The beauty, grace, and mystery of owls capture the admiration of many people. Some find such majesty in owls that they devote their lives to studying them. Others simply decorate their homes with owl pictures, figurines, and paintings.
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Regardless, if you’ve lost a loved one with a passion for owls and you’ve chosen to cremate them, you should consider how an urn for their ashes could embody that passion. Many urns designs are ideal for the remains of owl-lovers.
This blog will cover some of the more popular options. If you’re thinking about purchasing an owl urn for your loved one’s ashes, we also list a few of the places where you might buy one, helping you find the right urn to celebrate the deceased’s fascination with these creatures.
What Are the Different Types of Owl Urns?
Owl urns come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and materials. These are simply among the most common:
Display urns
Owls are beautiful animals. That means owl urns are often perfect for displaying in your home. Consider these examples:
1. Traditional owl urns
A traditional display urn is often a vase-shaped container. It may come in a range of materials, including steel, wood, ceramic clay, and various others.
These urns can also feature engravings, paintings, and other types of illustrations. Thus, if you’re looking for a relatively traditional owl urn, you could find one in this shape, featuring the image of an owl.
Your options are fairly wide-ranging if you’re leaning in this direction. For example, the image could consist of a basic black or white outline of an owl against a solid color base, or it could feature a detailed painting of an owl in a nature scene.
2. Owl-shaped urns
The shape of an owl’s body is actually the perfect inspiration for an urn design. The relatively stout roundness of its body matches the shape of many urns already, and an owl’s head can inspire the design for an urn’s cap.
That’s why many suppliers and artists offer urns in the shape of an owl. Some are minimalist, one-color ceramic containers. Some are dramatic, multicolored sculptures of owls posing as if to take flight. The more you research this type of urn, the more you’ll realize just how expansive your options are.
3. Box urns
A wooden or steel box is another common type of display urn. Some people choose this style because its timeless quality ensures it will always look appropriate and respectful.
As with vase-shaped urns, these types of urns can include illustrations of owls. Others may feature owl figurines resting on top of them.
4. Bronze statue urns
Bronze is often a popular choice of material for urns that resemble small statues. For example, some bronze statue urns feature small sculptures of owls sitting on top of sculptures of rocks or tree branches.
You might consider this option for its durability as much as its visual appeal. After all, you don’t just want an urn to touch on a lost loved one’s passion for owls. You also want it to stay in good condition for years to come.
5. Companion urns
If you’re looking for an owl urn for two loved ones who shared a passion for owls, look into companion urns.
Companion owl urns will often be in the shape of two owls perched on the same surface. The resulting image may suggest your loved ones have now taken flight together to a better place. That’s a notion that could bring you a sense of peace and comfort during an otherwise difficult experience.
Cremation jewelry
Not all owl urns need to be on display. With cremation jewelry and urn charms, you can keep part of a loved one with you at all times.
That could be particularly important to you if your work or lifestyle keeps you away from home frequently. If that’s the case, you may want to purchase one of these smaller owl urns:
6. Stainless steel owl charms
Stainless steel charms (which you can wear in necklaces, bracelets, etc.) in the shape of owls are among the most popular types of owl cremation jewelry. Often, the owl’s eyes may be a type of jewel, adding some distinct flair to an otherwise subtle design.
That said, there isn’t one universal shape for this type of urn. Some are small charms that exaggerate the width of an owl’s body so that they’re almost perfect circles. Others feature leaner owls perched on tree branches. Once more, you should browse your options to find one that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
7. Crystal or glass beads
A crystal or glass bead is another type of small owl urn you may find appealing. Often, these beads are transparent, featuring images or figures of owls inside of them, with wing-shaped charms on top of them. As with most beads, you could wear something like this in many different types of jewelry.
8. Small cylinder urns
A small stainless steel cylinder is another popular design for cremation jewelry urns. This is partially due to the versatility of this design. You can wear a small steel cylinder containing some of your loved one’s ashes as a necklace pendant, keep it in your pocket as a charm, or use it as a keychain.
Many urn designers add character to this type of urn by affixing small circular pendants with glass or resin front sides to them. A photo or drawing of an owl can sit beneath the glass or resin cover.
Where Can You Buy Owl-Shaped Urns?
Luckily, finding an owl urn can be easier than you think, as there are many places from which you can buy one. They include:
Funeral homes or crematoriums
It’s not uncommon for funeral homes and crematoriums to sell urns. This helps customers save time. Instead of spending time trying to find an urn supplier, you can buy one from those who are already handling your loved one’s funeral.
That said, many funeral homes and crematoriums have a limited supply of urns. Therefore, they mainly offer traditional designs. Your funeral home or crematorium may offer an owl urn, but you should be prepared to seek out other options.
Online retailers
While finding a supplier in your area offering the perfect owl urn may be difficult, you can make your search much easier by purchasing an urn from an online retailer.
Many of these retailers, such as Foreverence, also give you the option to customize your urn instead of selecting from pre-made designs. That may be very important to you if you have specific ideas about how the finished product should look.
This is an option worth keeping in mind if you’re wondering how much an urn costs, and whether you can find one whose price is right for your budget. Expanding your search to include online retailers can potentially help you save money. That’s simply a natural benefit of having more options.
Auction sites
You may also be more likely to find an owl urn in your price range on an auction site.
However, it’s important to consider certain factors if you decide to buy an urn from such a platform. One, because you’re dealing with an individual seller instead of an established company, you have to look into their reputation to confirm past customers had good experiences buying from them.
Someone could also outbid you. There’s no guarantee you’ll actually get the urn you set your sights on if you use an auction site.
Artists
Another option to consider if you want a custom owl urn is buying directly from artists. There may be an artist in your area who can make an urn based on your ideas, or, you could find an artist on Etsy or a similar platform.
Antique shops
You shouldn’t go into an antique shop certain you’ll find an owl urn there. The types of items antique shops carry tend to be fairly random, and can often vary throughout the year based on what a shop owner has been able to get a hold of.
That said, if you enjoy antiquing anyway, and you’re in the market for an owl urn, keep your eyes open for one the next time you visit your favorite antique store. You may find one that speaks to you.
Owl Urns: A Beautiful Remembrance
Not all urn designs need to be traditional. As these unique urns prove, you can also choose designs that serve as a reminder of a loved one’s interests. For some people, that’s a very important quality in an urn.