Simple Pine Boxes

One Sweet Box

2011-10-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

"JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS HARD, DOESN'T MEAN IT IS NOT HEALTHY"

I felt very honored when the family asked me to assist them in making a simple pine box for Terry. You see Terry was a very uniuqe individual. He loved his woodworking projects, he built his own house and numerous outbuildings on his acreage. I suspect that he would have wanted to build his own box but didn't think that he would be taken so soon. He was just too darn busy living each day to plan for tomorrow.

In deciding what the box should look like it was obvious that pine needed to be the feature wood. If we would have had more time we could have used the lumber from the multiple lifts of lumber that Terry had cut and were air drying around his property. No one expected that Terry's life would be cut short at the young age of 47. Fortunately I had a basic shell available, so what was needed was to mount the bottom of the box and create a lid design. I got some feedback from the family and decided that a classic shiplap lid with a Z brace would be fitting. Little did I know that this mirrored many projects that Terry had made for his own place.

It is not uncommon that when a sudden death occurs there are many things left unsaid and subtle tensions are experienced within relationships. I have seen how building a box can bring the family together and move a person out of their despair and helplessness into action. It was really amazing to see the family mobolize and start working on the box as soon as I got there. Within a short while the bottom was glued and screwed and the lid was being assembled.

Initially the family was going to have a private creamation and the body was not going to be present during the service. Once they started getting their hands moving and creating a box that expressed who Terry was it was obvious that his presence was needed during the service.

I would love to tell you the rest of the story but my job was done. The family knew what to do and I would only get in the way of their creativity. My role was to step back and allow the process to evolve. Since the family was healthy and had a strong foundation they did not need any external support to finish the project.

My heart was full when I heard tidbits of the story of the box. I suggested when the time is right I would love to hear the story and maybe we could add it to the blog or ... it could be a chapter in the book that I would like to write ... someday.

THE LESS WORK PROFESSIONALS DO FOR YOU IN ARRANGING A FUNERAL THE GREATER THE CHANCE YOU WILL NOT NEED PROFESSIONAL INTERVENTION TO HANDLE YOUR GRIEF REACTIONS LATER. (just my hypothesis)

The industry is right by your side to offer to do all the difficult parts in planning a funeral. What we tend to forget is that if we are left with nothing to do we are disengaged from the process of grief and end up sometimes staying stuck in our grief after all the busyness is over. This was not the case with the sweet family, they were actively engaged with all aspects of the funeral ... and that made all the difference.

I don't make urns ... I make little living boxes

2011-09-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges when you make boxes is being asked to make ready made finished urns. The reality is that the boxes that I create are made for the living and not the dead. If people don't get it they are going to be disappointed with the "living box". I know that if I was focused on sales I would create generic boxes, that are uniform in shape and create a nice finished container. The problem is that this leaves the focus on the finished box and one is unable to shift their perspective with the box as their life changes. The whole process of grief is not stagnant. Who you are today may not resemble who you are to become in 3 months or 3 years. The danger with having a "finished product" is to view the cremains and keep them unchanged in your life forever. I do not want to dictate a plan for people and tell them what they "should" do with their box, however I don't want to give them the picture that the box is complete.

In my community we lost a cherished soul of 31 years. I spoke with her partner and this is what to told him. This is your living box. I understand at this time of your life you will most likely fill it with Alyssa's cremains. In time you will decide when you are ready to throw some or all of these to the wind. Remember when you do that you create space with the box. Please consider filling the box with other treasured pieces or memories.
You see the universe does not like a vacuum, once space is created it cries out to be filled.

New Box

2011-07-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a new design. Let me know what you think.
The top is solid fir, with ship lap joints.
The side is solid fir with an aromatic cedar strip for contrast

The bottom is 5/8 fir plywood.

Byron's Box

2011-03-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

My brother requested a box to be used within the BCGEU forestery component. I am just completing the box and delivering it this week.

2 Rivers Art Gallery Curio

2010-10-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am currently working on one of my living boxes (curio) that I am donating to the two rivers art gallery. They are having a Halloween event and I am struggling a bit with the design of the box. I have always tried to avoid the perception of my boxes being a Halloween/gothic prop but more of conversation piece that helps people discuss death in a healthy, proactive way. It also doesn't help that this is a high end event for people outside of my income bracket.

I spent several hours with the Communications director (she came out to the cabin) and she obviously gets the concept, however displaying something without being able to tell the Narrative is always challenging. The background for the box is a dead garden so I was thinking of building the curio around a small tree sapling and have the branches intertwined with the shelves (whether or not this is do-able or attractive is another matter)

urn

2010-10-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of Urns that I made for a local Prince George client. They are 4x6x8 which is too small for a complete set of ashes. This client wanted them to both fit within a 10x10x11 columbarium.

The top is made from curly maple that the client's spouse had brought back from New Brunswick. He was a woodworker but had never incorporated them in any of his projects. I felt that it was fitting that it top his final resting box. Sides are fir and corners are dovetailed.

MCC fall fair curio

2010-10-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here is the curio I donated to the fall fair. It was my clasic curio taper and I placed a plywood back since it would be used as furniture.

Home show winner

2010-04-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

Elaina Hudyma was the proud recipient of the full size box at the home show. I delivered the box today. I requested that she send a pic showing the boxes final resting spot in her home.

