time: [6–8] weeks.

A deposit of 50% of the total price begins your order and covers materials and about half the labor. Place a deposit or schedule an introductory call to start. The balance is due when your completed piece is ready and before it ships.

Hand-Turned Capped Hardwood Urn (50% Deposit)
from $375.00

This made-to-order urn is turned from a single block of solid hardwood in the Mont Arbor studio in Virginia, USA. Choose the wood and the size when you order.

Each vessel is shaped on the lathe and finished by hand. No two blocks are alike: grain, figure and color change from one to the next, so your urn will differ in small ways from the one photographed. We photograph each finished urn and send you the images before it ships. With reasonable care a solid hardwood piece like this lasts for generations.

Woods:

  • Walnut — dense and fine-grained; deep chocolate to purple-brown

  • Maple — hard maple; pale cream with a fine, even grain and occasional figure

  • Ash — cream to light tan with a bold, open grain that stays visible under the finish

  • Cherry — warm red-brown with a satin grain; darkens noticeably in its first year in daylight

  • White oak — tan to light brown, dense and heavy, with a distinct ray fleck

Sizes:

  • Pet - 100 cubic inches of capacity

  • Petite - 150 cubic inches of capacity

  • Full - 250 cubic inches of capacity

As a general rule, choose a capacity equal to or greater than original weight in pounds. If you need a larger urn urn, we can accommodate you, just let us know prior to checkout.

A bronze threaded lid closes the urn securely and is designed to keep working through seasonal changes in heat and humidity. Each urn is completely sealable. Urns ship empty; the lid can be opened and resealed when remains are transferred.

Current completion time: [6–8] weeks.

A deposit of 50% of the total price begins your order and covers materials and about half the labor. Place a deposit or schedule an introductory call to start. The balance is due when your completed piece is ready and before it ships.

Hand-Turned Fluted Hardwood Urn (50% Deposit)
from $375.00

This made-to-order urn is turned from a single block of solid hardwood in the Mont Arbor studio in Virginia, USA. Choose the wood and the size when you order.

Each vessel is shaped on the lathe and finished by hand. No two blocks are alike: grain, figure and color change from one to the next, so your urn will differ in small ways from the one photographed. We photograph each finished urn and send you the images before it ships. With reasonable care a solid hardwood piece like this lasts for generations.

Woods:

  • Walnut — dense and fine-grained; deep chocolate to purple-brown

  • Maple — hard maple; pale cream with a fine, even grain and occasional figure

  • Ash — cream to light tan with a bold, open grain that stays visible under the finish

  • Cherry — warm red-brown with a satin grain; darkens noticeably in its first year in daylight

  • White oak — tan to light brown, dense and heavy, with a distinct ray fleck

Sizes:

  • Pet - 100 cubic inches of capacity

  • Petite - 150 cubic inches of capacity

  • Full - 250 cubic inches of capacity

As a general rule, choose a capacity equal to or greater than original weight in pounds. If you need a larger urn urn, we can accommodate you, just let us know prior to checkout.

A bronze threaded lid closes the urn securely and is designed to keep working through seasonal changes in heat and humidity. Each urn is completely sealable. Urns ship empty; the lid can be opened and resealed when remains are transferred.

Current completion time: [6–8] weeks.

A deposit of 50% of the total price begins your order and covers materials and about half the labor. Place a deposit or schedule an introductory call to start. The balance is due when your completed piece is ready and before it ships.

Hand-Turned Segmented Hardwood Urn (50% Deposit)
from $450.00

This made-to-order urn is turned from combined blocks of solid hardwood in the Mont Arbor studio in Virginia, USA. Choose the wood and the size when you order.

Each vessel is shaped on the lathe and finished by hand. No two urns are alike: grain, figure and color change from one to the next, so your urn will differ in small ways from the one photographed. We photograph each finished urn and send you the images before it ships. With reasonable care a solid hardwood piece like this lasts for generations.

Woods:

  • Walnut — dense and fine-grained; deep chocolate to purple-brown, sometimes with a band of pale sapwood; the color warms slightly with age.

  • Maple — hard maple; pale cream with a fine, even grain and occasional figure; the lightest of the five.

  • Ash — cream to light tan with a bold, open grain that stays visible under the finish; the wood of tool handles and baseball bats.

  • Cherry — warm red-brown with a satin grain; darkens noticeably in its first year in daylight and slowly after that.

  • White oak — tan to light brown, dense and heavy, with a distinct ray fleck where the grain is quartered; the wood of barrels and boat frames.

Sizes:

  • Pet - 100 cubic inches of capacity

  • Petite - 150 cubic inches of capacity

  • Full - 250 cubic inches of capacity

As a general rule, choose a capacity equal to or greater than original weight in pounds. If you need a larger urn urn, we can accommodate you, just let us know prior to checkout.

A bronze threaded lid closes the urn securely and is designed to keep working through seasonal changes in heat and humidity. Each urn is completely sealable. Urns ship empty; the lid can be opened and resealed when remains are transferred.

