When TikToker Nikki Ayers shared a video about her sister’s tragic death and where the family is keeping her ashes, the video quickly went viral and people began reaching out for more information. And thus the cuddly urn was born.
And now, Ayers‘ family isn’t the only one with a huggable urn. She recently made a puppy urn for one of the first people to reach out to her because her story touched Ayers.
Nikki Ayers First Cuddly Urn Order Has Been Filled!
A woman named Hannah on TikTok reached out to Ayers to share her story. The story hit Ayers in the feels so she decided since she’s still testing things out before opening up the website to start selling the urns, she would make one for Hannah at no charge.
“She was one of the first big groups of commenters on the first video,” Ayers exclusively told The Blast. “She said she never got the chance to hold her baby girl who passed at 20 weeks. It gutted me. So, since I wanted to make just a few at the start to see how things went, I messaged her and offered to make her a cuddly urn no charge. She jumped on it!”
Ayers shared a preview of the puppy urn before sending it out to Hannah.
@baby_and_tater What do we think? 🤔❤️ Can you comment your business name ideas? ❤️ #Tlex #memorial #may #love #griefjourney #deathandloss #darkhumor #griefandloss #urn #urntok #foryou #tattoogate #motherlove #loss #lifeafterloss #iloveher ♬ original sound – Nikki
“Okay, this is my first attempt at an intentional cuddly urn,” Ayers said in the beginning of the video as she showed the puppy and how it works.
“The head comes off. You would put the ashes inside the glass jar inside of a bag and then it just screws back on,” she said. “I think that this one is great and she’s the sweetest little thing. I can’t wait for her to get to her mommy so she can snuggle her and hold her baby since she never did get that chance.”
Hannah Shared A Video When She Received The Cuddly Urn
When Hannah received the puppy urn, she shared a video about it on her TikTok page.
“So, a lot of people on my TikTok don’t know this but I had a daughter who was stillborn at 20 weeks and I never got the opportunity to hold her,” she said in the video. “There is a wonderful human being here on TikTok that I connected with and I told her about it, and she makes cuddly urns and she made one for my daughter.”
She continued her emotional story holding the puppy. “I now have the opportunity to hold and snuggle my baby girl in this sweet precious little urn,” she said. “I will tag her. Y’all go check her out, give her a follow, support her small business, cause y’all, this has healed a piece of my mama heart.”
@h.daigle21 Thank you 🖤 #grief #childloss #stillbirth #fyp ♬ These Memories – Hollow Coves
Ayers commented on her video saying, ” 😭😭😭😭 I am SO happy you love her! I hope this gives you some peace and comfort. ❤️” Other comments also shared love and support for Hannah.
Nikki Ayers Is Working Hard On The Cuddly Urn Business To Help Others Grieve
The idea for the business came about accidentally, and so did the idea of storing Getz’s ashes in the dinosaur.
“When my mom asked if we had anything to store Alexia’s ashes in, an idea popped into my head,” Ayers exclusively told The Blast.
“We made a stash jar that she saw on Pinterest that she thought was cute. We made it and it sat on my shelf with no purpose for a long time.”
After sharing their T-Lex story on TikTok, many reached out with their stories and why a cuddly urn is something they also would love to have.
To help with the costs of getting the business up and running and supplies stocked, Ayers started a GoFundMe page.
In a follow up video, Ayers shares some of the things she plans to offer with the urns such as QR codes and voice recorders. In the caption she explained that the website is coming soon. “alexiasangels.org will be up next week,” she wrote in the caption.
@baby_and_tater alexiasangels.org will be up next week. check out the article about us on The Blast! you guys are actually making this happen and are along with me for the journey ❤️#tlex #tlexarmy #griefandloss #memorial #trending #springfever #tattoogate #urn #loss #griefjourney #may #love #theblast #deathandloss #urntok #mamatot ♬ original sound – Nikki
“I’m currently making a few more before I officially start taking orders on the website,” she told The Blast. “One is for a friend of mine who lost her husband to Covid a week before the birth of her fifth son. She wants one for each of her youngest.”
Ayers is also working on one with a different type of story behind it.
“The next one is for a young woman who was given a terminal diagnosis and does not have more than a year,” she said. “She wants to make one as a surprise for her teenage son and her mom for after she’s gone.”