Display Boxes

2010-04-17T07:54:00.001-07:00

Bonnie Jackson from Yokohama Silk and Fabric Imports purchased 10 of my boxes as display cases. For more information on Bonnie's business see www.japanesefabric.ca

Participatory Grief

2010-04-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

Apparently this phrase does not yet exist. I think it emphasizes that in order to work through grief it is important to engage and not get caught being passive. That is not to say that there are periods of time where exaustion sets in. I love this picture of my extended family finishing grandma's box.

I have been thinking about how this whole process started recently. I am constantly reminded what a blessing it was to build my grandmothers box. For more information please see http://www.grandmathiessenmemory.blogspot.com/. I think that I will start on that book I have been promising for the last couple of years. Grandma's box will be the first chapter, then I could include a chapter on owen, and a few other families that I have interacted with the past year.

Owen's box

2010-03-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure to help a family build a box this past weekend. The circumstances surrounding this death were horrific. Owen was the victim of a double homicide and his spouse was almost fatally injured in the attack. I believe that the coming together to create a personalized box allowed the family to regain some of the control and I hope will be a stepping stone in rebuilding their lives.

I think this experience reaffirmed that I am on the right path with Simple Pine Boxes.

See www.owensbox.blogspot.com
for more of this story.

small display/moving boxes

2010-03-21T12:48:00.001-07:00

Home show spring 2010

2010-03-21T10:22:00.002-07:00

Small Boxes

2010-02-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Artist box

2010-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Round Coffin display case

2009-07-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Gary from NR motors asked me to build a display case for his wake boards

Here is the finished product in his show room

This case is 7' tall

Canadian Funeral pyre

2009-06-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

One of the issues that arises is how to integrate funeral customs that originate outside of the north american context. The funeral pyre is an excellent example. Pyre is from the greek meaning fire. It is when a structure of wood is created and the body is placed on the structure while it is lit on fire. In the viking context the funeral pyre is constructed on a boat.

(picture from Wikipedia)

Canadians trying to recreate this tradition utilize modern day crematoriums. One of our simple pine boxes can also faciliate this fire by creating a pure fire without extra material commonly contained in the modern day casket.

Coffin Violin Case

2009-06-07T11:07:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of the violin case I am making for Ariel.

Hardwood Box

2009-05-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

I want to thank the Baha'i community in Quesnel for requesting this custom hardwood box. I think it turned out great. They requested that it be finished and have regular handles. Here is the the completed box.

Quesnel Home Show

2009-05-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

The Quesnel homeshow was a great success. We had lots of input and people were very receptive to the concept of final resting boxes as furniture.

Here Ron is getting measured for a box.

Noah helped me on friday and Saturday. Bax came out for Sunday to help with sales.

Judy Easy was the winner of the draw for a free Box.

Interviews

2009-03-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

I was very happy with both the CBC interview and the PG citizen interview. I will post the link if anyone is interested.
http://www.cbc.ca/daybreaknorth/daybreak_again.html#monday
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20090323182934/local/news/furniture-for-now-and-forever.html

I also was interviewed on Mar 27th by Brian Allen on CKNX north of Toronto. He must have seen the article in the citizen.
http://www.am920.ca/program_schedule.php?area=show&show_id=35

(right click on fridays show, open link and then listen to last 10 minutes of show)

Designing a man's size tackle box

2009-03-24T13:07:00.001-07:00

Over the next couple days I will make a prototype of a fishing storage case. I will post photo's as they become available.

My helpers

2009-03-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

I was very proud to have both Noah and Baxter at the show on Friday night. They both helped with the set up and engaged with some of the visitors.

Michelle my friend from the hospital came to assit on Sunday. She was able to provide an insiders view as she had worked the trade show circuit when she was younger.

CBC interview

2009-03-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

I received a call from Jenifer who does the daybreak North show on CBC. Apparently her sister was the person who won the box at the homeshow. I also spoke with her briefly at the homeshow and she would like to come out to my workshop and interview me. I am very excited. I am glad it is radio as my shop is extremely messy.

Interesting Stat's from PG Homeshow

2009-03-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

I gathered the following stat's from people who filled out my survey information.
Of the 159 surveys that were completed:
61.6% were not aware they could supply their own box for a funeral
64.8% saw price as a factor in chosing their box
55% liked bookshelf as their storage solution of choice
Only 5.7% would not consider final resting boxes as furniture
23.3% selected "maybe" when asked would they consider boxes as furniture
18.9% would utilize boxes as furniture (as long as it would not look like a casket)
45.3% would utilize boxes as furniture.
58.5% of people would like their boxes personalized by family and friends
92.4 % of people would like a greener option for their funeral

I would be very curious to see if similar findings would occur in other larger centre's.

Thank-you Elizabeth

2009-03-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth, the retired hospital chaplain has been an incredible asset in promoting this product to the public. She has met half the city in the context of a crisis and responded as caring professional. Now she can talk with them and others about an idea that will change the funeral industry forever.

My friend Dave

2009-03-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

I first met Dave just over a year ago. He is a living paradox. One one hand he is a grown up Dennis the Menace then at other times he is an intellect with a broad knowledge base. The hard thing is to determine who he is when he is giving business advice.

Dave was instrumental in helping me get the home show brochure together. After numerous revisions we had a product that was ready for the public.

Dave also helped set up the booth along with my two oldest sons.

Thanks Pat for the shirts

2009-03-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

The shirts have been a hit at the homeshow. My mother-in-law Pat helped put them together. We decided on a professional look on the front with the logo. Then on the back we put our company's motto.

