Sydnie Nishiyama, owner & artist
- I live and work in Alameda, CA.
- I create my urns at Photosynthesis in Berkeley, CA.
- I respect and care about the deep love and connection people have with their animals as friends, family, companions…loved ones.
- I hope I can help.
The beginning…in an ending
Dusty was my sweet little boy. The joy and sorrow of having him in my life for 13 years lives strong in every inch of my being.
When his health issues started to get the better of him, I knew that our days together were coming to an end. In an attempt to “prepare” myself for his departure, I had to start answering some hard questions: “How will we know when it is time?”, “How do we define quality of life for this boy?” and “What do we want to do with his remains?”
These questions took much time and thoughtfulness to answer. The question about what to do with his remains was the only question we could answer without any doubt. We decided on cremation so that we could keep him with us, knowing that someday all of our ashes would be scattered together. We also knew that we wanted to memorialize Dusty in something that is as special and unique as he was to us.
I asked a glassblower friend of ours—Phil Burnham—to create an urn for Dusty. What he created for us was absolutely perfect.
The months that Dusty’s urn remained empty were a precious time.
Dusty was euthanized at home on April 24, 2003. The pain I felt that day and the days to follow is indescribable and very personal. The only things that gave me comfort were cuddling with Ally girl, watching old videos of Dusty, framing his photographs and placing them all over the house and ceremonially placing his ashes in his urn—his own special resting place.
It is this feeling of comfort that inspired me to design and create my own hand blown glass urns for others who have lost a cherished one in the hope that my urns will mean as much to them as it did—and still does—for me.
“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
—Helen Keller
Sydnie with her husband Keith and their girl Ally who passed away
October 20, 2007
Ally—sunshine to my heart and soul
Sydnie with Dusty boy
Dusty—sweet little angel