A family member or friend has died. You are probably not sleeping properly. You’re living between phone calls, well-wishers and making decisions that you’ve never had to make before. People are asking you what they can do to help when the honest answer is that you’re tackling each decision as it comes at you, and putting one foot in front of another whilst still feeling like it’s a dream you’ll wake up from. It’s really hard.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, someone mentions the stationery. What do you want? What would they have wanted? What is 'expected'? “Aunt Mildred had these lovely seed sachets…" and perhaps most importantly, what is needed and what can be afforded?

Planning a farewell and accommodating all the communication stages from announcement to final goodbye can feel overwhelming. But it needn't be. 

A lot of people still look to their funeral director for stationery help. However, a growing number of families are organising the stationery separately.

You start by looking through endless designs and vendors. You set out with an idea in mind. A simple vision. Easy to source, surely? Reality isn’t so kind. If you’re lucky, you might find a design you like (or a design that is the least offensive); the design might run through the order of service and maybe even a bookmark or thank-you card. In the back of your mind, a voice mutters, ‘Funeral stationery design hasn’t evolved since the 1980’s when great aunt Ethel died…’

You source a memory book from another vendor and, not having done it before, forget the signage until the actual day, when you hastily handwrite a ‘memory book’ sign in Sharpie on some dug out card. A scatter tube is acquired from Amazon or your funeral supplier; you choose the least cliched. You pay the various shipping costs.

Then you wait for everything to arrive. You hope it all looks good enough. On unpacking, you realise the fonts don't quite match or the colours. One delivery is delayed. Another arrives at your neighbour’s doorstep, damaged by an enthusiastic courier. You are grieving, and you are also project managing. 

There is another way…

At Afterstone, we went through that ‘source from many’ experience with our own family funeral, so we set out to help others not go through the same exhaustive experience.  

When everything for a farewell comes from one vendor with the same design, font and the same quiet aesthetic running through the whole day, it creates something that feels considered rather than assembled. The memory book on the table, the notelets guests pick up, the welcome poster at the door, the scatter tube — looking like they belong together. Because they do.  And it doesn’t need to cost the world either.

Our British-made stationery sets bring physical products and digital templates together in the same design. Digital for when you want to personalise the stationery. Printed matching items that are quick to ship when you need something yesterday. Everything ships together. Everything matches. Simple, clean designs. You can even choose to have it printed by a local printer, Canva or even run it out on a home printer to save costs.

The order of service, scatter tube, the digital eCards, candles, memory book and signage are all available in the same design and colourway if you want them, or you can mix and match to create your own look.

Four colourways: ivory and silver, beige and ivory, navy and turquoise, and chocolate and copper. Clean, contemporary, designed to run seamlessly through a whole day.

Explore the complete stationery sets at  www.afterstone.co.uk/collections/complete-sets

Let Afterstone help take the ‘stationery sourcing’ off your list. One less thing to coordinate, one less thing to worry about. You have enough to carry.

*Afterstone is a SAIF Associate Member, Made in Britain-certified member and Devon Chambers of Commerce member. Based in Devon.*