One lady saw Noah's T shirt asked where the booth was and came to check it out.

Is it a coffin, no it's furniture what to you mean it's both?

2009-03-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

The body language at the homeshow has been awesome to see. I think many people get my product when the hear my name (especially if you let their mind wander) So people would look up to the sign and see Simple Pine Boxes. Then they would see the furniture options and be confused. Some would playfully suggest "Oh I thought you were selling coffins?" The door then opens to healthy dialogue.

Some people don't get it until you explain in detail. Some react with shock and horror and rush away from the booth. Others avoid it as soon as they see the name and stay to the outside of the walkway.

Others approach the booth with curiousity and want to talk.

SPB The Trojan Horse of the Prince George Homeshow

2009-03-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

When you make a product for the death care industry it is always an issue how you choose to market to the general public. When I heard the homeshow was coming to town I thought this would be a great opportunity to get out to the public and show my wares. I struggled with the display for the homeshow as to how obvious I would make it that my furniture options could also be used as a final resting box. My friend Dave who helped me design the pamphlet wanted me to put rope handles on the tapered box table box. I decided that the focus of the homeshow was to assist the public to see our products in a neutral light. Since most people deny death and some are afraid to even have the faintest reminder of death I thought that the more subtle I was with the display the better.

We will see what happens.

Signage for homeshow

2009-02-28T11:24:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of the signs. I initially thought about getting a vinyl sign but I realized that it doesn't fit the image of the company. I decided it would be more appropriate to put the sign on wood. Bax helped with the painting of the large sign and traced the outline for the logo.

Prince George Home show

2009-02-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

My life has been very busy lately when I received confirmation that I am in the home show. I thought that this would be the best opportunity to launch my business. It is this March 13th - 15th. I have asked my friend Elizabeth who is a retired hospital chaplain to help me out with sales Noah will help me out on friday (he is gone the rest of the weekend) The key is for this show is to highlight my products as furniture and get my concept out into the Prince George community.

I did some internet searches and looked at other people's displays. I think the key is to have a visually dramatic display without looking too busy. I will keep you posted as the display develops.

Here is a rough prototype of what my space will look like.

I think the 2 bookshelves should go along the back wall. Over the back of the display I will get a banner of Simple Pine Boxes that will be 2' x 8' long. There will be a podium in the front right with a bench box behind. The rest of the display will feature my boxes as upright furniture.

Blanket Box

2009-01-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

While I was making a new design I created a box with several wide cracks that required wood infill. I initially thought of 1/4" plywood splines. As I was playing around with the concept I was searching through my discarded wood ends. I stumbled across some cedar strips from my grandmothers box and realized that these would be perfect infill strips. The box could then be used as a hope chest or blanket box before it becomes a final resting box.

$100 casket design

2009-01-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

I built a casket for just over $100 yesterday. I was thinking that for those people who chose to get creamated this would be a very affordable option. Most people that I talk to who are being cremated say "I don't need a box". What they don't realize is that they need to be transported and cremated in an approved container. What this usually means is that the funeral home will sell them a "transport container" which essentially is a sturdy cardboard box. They usually charge the family $150-$200 for this box even though it costs them less than $50.

This leaves me several options for this $100 box. I could sell plans online for $10. I could see if any hardware store would be willing to sell kits. I could have a display box with several kits inside. I think I could sell the ready made kits for $200.

For $250 I could sell the box assembled and delivered within the city of Prince George.

The last option that I came up with I think is the best from a participatory point of view. I could talk to Church groups and service organizations about setting up classes for people to build their own box. It would only take a half day for basic assembly. This would provide people to come together and discuss death in an open forum. Once assembled people could use this box as storage prior to it's final purpose.

Drying the pine

2008-11-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

The fir that has been stacked in the guest suite is now dry. I moved this down to the workshop and stacked some of the wet pine. The moisture tester showed that it the moisture content was above 20%. The wood has some nice character, much of the wood has nice beatle stain and the quality of the wood looks good.

I will have to restack the rest of the wood and put stickers between the boards to ensure that they dry evenly. That will be tomorrows job.

Dollar Saver lumber mill is awesome

2008-11-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

Homer and I dropped off 2 lifts of 1x8 pine that Ernie Kragt had milled up for me. The two lifts were a bit on the wet side so the trailer was nicely loaded. Dollar Saver initially told me that they didn't know when the lifts would be done. They called me the next day and told me the lifts were finished.

Wow now that is efficient.

Bax, my right hand man

2008-11-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

Bax cut up 10 box sides. I decided to put them behind my stove. They already are pretty dry but it never hurts to dry them further.

Here bax is trimming the sides to the bottom of the boxes. I took the picture through the hole in the floor from the second floor guest suite to the workshop below. This is a great way to supervise the progress.

It is always important for a test fit.

Here bax is trimming the bottom of the boxes to ensure a good fit.

Rounding over the edges ensure that the bottom edge looks finished. It still will be necessary to complete with some additional sanding.

Bench for cut off saw

2008-10-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I worked on a bench for the cut off saw. Homer had donated some rollers which worked nicely. I can't wait to put this baby to some good use.

Shop floor

2008-10-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

Today I worked on putting the wood floor on my shop. The flooring is 3x6" fir. I am notching it out so that I can put a 1x4 in between each plank. I think this will give me a tighter floor and I should be able to adjust it if it starts to shrink.

