Nathalie Heid - Wasserurnen
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Claudia AcklinManaging Director Swiss Science Council / Managing Director Lotos-Produktionen GmbH
The ceramist Nathalie Heid stumbled over a “business opportunity” a few years ago, when one of her close friends died. Friends and family asked Nathalie to design and manufacture an urn for him; and almost by chance, she found out that by not burning the urn, it would maintain its natural properties and dissolve when put in (running) water such as the river Aare.
To actually talk about “business” under such sad circumstances might sound a bit cynical. On the other hand, when dealt with the necessary delicacy it is one of the most human ventures possible to create: a beautiful handmade vessel for the last ritual for the deceased and their next of kin. Her work was critically acclaimed by the Berner Design Stiftung and others; its was also exhibited at the Kornhaus, and in other museums such as the mudac in Lausanne, another one in Borneholme/Denmark or Mendrisio, since the object itself is very beautiful and soft.
Since this discovery a few years have passed, and Nathalie has found time, besides her family duties, to grow “Wasserurnen”. Last year, she rented a small shop at Muessmattstrasse in the Länggasse neighbourhood of Berne. She found some undertakers with a similar philosophy, which agreed to sell the urn. She started to think how to transport an object that is very fragile to other cities or villages. She also started to offer courses for people, who want to manufacture urns for themselves, for friends, or family members. But even though, over the last three years she sold 92 urns, one big problem persists. How to “market” a product that touches one of the most personal moments in peoples lives without being pushy, plain or insensitive. Nathalie Heid had a little bit of press coverage but there is need for much more, because there are still many taboos and even false information. E.g. in Switzerland the law does not say that a person’s ashes need to be buried in a graveyard. They can be kept at home or buried in the woods or scattered to the four winds. Putting a dissolvable urn into a river does not constitute any breach of law. It is forbidden to dispose of poisonous material, but the ashes of a human being are not poisonous at all; the same holds true for clay. As happens often with innovations: When new to the market, much communication must be done on and around the product. Many start-ups do not necessarily have the financial resource to do that. So they grow but often at a very slow pace. So let’s hope for Nathalie Heid’s business that some bigger media will discover „Wasserurnen“ and put it on the agenda. Nathalie joined our course Creative Committed that is about to end in June.
