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'Eternal Ware' An Alternative To Cremation Urns

NEWPORT, Minn. (WCCO) - When we lose a loved one, we often look for ways to honor their life.

One Twin Cities couple has found a unique way to memorialize a family member after death.

Ron and Carole Javner opened Eternal Ware in Newport, where they offer a unique pottery memorial to grieving families.

For Ron, pottery has always been a passion.

"It's an interesting form of art," Ron said.

But After Ron's mother died four years ago, he started thinking of different ways he'd like to remember her.

That's when the idea for Eternal Ware took off.

The company offers an alternative to the standard urn when a loved one is cremated.

"To me, it's like putting new life into a creation, and also new life into that 'What do I do with ones' ashes?'" he said.

The Javners work with seven pottery artists to create memorials unique not only in design, but in how they're made.

The artists combine clay with cremated ashes of a loved one. The end result is a one-of-a-kind piece of pottery.

"It's not something that you would initially think is what it is, so it just can beautify your home," she said. "People just like to have special reminders of their loved ones."

For Carole, her pottery has helped overcome the hurt of losing her mother last year.

"I have this in my living room at home, and it just makes me smile every time I look at it because I think of my mom," she said.

It is art which allows families to keep loved ones close, even in death.

"Carol has a piece where she has it every day around her, where I have to go 200 miles away to go to my mom's grave," Ron said. "It's like saying, 'OK, you haven't went away. You're still around.'"

Eternal Ware also makes pottery pieces in memory of pets that have passed away.

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