Time to start putting some boxes together

2008-10-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I brought my lumber home from Dollar Saver planer mill. It looked awesome, it was neatly stacked, bundled and tarped. I borrowed a friends (homer's) truck and a friend (Martin's) trailer to get it home. I initially thought that I would have to hand bomb it all off the truck but I sat down and did some figuring first to see if I could offload it as a package.

I think physics is really cool when put in practical applications. I used three logs to roll the wood off the trailer into my dry shop.

Simple Fir Box

2008-10-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

This week has been spent working on packaging my boxes. I have found a supplier of cardboard and have access to a plastic strapping machine. I need to determine if this is the best way to package my boxes or if I should try plastic wrap. I don't like the idea of plastic since it is not recyclable, whereas cardboard can be recycled.

I spoke with DHL. The boxes are approximately 120 lbs and can be shipped to all major destinations in one package. The cost should be from $100-$150 depending on destination. If I send the box to a smaller city I may have to break up the box into two separate packages as the maximum weight for the satellite offices is 90 lbs.

I built a fir box from some of the wood that I received from McBride. The final product looks excellent. I will try and upload an image. The cost for this box may be a little bit higher but I believe that customers will be very satisfied with the product.

The other issue that I struggled with on Tuesday was trying to write assembly instructions for the box. I have assembled many boxes and the assembly for me is fairly straight forward. To translate this to people who may have little woodworking experience is very challenging. I am working on a colour coding system to simplify labelling the parts of the box. I will then ask a few friends to use the instructions and see if there are any issues.

Lots happening

2008-09-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

I recognize that there has not been many new posts. Seem all my energy has been directed at the tangible part of starting the business. There has been numerous changes the past month.

The main project has been working on the shop. I am trying really hard to have the walls and floor on before the snow flies. I hate talking about snow in September, however the thought of snow motivates me to work harder. My current workspace is too small especially if I have to make several boxes at once. In a perfect world I would also be able to heat this space, however this is unlikely.

The solar kiln in the shop (to dry the wood) is still in the works. I may have to supplement heat with electricity or wood.

Dragon's Den Store

2008-09-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

I received some exciting news last week that has been stressing me totally out. Apparently with the launch of season 3 they are setting up a store to sell the products featured on the Dragon's Den. I have no idea how many products I would potentially sell and I still have to sort out packaging and shipping, not to mention knowing how much wood I need to keep in my inventory.

On a positive note I have found a source of 1x8 fir. The cost is reasonable and the product is exceptional. I would like to make most of the box floors with this material as it superior to pine structurally. I may even make some boxes totally from fir as it is very esthetically pleasing as well.

Dragon's Den update

2008-08-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

I was watching the Olympics yesterday. During the commercial break, season 3 of Dragon's Den was being advertised. That is when Noah and I were featured, for about 1/2 a second. What caught my eye was Noah's bright purple shirt. We waited a few hours and the commercial aired again so we taped the commercial for posterity sake. This maybe a hopeful sign that our pitch maybe featured in the upcoming season.

Click the title of this blog entry to see the trailer.

crazy chicken's club

2008-06-03T17:35:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have not seen the show this header is a quote from Kevin, one of the dragon's. He rarely likes an idea, it totally preoccupied on making money and if you are out there far enough he refers to you as a crazy chicken.

The couple in the black and red are inventors of a toe nail polish removal system. He is a podiatrist and had painted his toe nails for his pitch.
These thumbs up photoguys were actually returning from season 2 with another invention. They were clearly here for the free advertising and had no interested in getting a deal with the dragon's.

The people in the above photo may be familiar to some as these guys were returning from last year. This is Chris and Emmanuel the inventors of the fruit picker and owners of the hippie fruit picking company. This season they are back pitching van go TV. (www.vangotv.ca)

I never did find out how this guys toilet was different. We will see if he is on the show.

I did some calculations and figured that approximately 50 % of the pitches will end up on TV.

These gals in blue invented a type of game. I am thinking they might face the fire of the dragon's as they usually are not too keen on games.

Go

2008-06-03T16:51:00.001-07:00

Here Noah is practicing his pitch for the final time.

Hanging out in the "green room"

CBC studios is just down the street from the CN centre

set

2008-06-03T14:01:00.001-07:00

Here the set director and the props director are deciding if they can allow me to come out of the box.

Molly our producer is explaining our pitching plan to the floor director.

Pictures from the den
Jim's pile of money. Apparently it is real
The floor director

Some people just want to have fun or get into trouble
The idea is for the director to tell all the pitchers were they are going to stand and work out final placement for props.

Ready

2008-06-03T09:35:00.001-07:00

Putting the box together with my new friend Ben. Ben is 3 years old. I stayed with Ben and his family Craig and Esther. Craig was my treeplanting boss over 20 years ago. Boy do I sound old

Noah helping put the shelves in the unit.

The finished box with Noah as my Vanna White.

CBC

2008-06-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

We thought we would stop by the studio a day early to ensure a drop off time for the box.

Arriving in TO

2008-06-03T07:31:00.001-07:00

We shipped the box flat. It ended up weighing in at 93 lbs. A little ackward carrying through Union station when we arrived in TO. We had to shuttle our stuff back and forth to the street.
Our stuff was too much for a regular taxi so we had to wait for a van taxi

The long and winding train

2008-06-03T07:21:00.000-07:00

As you can see Noah and I went a little nuts on the train. Actually it was really a cool way to see the country. Everyone was laid back and we had lots of interesting conversations.

