The Artisan went on display for the second time in the USA. Following the introduction at the Smithsonians Cooper Hewwitt National Design Musum as a design object, the casket has now been exhibited in an industry expo as a product for sale in the North American market. The NFDA International Convention and Expo is one of the largest in the world and the Artisan was represented by Casketree, a new casket manufacturer focusing on 'unique caskets for unique people'. The Artisan is being manufactured locally in Wisconsin using materials available in that market, the only thing being exported from New Zealand is the idea. October 2011
Two Artisan caskets featuting Flox artwork were featured at the 2011 Funeral Industry Trade Expo in Sydney, Australia. We, at Return To Sender, are comfortable pushing boundaries after five years in this indusry but we commend our Australian agents, Amalgamated Casket Company , for this initiative. This is a highly respected business in the funeral industry who could easily continue 'business as usual' and ignore new design caskets. Instead they embrace opportunities to offer choices in terms of expression and meaning for families as well as environmental outcomes.
July 2011
The Artisan is featured in the new book NEW ZEALAND BY DESIGN - A History Of New Zealand Product Design by Michael Smythe. The book showcases New Zealand design from its beginnings to the present day and explains how it shapes and shows who we are - 'It is the manufactured manifestation of our culture'. The cultural aspect of coffins has been identified by the author who acknowledges the benefits of the Artisans low sides for viewing and sitting with the body. It, perhaps, is strange that no one has queried the status quo of coffins and really asked 'is this where we want to be' in terms of design and environmental impact.
June 2011
The Australian Funeral Director included an article titled "NJ Todd uses new Artian casket". It is an overview of the experience of using the first Artisan in Australia. A very positive experience with comments about the design features as well as the environmental benefits.
A full copy of the original hardcopy article is here - 
Australian Funeral Director Magazine (300K)
March 2011
Amalgamated Casket Company of Australia have commenced production of the Artisan
casket.
Manufacturing under licence from Return To Sender, Amalgamated makes the
caskets in its Melbourne plant and distributes across most of
Australia.
Amalgamated Casket Company was established in 1973 and is one of Australia's leading casket manufacturers. It has proven an ideal partner for Return To Sender with its strong customer focus, its understanding of industry needs and its willingness to embrace new design to strengthen its local manufacturing capability.
December 2010
Return To Sender is a winner at the prestigious Sustainable 60 awards in Auckland. Around 200 people gathered at the Langham Hotel to celebrate the finalists' and winners' commitment to sustainable business practices.
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January 2010
Our "Artisan" casket was selected to be displayed at the New Dowse Gallery in Lower Hutt and the Smithsonians Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. The American exhibition was a huge success with over
200,000 visitors during its eight-month showing - a record
number for their triennial exhibition. They have also had enquiries from South America, Chicago,
Korea, and Qatar to tour the exhibition.
January 2010
Designers Institute of New Zealand article on the Artisan casket on display in New York.
December 2009
Stuff article titled "Green Light for Eco-Funerals", featuring Return to Sender.
A full copy of the original hardcopy article is here - courierdec09 (627K)
October 2007
The Artisan casket won Silve
r in the Sustainable Product category and Bronze in the Consumer category at the 2007 Designers Institute of New Zealand BeST Design Awards. These awards showcase excellence in graphic, spatial and product design.
