Nick Cranham, of Cinderhill, is giving families the chance to keep their loved ones close after death — by turning their ashes into photo frames.
The engineer only used to offer the service to grieving pet lovers but now has applied for a worldwide patent for the idea, which also includes pendants, memorial plaques and cufflinks.
His first client was John Fitton from Buxton, Derbyshire, whose daughter Beth was killed in an accident in July 2007. Cranham made five silver pendants with a polymer inlaid ‘stone’ created from Beth’s ashes.
Fitton said: “The pendants are of very high quality and make a unique keepsake of my beautiful daughter Beth.
“Beth’s mother wears hers all the time. The rest of us don’t because we’re afraid of losing them. A little bit of Beth is still with us.”
Cranham came up with the idea for company Sentimental Connections after chatting with a vet friend, and spent £50,000 on research and development.
Photo by Sentimental Connections.