Heartwood Caskets is a Jackson, Michigan based husband and wife (Peter and Amanda Shackelford) venture to build beautiful, simple caskets. We are currently working on getting our shop and website set up. In the meantime, we'd like to have a list of people who would like to be notified when we are ready to start selling caskets and have an idea of level of interest.
Our caskets are fairly simple and would be acceptable for green burial. They are held together with joinery, pegs and rawhide glue. There aren't any metal fixtures or synthetic finishes. We are currently planning on doing two models, the plain box model and the fancy shaker/craftsman influenced model.
All of our caskets will have a bookshelf option so you can use it as a shelf in your home until a casket is needed. Our first caskets will be made of red pine, but we will also be offering cherry, black walnut and oak as alternate options. The type of wood and the model will both factor into the cost. We are still figuring out pricing, but they will be around $800 on the low end to $2500 on the high end.
Following are a few questions to help us gauge interest and plan ahead. Thanks!