Spirit Pieces Review: An Honest Look from a Memorial Artist

If you've searched for cremation glass or cremation jewelry, you've found Spirit Pieces — they're the biggest name in the category, and their catalog is enormous. This review covers what they actually offer, what it costs, how the process works, and who they're genuinely right for.

Full disclosure, because you deserve it in a review like this: I'm Preston Zeller, a memorial artist. I make commissioned memorial paintings that can incorporate ashes, which makes me an alternative to Spirit Pieces at a very different price point. I have no relationship with the company, and I've kept this factual — because for many families, they're a genuinely good choice, and pretending otherwise would help no one.

What Spirit Pieces is

Spirit Pieces is a marketplace connecting families with a network of American glass artists and jewelers who incorporate a small amount of cremated ashes — about half a teaspoon — into handmade pieces. They serve both human and pet memorials, and their range is the widest in the industry:

Glass art ($129–$299): orbs and paperweights, hearts, flames, tree-of-life sculptures, eggs, flowers, suncatchers, garden orbs, hummingbirds, touchstones, and figurines.
Cremation jewelry ($69–$549): rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings across crushed opal, glass, crystal resin, and ceramic collections, including self-fill options.
Keepsake urns in glass, ceramic, and porcelain, plus themed collections — ocean, space, music, weddings, and pet-specific designs.

How the process works

You order first, and Spirit Pieces mails a collection kit within about seven business days. You return a small amount of ashes in the provided packaging — via USPS Priority Mail Express, the only legal way to ship cremated remains in the US — and the artist creates your piece. Expect roughly six weeks from sending the ashes to receiving the finished memorial.

That timeline surprises some families, but it's the honest cost of handmade work; anyone promising ash-infused glass in a week deserves your skepticism.

What they genuinely do well

Selection. No one else offers this range. If a specific form matters to you — a hummingbird for a mother who kept feeders, a flame, a wave — they very likely have it.
Accessible pricing. Most glass pieces land between $129 and $299. For families who want ashes transformed into something beautiful without a major outlay, this is the entry point.
Sharing among family. Because each piece uses about half a teaspoon, one small portion of ashes can become five keepsakes for five siblings. Multiple pieces from the same order can even be made from the same session.
Pet memorials. They treat pet loss as real loss, with a full dedicated range — not an afterthought.
Visible ash. The swirl of white in the glass is the point. You see them in it.

What to weigh before ordering

It's a catalog, not a commission. Every design existed before your loved one's name entered the process. You're choosing a shape and colorway, not shaping something from who they were. The piece is personal — it holds their ashes — but not personalized. Whether that distinction matters is the single most important question to ask yourself before ordering.
A network, not one studio. Different artists make different pieces. Quality is generally well-reviewed, but the hand that makes your piece depends on the item, and you won't meet the maker. If watching your memorial being made in person appeals to you, a single-studio operation like Artful Ashes is the better fit — I compare them directly in Spirit Pieces vs. Artful Ashes.
Small keepsakes can disappear into drawers. Touchstones and marbles are lovely in the hand but easy to tuck away. If you want a daily presence, choose a display or hanging piece — or ask whether what you really want is something at the scale of a wall.
The ash-sending moment is real. However professional the kit, some families find parting with even a spoonful emotionally harder than expected. There's no deadline; order when you're ready.

Who Spirit Pieces is right for

Choose them if you want a beautiful, durable keepsake in the $70–$550 range, you like having many forms to choose from, and the idea of a visible swirl of ash in glass comforts you. They're an especially strong choice when several family members each want something, or for pet memorials.

Look elsewhere if you want to meet the maker or watch the piece being made (a local studio or Artful Ashes), or if what you're really after is a one-of-one memorial designed from your loved one's actual life — their character, their story — rather than chosen from a catalog. That's the territory of commissioned work: my memorial paintings start at $4,900, are built one-on-one from your memories over weeks of conversation, and use a similarly small amount of ashes worked into the paint. Different budget, different object, different question being answered.

And remember it isn't either/or. Because both glass and paintings use only a spoonful of ashes, many families order glass keepsakes for the extended family and commission one central piece for the home. My guide to what to do with a loved one's ashes lays out how the options combine.

Frequently asked questions

How much of the ashes does Spirit Pieces need?

About half a teaspoon per piece. The collection kit specifies the exact amount. The remainder of the ashes stays with you for whatever else feels right.

How long does it take?

Roughly six weeks after you send the ashes, plus about a week up front for the collection kit to arrive.

Is Spirit Pieces legitimate?

Yes — they're an established company with a large network of American artists and a long track record in the memorial space. As with any provider handling ashes, use their kit and USPS Priority Mail Express, and send only the small amount requested.