I think we counted 19 cars in our train. Each viewing car contains a kitchen and dining room. First class passengers were behind our car where they had more room and sleeping bunks.

Friends on the train

2008-06-03T07:09:00.001-07:00

The dining car was small, so we had the opportunity of joining with other people and sharing conversation.
We got to hang out with some young "tree planter" type people. None of them were actually tree planters but I think you know what I mean
Chris and I had an interesting discussion. He just came back from visiting his grandchildren and he lives just outside of TO.
Here Paul is helping Noah with some of his math homework. In a lot of ways commuting by train is kind of like living in a village.

... & water

2008-06-03T06:46:00.003-07:00

Trees and Rocks

2008-06-03T06:46:00.001-07:00

Once we hit this sign we thought we were close. In reality we were less than 1/2 way there.

Rocks and trees

2008-06-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

These next three posts are kind of self explanatory.

Train 2

2008-06-03T06:00:00.001-07:00

Train

2008-06-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

We drove by car to Jasper (about 4 hours) There was a train from PG to Jasper but the time schedule didn't match up. We had decided to make a journey out of this experience so when it was time to decide on a mode of transportation the train seemed the logical (and most green) option.

Trip to TO

2008-06-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

Here is our first leg of the journey, Prince George to the Alberta border

automobiles, trains, and ?

2008-05-24T00:38:00.001-07:00

We packed up the finished box and headed for Jasper. We have a 4 hour car trip and then we get on the train for 2 days and 5 hours.

Call from DD producer, Molly

2008-05-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

I spoke with Molly today and went through our pitch. She liked the idea of us not offering a deal to Kevin. We will see if we can incorporate this into our pitch.
She also advised that Laurence is not going to be on the dragon's panel this season. His stand in is Brett who has lots of experience supporting small businesses. After talking with Molly she confirmed that Arlene would be a good fit for our business. We now have to decided about the other dragon's.

Business meeting

2008-05-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

I realized that the business plan needed to be modified. I had let the people from the hospital know of my trip. One of the nurses, Jean is married to Les,who does this for the government on big scale projects, however he also does some consulting with small businesses. He agreed to meet with me for coffee. It sounded like I was on track with my ideas. He was very knowledgeable about the local business climate and the individuals that he can link me with once I come back from Toronto. He also would be able to refine my business plan and make it more professional.

Goals for our trip to toronto

2008-05-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION.

During the planning phase of this trip it is easy to lose sight of the things that are really important. I decided that the first and primary goal of this trip was to focus on having a great time with my son Noah. If there was going to be distractions or stresses it is important to remind myself of this goal and keep things on track.

My goals for my business and being on the Den is to do the best that I can to ensure that the show is televised. In our acceptance letter the producers advised to accomplish this task you need to ensure that your pitch is energetic and interesting. I think that we are well on our way to this task.

What color do I dye my hair? Noah

2008-05-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I asked Noah what color his hair would be for the show. At our audition his hair was orange and green. He decided to go for a coordinated look a match his hair to his outfit. The final decision was purple. He had his friend Ariel bleach it blond and then put in the purple.

What box do I bring? (dad)

2008-05-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

I knew that we would take our small cat box prototype to Toronto. We took the cross of the front of the box and had Ariel paint the dragon's logo on the front with the saying "or bust" on the bottom. This would provide lots of opportunity for people on the train to ask Noah questions and help prepare him for the big day.

Web presence

2008-05-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

Part of my plan is to provide an avenue for the public to purchase my boxes directly. In order to accomplish this goal I needed to have a website with ecommerce capabilities. I contacted Tony, who used to be the marketing and sales director at Walmsley and Associates (the private counselling agency I worked at) Tony had gone back to school but was home for summer break. We met for coffee and he liked my ideas. He gave me some great advice about knowing my market base and focusing my marketing plan on this group. His design ideas for the website sounded great. He had determined that not only would he get simplepineboxes.com but also reserve other web domains and link them to my main site.

Dragon's Den research

2008-05-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

I realized very quickly after getting the call that I needed to do a lot of work before we go to Toronto. My first step was to get more information on the show itself. I tried going on their website and viewing season 2 but my internet connection or computer did not process it well enough, the experience was very choppy. I decided to buy Season 2 on itunes. I watched the season a few times and tried to figure out what qualities of the company encouraged the Dragon's to buy into the company. I also recognized that getting a deal at any cost was not worth the price. I will share with you my thoughts on what I came up with on a later post.

We most likely with download the episodes on Noah's ipod touch so he can do some review of the show on the train.

Wendell Berry meets big business (people over profits)

2008-05-01T22:32:00.001-07:00

How do you maintain the 'small is beautiful' ideal and apply it on a national scale? This has been one of the struggles for me these past few weeks. What I have come up with so far is that I do not want to use a corporate model: I would much prefer to utilize a co-operative business model. Here is the idea as I have formulated it so far: I would like to outsource all the raw wood production and milling. The end product would be boards that are ready to be used, kiln dried and possibly even have a groove in one of the sides. If I apply the above philosophy of 'people over profits' I am quick to conclude that it is esthetically unpleasing and unhealthy to create a sweat shop production line in order to maximize efficiency. In contrast, what I see as more balanced is to approach local carpenters and provide them with the finished boards; they would then assemble these boards into a simple box. They have the option of creating finished boxes and marketing these products directly but the surplus production would come back to necessitate volume to meet the demand. There are several principles incorporated with this model:

1. Supporting local industry which is consistent with my values

2. Keeping overhead low

3. Providing a flexible workforce. If I require more production I can provide incentives or find more woodworkers. If business slows, I don't have to lay off employees because they are self-employed and they will then naturally focus on marketing the product directly.

