It was an episode called Death in Grayson Perry’s Channel 4 series Rites of Passage that made an impact on education researcher and university teacher Katy Vigurs and her sister Lindsey Vigurs, a creative professional.
The pair were struck by the way the English artist helped two families create meaningful rituals to mark the deaths of their loved ones. It inspired them to think about what they could do to help educate others on the funeral options open to them in the UK. “We passionately believe in eco, low cost, and imaginative DIY funeral options,” says Lindsey who, along with Katy, founded their Community Interest Company Dead Good in 2018. We aim to give people the creativity and courage to do things their way before, during and after a death.”
Katy, a non-religious celebrant based in the North East, is also available to conduct funerals in the region. As well as helping families to plan funerals, Dead Good offers assistance with ‘personal legacy projects’. This can be done virtually. “A personal legacy project could be something that is worked on in advance of somebody dying,” Lindsey explains. “For instance, when our dad Peter was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2021 we as a family embarked upon a series of creative endeavours to celebrate his life while he was still there to enjoy them. A legacy project can also be for others to take part in after someone has died. We worked with a person who was experiencing disenfranchised grief after their dad died during lockdown, and their relationship with their remaining family members was incredibly strained. We helped them to identify parts of their life where they felt particularly connected to their dad and to explore creative ways to do more of that. For them this culminated in a personal photography project using their dad’s old camera. Legacy projects don’t have to be public and splashy, they can be quiet, intimate and powerful. Their bespoke nature means they are incredibly meaningful and can aid the processing of difficult emotions.”
Another way Dead Good is helping families in the North East is by offering to host a Get Mortal party, where people can have fun and plan ahead for their funeral ceremony. Customers from further afield who want to host their own party can order resources including illustrated guides, worksheets and Get Mortal badges online. “Our Get Mortal funeral planning zine is the best-selling product in our web shop,” says Lindsey. “They are mostly bought by individuals in the UK, but we have posted them all over the world. We decided to make them available digitally so people can print them themselves. Inclusivity is really important to us and we try to make things as easy to access as possible. We have also had bulk orders from other people in the death industry or people wanting to host a Get Mortal party for friends or clients. Our visual identity is quite punk and DIY, and we find that it speaks to people who want something a little bit different.”
Do Lindsey and Katy think society is getting better about talking about death and dying? “That’s a hard question to answer as we spend our time within a global online community who are death-literate. Most of these people are great at talking about the big stuff, some of them are absolutely amazing. So I think there is a knock-on effect which is filtering down from Ted Talks and the thought leaders in this area. We have found people to be curious and grateful for the opportunity to explore a topic which can be very confronting and uncomfortable. Occasionally someone will literally sprint away from us as fast as they can, so there’s still work to do!” For more information click here.