Engraving is available on request. On the plain form, the full body of the vessel is available for a name, dates or a short inscription.

Care: keep out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources; dust with a dry cloth.

Current completion time: [6–8] weeks.

A deposit of 50% of the total price begins your order and covers materials and about half the labor. Place a deposit or schedule an introductory call to start. The balance is due when your completed piece is ready and before it ships.

Handmade to order in the United States by American sculptors 

★★★★★ - 5/5 average review

Custom urns for pets

From your photos to your front door

Custom Urn for Dog Charlie Close Up.JPG

1. Submit photo(s)

We can sculpt a replica of your photos or use them as inspiration to create a unique relief of the subject.

Turning a Custom Urn on a Lathe

2. We sculpt your urn

We carve and hollow earn urn by hand on a lathe and cut your sculpture from solid wood adding it directly into the side.

Studio Photo of a Custom Dog Urn, Solid Wood

3. Receive your heirloom

We ship nationwide and offer local delivery to the Washington D.C. metro area.

You can learn more about our process by visiting our About Us page or Woodworking Blog. We also have more photos of Dog Urns in our Gallery.

Our wooden custom pets urns

Each of our custom wood urns begins with a piece of solid kiln-dried timber carefully chosen for quality and beauty. Because each tree is unique, each urn will also have its own unique grain pattern and subtle coloring. Rather than see these variations as defects, we highlight these natural differences as we sculpt and polish each piece. Our process ensures each urn is as unique as both the sustainably-sourced wood we created it from and the beloved person or pet it was made to honor.

Forest of trees, lumber for woodworking and sculpting

Wood selection

Every urn begins with carefully selected and sustainably-sourced hardwood. We personally inspect each log for beautiful grain patterns, coloring, structure, and humidity before we prepare it for wood turning.

Using bowl gouge on a lathe to turn a custom urn

Wood Turning

Your prepared timber is then carefully sculpted by hand on a lathe. This process turns the initial piece into the urn that will honor your loved one. This process can take anywhere from one to several days depending on the size, grain pattern, and any residual moisture.

Portrait Carving

Using your photographs, we create detailed relief carvings that will adorn the side of your urn. The result captures your loved one’s unique features such as the curve of their ears, the expression in their eyes, the personality that made them irreplaceable.

Putting the finishing touches on a wooden vessel

Hand-Applied Finishes

We finish every urn with multiple coats of natural oil or colored finishes that are hand-rubbed to bring out the wood's character. This creates a durable, smooth with a warm, natural sheen that deepens beautifully over time.

Choosing the right pet urn:

Experts recommend urn sizing be roughly equal to body weight prior to cremation. Each pound should equal one cubic inch of urn capacity. For example, a person who weighed 160 pounds will typically need an urn with a capacity of at least 160 cubic inches. When in doubt, please contact us for guidance on how to select your sizing.

A quick note about us:

Our small family studio is the only studio in the country that carves a memorial relief into the side of your urn. While others use a laser machine to burn a shallow, pixelated image into the side of a mass produced vessel, we make each urn from scratch and carve the intricate, 3D reliefs ourselves. The resulting piece is not only completely one-of-a-kind, but it also showcases your loved one in timeless sculpted detail.

This combination of artistry and story gives your loved one an heirloom resting place worthy of their journey. See our About Us page or Gallery for to learn more.

Me and my Cat example photo for custom cat urn carvings before image.png
Woodturning a vase or urn, hollowing step
Woodturning a vase or urn, hollowing step
Woodturning a vase or urn, roughing step

Their story carved into a lasting heirloom

These urns include hand-carved relief portraits on the side of hand-lathe-turned wooden vessels that highlight the natural beauty of hardwoods with the artistry of detailed sculpture: This combination of natural beauty and

  • Beautifully polished solid wood or ceramic

  • Up to 250 cubic inch capacity

  • Proudly made in the USA with sustainably sourced American hardwoods

  • Unique carving of your cherished friend and loved one

Premium wood options for pet urns

A small wooden container with a circular carved design on the front, next to a larger wooden piece with a layered appearance against a plain white background.
Five different types of wood blocks stacked on a gray surface.

Choose the perfect wood species for your custom pet urn. Each offers unique grain patterns, colors, and characteristics. Cedar is available for box urns only; all woods available for traditional and sculptural styles:

  • Aromatic Cedar - Warm reddish-brown wood with beautiful natural aroma.

  • Red Oak - Warm, honey-toned wood with prominent grain patterns.

  • Black Walnut - Rich, dark chocolate brown wood with elegant grain.

  • Cherry - Warm reddish-brown wood that deepens with age.

  • Maple - Light, creamy wood with subtle grain.

Frequently asked questions

Want to learn more?

Small family woodworking and sculpting business

Visit our about us page to learn about our family business and methodology.

Clay ceramics pots

Visit our blog for information about woodworking and ceramics.

Woodworking and sculpting tools

View our gallery of completed pieces to see finished urns and the photos that inspired them.