4. By using a cooperative model, I can reward individuals with additional shares in the co-op. The more they make, the more of the company they will own, therefore, a vested interest in making the business successful.

5. I suspect the reason is that many woodworkers have not chosen this craft is because they are uncomfortable with selling this type of product. With support, some will be empowered to acknowledge the valuable service they are providing to these families, others can simply focus on additional income while being unencumbered by the hassles of distribution.

We're going to Winnipeg

2008-05-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

For those who have not seen the fountain tire commercial here is a synopsis. There is a guy who is wearing a flower summer outfit sitting on a plane chatting with his neighbors. He is terribly excited that he is going to Hawaii only to find he boarded the wrong plane. He is actually going to Winnipeg. This saying is a family favorite and is our new motto now that we got the news. Noah and I have been invited to the taping of Dragon's Den in Toronto. Our appointment is on May 28th. We should be getting more details in the next few days. They are giving us $750 for the trip.

I had been spending some time in thought about how we would get to Toronto. The easy way would be to fly, however I have been spending much time in thought about making this business as green as possible. How responsible is it for me to promote a green product but not live these principles. After much discussions we are going to go by train. It will take 2 days and 6 hours but there will be much benefits to the trip. We will be making 4 prototype boxes that we will use as luggage. One of the boxes will have the Dragon's Den logo followed with a "or bust" on it. It will allow us the generate much discussion with the other passengers on the train and assist Noah with developing his sales pitch. Another advantage is that this experience is more about the journey than the destination. The train will be a unique experience and very much an interactive part of the journey.

cremation box

2008-04-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been busy. I was asked by a family to make a box. The plan is for a viewing and cremation. I picked matching boards and was able to match up the grain. The boards had a red coloration along with the beetle blue. The family had requested that the box stay unfinished. I did some light sanding and here is the completed box.It doesn't get much simpler than this. I am very pleased with the finished product.

I was able to find a 1x6 that was almost completely blue. I was able to laminate it right in the middle of the lid. I would suspect that in the future I could make a cross or some other designs with the blue.

Embalming: is there an alternative?

2008-04-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was watching some interesting videos on YouTube today. I had just typed "embalmer" into the search. (click on this title to see video) The part that struck me was an embalmer who stated that in Holland, it was against the law to embalm a body and then bury it. He stated that with all the enviornmental laws, it is considered harmful to the ground water to have embalmed bodies buried. I had been curious if other countries considered this an issue and if cemetaries had to go through an environmental review in the same way other businesses are obliged to.

Noah's promotion to sales director

2008-04-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked why I chose Noah as a spokesperson for this business. Their are a variety of reasons. The first reason presented itself when I realized that I need to be ethical in marking my product given the role that I play in the hospital. As a social worker I can not use my job for personal gain. I also need to avoid even the perception of conflict. For this reason I recognized that it would be beneficial to have another person who would be in charge of sales of this product. I had approached Bax, my oldest child but he was not interested in any public role. When I approached Noah, he jumped at the idea. He is much more social and outgoing and likes to help people.

The second reason is that Noah is currently in his life skills year. I will give you a bit of background on what this means. I worked as a child protection social worker for 10 years. I had the opportunity to witness countless parent teen conflicts. One of the common factors in all of these conflicts was that the parent and teen no longer maintained a relationship. It is very difficult as a parent to provide direction or set limits for a teenager who no longer has relational ties to you. My goal in raising my children was to ensure that this relationship would be strong. I wanted to take an opportunity to invest in relationship prior to their teenage years. We decided that because our local school only went up to grade 7 we pay special attention to the grade 8 year. Noah and I already had the opportunity to take a 2 week motorcycle trip to Alaska in the fall. We also were open to jump on any opportunity which allowed bonding time between father and son. The sales opportunity will assist Noah in taking some knowledge that he has learned in school and incorporate it in a practical way. He will also be introduced to other business concepts that he may utilize later in life. I think this will be a good learning opportunity and time well spent.

Goals of Simple Pine Boxes

2008-04-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I think that some of my vision is outlined in the blog header. The idea of empowering people to take back their choice when it comes to death. If people want to have a home funeral and not involve any professionals, I would like to be able to provide them the information so they can achieve that goal. (many people are not even aware that this is possible). If people want to chose a traditional funeral with a professional provider and would like a unique box (totally finished and decorated) I want to provide them with this option.

Another very important principle is that I want facilitate dialogue around death. One of the issues that I experience almost daily in a hospital environment is so many people have not had honest discussions with their loved ones about the what ifs. I see situations where people are no longer able to express their own wishes and then the responsibility shifts to family members. The first question they are asked is have you talked about this scenario. Too often there has been no discussion and then the family has to struggle with trying to determine the right decision. Often there is disagreement between family members and in some families this struggle has led to break down and cutting of ties. If I can create a process that would facilitate this discussion while the person is healthy and full of life it would save a whole lot conflict later in life. I am reminded by a carpenter that I met in Salmon Arm. She showed me her final resting box, which was full of books and the top was tucked in behind. She advised me that when she built the bookcase she added a small box (which resembled a book and was stored in the bottom shelf). This box contained all of her final wishes. I think that is why I like the idea of "casket furniture". If a person buys a piece of furniture you can't help but think about the end and what it might look like. It think that I need to include a pamphlet or some written material so that I could plant a seed and encourage people to write down their preferences.

HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE OUR LIVES

Too often casket furniture is thought to be unappealing because people are reminded that we all are going to leave this body. I think the opposite is true. I think that from a psychological perspective if a person is reminded several times a week of their own mortality (by seeing the piece of furniture) they would have the opportunity to make healthier choices. So for those people who are over committed and have difficulty saying no the furniture serves as a gentle reminder. (which one of us at the end of our lives wish we would have spend more time at work as opposed to time with family or friends)

Pitch to Windsor plywood

2008-04-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

I spoke to Curtis and his spouse owner of the local Windsor Plywood store. I shared with him a powerpoint presentation that I put to music. This presentation was a tribute to their store and how they helped in the making of my grandmothers box. The amazing thing is that I had purchased supplies in 3 Windsor Plywood stores; in Prince George, Williams Lake and Calgary.

I think that they would be a great company to distribute my product. The problem is that they do not currently carry any product line of furniture.

The plus was that I gave him a copy of the powerpoint presentation and he told me he was going to share it with head office.

Another interesting note he shared with me is that he cannot get 1x6 and 1x8 beetle stained wood. He would be interested in getting some supplied if I can source some product and get it dried.

Visit to the Prince George Cemetary

2008-04-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to meet Frane, the caretaker of the local cemetery. When I gave him my name he remembered I was the guy with Simple Pine Boxes. He was extremely helpful. The green part of the cemetery is not yet functioning. They are waiting to go before counsel to get some bylaw's changed. The time frame for these changes may be in the next month.

Frane also provided me with information about cremation urns. He recommended that I build a box. He offered to let me display this box in the columbarium. They have an area where the urn can be displayed behind glass. There was a couple of other wooden models displayed with business cards of the local carpenters.

Local funeral supplier

2008-04-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to get some information from the only funeral home in Prince George that is owned and operated in this community. They were very helpful with providing me with information around cremation box requirements. One of the things that I thought was interested is their basic cremation container is a board with a 3 " rim about it, the top of the box is cardboard. This container costs $200.

They also have 2 local suppliers of boxes. The costs for these boxes are $1200 - $2600.

Dragon's Den

2008-04-08T00:32:00.000-07:00

This past friday I saw in the paper that the show Dragon's Den was doing auditions in Prince George on the following Monday. We had 2 days to prepare our sales pitch. I thought this might be a great place to practice our sales pitch for simple pine boxes. I asked Noah to be my director of sales and encouraged him to provided the 3 minute sales pitch. My title was head of research and development, however for the purpose of the audition I was going to be his "Vanna White" We filled in an online application. One of the questions we had some fun with was the question if we had any other investors. I had put down my grandma liked the idea so much she was "all in"

I constructed a scale model of the boxes so we could show people the variety of ways to decorate the box. We finished the box the morning of the auditions. I then helped Noah practise for the sales pitch. The show provided a format. First define the problem and then explain how your product solves this specific problem. Although Noah was nervous he did a fabulous job. The producer stated that she thought that we had a unique product and also that the product would play well for a TV audience. If we pass this round we may be given a $500 cheque and asked to attend the taping of the show in Toronto.

This side of the box shows the green line of products. Natural manilla rope handles, all wood construction, salvage beetle killed pine. The boards would be dried in the solar kiln that we are currently building on our property.

A pet box which was added as an afterthought. I realized during the interview that given the urban population this would be a product in high demand. (By the way no animal was hurt in the taking of this photograph and no we have not sold any pet boxes at this point)

A flower box that Noah's friend Arial painted for us.

Traditional box

Green options within city of Prince George

2008-01-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

I was pleased to speak with Frane, the caretaker of the Prince George cemetery. For the last year they have been developing a proposal for a green burial. This includes no embalming, no metal caskets, and no concrete liner. The possibility of being buried in a shroud without a casket is also being explored. I was impressed with the progressive thinking of the city when it comes to this issue knowing how environmentally damaging traditional funeral practices can be. The hope is that this may become a real option within the next year for Prince George residences. I will continue to monitor this progress and provide updates.

"Green funeral what is that?"

2008-01-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

This quote from the funeral director continued with him stating that he has been in the industry for over 25 years and he does not have a clue about this business practice. It is quite clear to me why the industry that is trying to maintain its monopoly on death care is not motivated to become more environmentally conscious. They are the ones pouring hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals into the soil so that our loved ones "look so peaceful almost like their sleeping". They are the ones along with the owners of cemeteries who are using hundreds of thousands of pounds of concrete to place cement boxes over the overpriced metal or wooden boxes to ensure that their isn't a divot in the manicured lawns. The same funeral homes that now promote flush monuments so that the mower doesn't even have to slow down. For more on this topic see
http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/ or http://www.glendalenaturepreserve.org/home_funeral.pdf
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/consumers/eco-burials.html
I can only hope that in time there will be more environmentally friendly options for people within British Columbia. For a discussion on this issue local to BC see http://www.memorialsocietybc.org/c/g/

"pine caskets are not cheap"

2008-01-08T16:07:00.001-08:00

I had the opportunity to have a discussion with a funeral director and check out their wares. I was surprised by several statements that he made. The reason that the statement in the title of this posting is so outrageous is that I live in Prince George. The funeral director had the odasity to tell me this when we live right smack in the middle of 10 million hectares of beetle killed pine trees. The loggers are clear cutting as fast as they can to salvage the wood before it becomes unmarketable. I wondered why this large business was providing me with this statement. The answer to my question came a few statements later when I asked the funeral director where he gets his caskets. He initially stated that they come out of Edmonton, but when I pushed the issue further he acknowledged that they are manufactured in the good ol' US of A. So instead of supporting local businesses and providing value added products the bulk of our money for caskets gets exported (along with our raw logs).

