Outside The Box Caskets

01/06/2026

Five years ago I was asked if I had plans to go global.

On Sunday I fly to the UK for the launch of Outside The Box Caskets.

01/06/2026

Five years ago, during an interview with the National Business Review, I was asked if I had plans to go global.

"Absolutely, definitely."

On Sunday I'm heading to the UK for the launch of Outside The Box Caskets.
It's taken a lot longer than I expected, but we're finally getting there.

In my latest interview with NBR, we talked about everything from starting out as a new player in a very traditional industry, to expanding into the UK, along with some of the challenges that come with growing a business and protecting your ideas and IP.

I've had plenty of people tell me it wouldn't work. I've had people try to knock me down along the way. If anything, it just gave me more motivation to keep going.

As for the copycats? I suppose it means we're doing something right. 😉

If you're heading to the National Funeral Exhibition at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from 11 - 13 June, come and say hi!

Outside The Box Caskets founder Becs Bartells is used to getting strange looks when driving around town with an empty coffin in the back of her station wagon.

01/06/2026

Not everyone wants the same kind of farewell.

Outside The Box Caskets was designed to offer something more personal, more individual, and a little less traditional.

And even if sustainability wasn’t the reason someone chose it, the fact it’s fully biodegradable and suitable for natural burial is a pretty good bonus too.

30/05/2026

Most people have never chosen a casket before. You're making this decision in the hardest days of your life, often without much guidance.

26/05/2026

Not every farewell has to look the same.

That’s always been the thinking behind Outside The Box Caskets.

More colour. More personality. More individuality.

21/05/2026

This photo is from 2022, when someone asked why we didn’t have a New Zealand Pīwakawaka (fantail) design.

I’ve always loved drawing, so I sketched this one up myself and scaled it for print.

Still one of my favourite designs on the natural kraft. 🤎

19/05/2026

People always ask where the idea came from.

It started with a Nana called Pearl. The biggest, warmest, most loved woman. Her funeral was huge. She was loved by so many.

But her coffin was a brown shiny thing. Cold. Nothing like her.

Years of design and prototyping later, Outside the Box Caskets launched in 2019.

Not everyone suits brown and shiny. 🥰☺️

14/05/2026

Bethells Beach, 2021.

Our first proper photoshoot. Still some of our favourite shots.
No filter, no AI and no studio. As for the horse and the sunset. Couldn’t have planned it if we tried. 🐴🌅

Keeping it real. Simple and literally down to earth and proudly NZ designed and made.
Made right here in NZ since 2019.

06/05/2026

When someone we love dies, we want their farewell to feel like them. Our custom casket design service lets families create something completely one of a kind, printed with their photos, colours and memories, and made right here in New Zealand.

17/04/2026

Every life has its own story.
This is just one way to tell it. ❤️