Michael Marie is a the funerary artisan behind our handwoven baskets. She is a wicker basketmaker and a member of the Funerary Artisans Collective, offering burial baskets to families throughout Michigan. These special baskets are handwoven with willow grown on our farmstead alongside plants collected in restoration efforts through ongoing volunteer stewardship efforts on public land. If you are interested in a transitional basket for yourself or a family member, please reach out directly.
We generally have a selection of finished baskets on hand for families but also welcome the opportunity to make custom baskets filled with meaningful personalizations. Individuals and their loved ones are also welcome to join the process of weaving their burial basket (no weaving experience required). Those traveling from out of town are welcome to stay in an accessible and private full separate living quarters at our farmstead, complete with a bedroom, bathroom, a spacious living room, a walk-in shower, and full kitchen at no extra cost. Weaving these transitional baskets can be a deeply meaningful experience for individuals and their families
All baskets are offered on a sliding scale based on what you or your family feel you are able to offer, cognizant that sliding scale systems function to enable people with more financial means to sustain those with less. If the sliding scale remains outside your financial means, please contact me so we can discuss alternative arrangements. Delivery within ~200 miles available on request for an additional fee.
Sliding scale prices are based on those of my mentor and the handful of other willow funerary artisans across the continent. Read more about sliding scales and how to determine where you fall on a scale HERE.
Woven with willow and other woody plants, these woven caskets are lined with cotton muslin and include hemp handles made from local upcycled dock rope. Offered on suggested sliding scale: Adult: $2000-4000; Child: $800-3000; Infant: $0-1200
Burial trays are an old practice dating back centuries. These baskets are designed for use with a burial shroud. Quilts and blankets make lovely shrouds, and we also welcome the opportunity to create personalized shrouds using natural dyes from local and sustainably sourced plant materials. Offered on suggested sliding scale, $800-2500
Handwoven wicker urns are lined with cotton muslin and can be used with cremains from either fire cremation or water cremation (note that although water cremation is not yet legal in Michigan, it can be pursued in adjacent states though a permit in collaboration with a funeral director). Offered on suggested sliding scale: $200-500