Prince’s Final Resting Place is a Stunning 3D Printed Urn Designed by Foreverence

October 12, 2016 by Clare Scott 3D Design 3D Printing

Share this Article

Prince performs at half time during Super Bowl XLI between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida on February 4, 2007. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)

[Image: Theo Wargo/WireImage]

It’s hard to believe it’s been more than half a year since Prince’s death. It feels like it was just last week – although, in fairness, so do the deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, which happened within just a few days of each other in January, setting off a year of what has seemed like an excessive number of beloved celebrity deaths – not to mention scores of national and international tragedies, the most bizarre and disturbing election in US history, and, recently, a clown invasion. Stop it, 2016…just stop it. All of it. Honestly.

While Prince’s family, friends and fans may still be grieving, no one can say the musician hasn’t been given a proper sendoff. This week, fans have been given the opportunity to visit Paisley Park, Prince’s estate and production complex in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The estate has been turned into a memorial and museum, and visitors must have felt the presence of the late star as they wandered the halls and studios. No one was expecting his literal presence, however, so it was a surprise to see an urn containing Prince’s ashes displayed in the atrium.

Paisley Park

Even more surprising was the appearance of the urn, which had been designed as a scale model of Paisley Park itself. Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson and her son President Nelson approached custom urn design company Foreverence for help in creating an urn that would memorialize the singer in the way his family believes he would have wanted to be memorialized. Foreverence, which 3D prints personalized, artistic urns for both people and pets, was honored by the request and agreed to work with the Nelsons on the design.

This wasn’t Foreverence’s first celebrity urn request; recent notable creations include urns for late Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and Motörhead bandleader Lemmy Kilmister, another victim of 2016. Prince’s urn, however, may be the most elaborate one the company has ever created. 3D printed in ceramic and glass, the vessel is not only shaped like Paisley Park on the outside, but on the inside as well.

The 19″ x 18″ x 14″ urn opens to reveal a scale model of Paisley Park’s atrium, along with Prince’s iconic purple piano, some ornamental white doves, and his famous symbol on the carpet. There’s even lighting on the inside. The ashes are sealed into one of the columns of the miniaturized building. According to Foreverence, Tyka and President created much of the design themselves, including the large purple version of the symbol on the outside of the urn. The symbol is inlaid with seven crystals that were hand-selected by Tyka, who laid the final crystal herself, as seven was the favorite number of the highly symbolism-oriented Prince.

“We are truly honored and humbled to work with Prince’s family to pay tribute to one of the greatest musical artists of our generation,” said Pete Saari, CEO and founder of Foreverence. “We believe that everyone’s a legend to the people who love and miss them the most.”

It’s a bright and sparkling tribute to a bright, sparkling, colorful artist. The urn, which is much larger than those typically produced by Foreverence, has pushed the company further into the spotlight; only two years old, they’ve already been drawing a lot of attention for bringing art and beauty to a typically depressing industry. Thanks to their recent series of celebrity requests, Foreverence is likely to continue to see their business grow as more people become aware of the opportunities available for creating personal and lovely memorials. Discuss in the Prince Memorial forum at 3DPB.com.