Custom urns courtesy of 3-D printer

Associated Press

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - A Minnesota startup is using a 3-D printer to create custom urns shaped like objects that were important to the person whose remains they hold.

The Eden Prairie-based Foreverence offers urns made with a ceramic material that looks different than the plastic material typically produced by a 3-D printer. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports the process takes nearly an entire day, starting with printing and ending with touchups.

Each urn is unique and can take the form of just about anything, including ballet slippers, cars and instruments.

The company has even made an urn in the shape of the signature hats worn by rock band Devo after co-founder Bob Casale died.

Foreverence sells its urns through funeral directors. They typically cost thousands of dollars.