Did I mention that the "affordable" boxes were either cardboard, plywood or mostly particle board. The particle board boxes looked shiny and had real wood on the lid, however this beauty was only skin deep. This is very much like the funeral industry itself, on the surface it is managed by business people in suits with fancy limousine's, interiors with plenty of gold coloured trim. If you look closer and examine the substance beneath the flair you realize that there is not much there. It provides a rationalization for the multinational company to overcharge for its services.

My Grandmother's box part II

2008-01-04T01:37:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas I had the opportunity to put my planning into action when my mom asked me to build my grandmother's box. She had died peacefully surrounded by her family after a 2 day hospital stay. My uncle Ernie was stuck in Manitoba so he gave me the go ahead to build the casket.

The foot board was a 2" thick piece of pine that was full diameter cut of a log that I did with a chain saw. We left the outside of the log as is apart from some hand sanding. The beetle channels were visible in the wood

Sides were just over 1" and then planed down to 7/8". They were nicely stained blue at the edges.

I lined the box with aromatic cedar that gave off a beatiful smell

Picture of me with the box

This is what the box looked like prior to final finishing. It was decided that it would be nice to provide an opportunity for some of the extended family to finish the box.

As you can see several family members were happy to put some time completing the finishing sanding and applying the Danish Oil.

The lid was a three piece tongue and grove design that I had seen from another casket maker in the states. The board in the middle had a piece of Russian Oak that was raised and symbolically represented a tree trunk (being darker in color) The board fit snuggly and provided a key which closed the box withouit any metal hardware.

Here you can see the lid design with the branches symbolizing her 6 children. They will be inserted at the grave side service.

Quilt on finished box

My grandmother's box

2007-04-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about my grandmother's box for over 2 years. She is turning 94 this summer and she has no problem talking about her own death. I remember 15 years ago having a family celebration at her house in Mordon, Manitoba when someone noticed that there was a label on one of her pieces of furniture. When they asked my grandma about it she told them that she wanted to be ready for when she died and she didn't want anyone to squabble over her stuff. She had seen too much conflict when her friends had died and the family ended up fighting over "the stuff". For her she wanted everyone to get a long and thought the best way to avoid conflict was to label her things. Her family member assured her that she had raised her family right and they would never fight over stuff, relationship was much more important. For most of us in the family the thought of losing our grandmother didn't exist. The labels were ripped off however the lesson about being prepared for death hit home to me at this time because my grandmother was so open in talking about it. She has never been afraid to talk about dying as long as it doesn't offend the listener.

I have been working at a hospital for the past 6 years. The subject of death is always present in my work. As a social worker I try and assist families in discussing planning for their loved ones death or encouraging them to discuss other end of life issues in consultation with the doctors. I think being around death all the time makes you think about how to live your life. I know for me, being aware of my own mortality has encouraged me to focus on the present and not wait till some future event or date to "have a life". This has encouraged me in my career choices, my financial planning, and life with my family. I sometimes make those people around me uncomfortable talking about what my funeral would look like if it happened in the near future (not that I don't hope for a long and prosperious life) but I digress, I was talking about my incredible grandmother.

The idea for my grandmothers box started to take form about a year and half ago when I was on a motorcycle trip with my son (for more on this subject see baxdadexcellentadventure.blogspot.com) While I was thinking, unable to sleep in a tent in Belle Coola I was trying to figure out a way to make my grandmothers box special. I knew that I could not be the creator of such a box but someone closer and more appropriate would be in charge of the task. The first person that came to mind is my uncle Ernie. As the youngest child of my grandmother he was the perfect choice. One of his many skills is that he was a carpenter by trade so he knew the skills involved. He was also last born and the most likely person to "think outside of the box" (no pun intended). I knew that I would have to approach him at the right time and discuss this possibility with him to get his feedback. My idea for the wood is that it probably would be birch. Birch I thought was a good hard wood and is a native species to all of the different places that my grandmother lived (although I was not sure about Russia) I knew that the box needed to be decorated by everyone in the family, at the time numbering over 100 people. I thought that having 4" x 4" squares that each family member could personalize and then mount these squares on the box. I shelved these ideas away in my head and continued on my trip with my son.

About 6 months ago the idea reappeared and I had the gumption to try to contact my uncle Ernie. I sent him an email but after the reply I recognized that this was not the appropriate forum to discuss this proposal. It needed to be face to face. The opportunity presented itself last weekend when he came to Williams Lake. This was close enough for a overnight road trip. I packed up 3 of my 4 kids and headed to Williams Lake. After having a great meal at my grandmothers lodge (we were celebrating my uncle elmer's 61st birthday) I had a chance to talk with my uncle ernie. He was receptive to the idea and said the idea had crossed his mind. He gave me the go ahead to look for wood, cut it down and begin the air drying process.