08/09/2026
I WAS CALLED A SCAMMER.
Today, for the first time since creating Last Ride Urns, I experienced something I decided to speak about publicly. 📣
Not because I want to start an online argument. I will not share names or company details. I simply want to make it clear where I draw the line, both as a person and as the owner of a small handmade business.⚒️
A funeral home wanted to order a display urn from me to show to its clients. From the beginning of this collaboration, there were signs that should probably have raised a red flag for me.🚩
On Etsy, we show examples of some of our previous custom memorials. Etsy does not really allow us to create a simple gallery of pieces that are “for viewing only,” so these memorials appear as listings. In every description, we clearly explain that the urn shown is an example of a previous custom project, that the original piece already belongs to someone, and that what the customer is ordering is a new, individually made urn based on that design.⚱️
When I explained this to the client, I was asked whether we were “scamming people” — whether someone orders one urn and then receives something completely different — and I was also told that people should apparently be warned about us.‼️
That should have been the moment when I walked away from the collaboration.❌
I did not.
What is more, I personally asked the client not to place the order and not to pay in advance until the urn was finished. I wanted to complete the work first, show the final result, and only then accept payment. Despite my request, the order was placed anyway.
Yes — the project took longer than expected. I am not going to pretend otherwise. I take responsibility for that. We are human. Everything we create is handmade, and sometimes delays happen.
There are also situations when a family contacts us and says, “We need this urn in three weeks because that is when our father’s Celebration of Life will take place.”🕯️
When that happens, we do everything we can to make it happen. If another custom order does not have a fixed deadline and can wait a little longer, sometimes we have to move it slightly in the schedule. In this case, we also informed the client that our schedule had changed due to health reasons.
We did not receive any information that the urn was needed by a specific date. There was no reminder. There was no question asking whether the urn was ready. There was no message saying, “We need it by the end of the month.”
Until today.
The urn is now practically at the final stage of completion.
And today I received a message which says: „You are nothing but a filthy, wretched fraud working in the funeral industry—it makes me sick!”
I was called a “lousy scammer”, together with the statement that I should “look forward to” a review about me and my “scam” appearing online. 💔
And this is where I draw the line.
Yes — there was a delay.
No — there was no scam.
I can accept criticism. I can say, “Yes, this took longer than I expected.” I can apologize for a delay and take responsibility for it.
But a delay is not fraud.
After receiving that message, I made the decision to end the collaboration and cancel the order. The full amount paid was refunded immediately. 💸
Last Ride Urns was not created to produce anonymous objects.
We create final rides for people who were deeply loved by their families. We put hours of work, experience, emotion, care, and enormous respect into every single memorial we create.🕊️
We are not perfect. We make mistakes. Sometimes things take longer than planned. And I will always take responsibility for what is genuinely on our side.
But respect has to work both ways. 🤝🏻
You can be disappointed.
You can criticize a delay.
You can decide that you no longer want to continue working together.
But I will not accept being called a scammer or having a delayed handmade project publicly presented as fraud.
This is the first time I have ever experienced a situation like this, and I hope it is the last.
We are not stopping!! 🛑
We are going back to the workshop, back to the families who trust us, and back to creating more Last Rides — with heart, honesty, and the best of our ability. ❤️
Thank you to everyone who has trusted me, often from thousands of miles away and from another continent. Thank you for your patience, your messages, the stories you share with me, and for allowing me to create something so meaningful for your families. Because of you, I am able to do what I love — and put my whole heart into this work. 🤲🏻♥️
