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Mindful Memorials

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Mindful Memorials

Supporting the bereaved through the creation of beautiful and meaningful artisan made memorials.
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At Mindful Memorials we believe all life is precious and that when the end of the road is reached, the commissioning of a memorial should be able to provide a focal point for the grief of those left behind.

19/12/2025

At Christmas, kindness still wins.

It’s been a tough year for many businesses across Yorkshire and the UK. Rising costs, uncertainty, constant noise and pressure - it can feel relentless.

This year, Mindful Memorials has been recognised with several national awards. But honestly, the moments that have stayed with me most didn’t arrive in envelopes or at ceremonies.
They arrived as handwritten cards.
As flowers left for our team.
As boxes of chocolates dropped off quietly with a thank you.
As families telling us we helped them through the hardest moment of their lives.

In our work, people don’t come looking for a product.
They come looking for understanding.
For reassurance that their loved one mattered.
That their story will be honoured with care.

At Christmas especially, grief has a different weight. There’s nostalgia, warmth and sadness all at once. Empty chairs at the table. Familiar rituals missing familiar voices. Memories from a time before life felt quite so noisy and complicated.

The real spirit of Christmas isn’t about buying more.
It’s about connection.
About being there for family, friends and community.
About remembering those who shaped us - the love, resilience and sacrifices of the people who came before us.

The awards we’ve received this year matter to us because they tell us something important:
That compassion, integrity and innovation don’t have to sit at odds with success.
That businesses can grow by being more human, not less.

In tough times, there’s a temptation to harden. To rush. To become transactional. But people remember how you made them feel - and often, that matters far more than what you sold them.

This Christmas, I’m holding onto that.

Trying to live a little more like the people I miss.
With more patience. More kindness. More selflessness. More connection.

Because if there’s one thing this year has reinforced for me, it’s this:
Kindness still matters.
Connection still counts.
And being human may be the most resilient business strategy of all.

Wishing you a gentle, reflective Christmas.

GriefAndGrowth ValuesLedLeadership

17/12/2025

Meet the Team 👋

Photography by

11/12/2025

Christmas is a time filled with family, reflection, and, for many, a quiet ache for the people no longer with us.

This year, that’s especially true for us as a family - it will be our first Christmas without my mum. And in feeling that tenderness, we knew we wanted to make space for others who may be feeling it too.

So although our branches and workshop will be closed to give our wonderful team a well-deserved break, we’ve chosen to keep our Design Studio open by appointment throughout the Christmas period.

For anyone who finds themselves thinking deeply about their loved one…

For those with a little more time and the support of family around them…

For anyone who wants a gentle conversation, guidance, or space to start creating something truly meaningful…

We’ll open the doors whenever someone needs us.

If this would help you or someone you know, please reach out.

You’re not alone, and we’re here with warmth, care, and time. 💛

Please reach out to book an appointment - or feel free to share with anyone who you think might benefit from meeting with us - you can DM me on here or email anna@mindfulmemorials.co.uk.

09/12/2025

Why hand-crafted still matters in a digital world

In a world obsessed with AI, automation and “instant everything”… I’ve been thinking a lot about why I still believe so deeply in the power of hand-carving stone.

There’s something irreplaceable that happens when a human being - with their own story, their own energy, their own care - works with their hands to create a memorial.
It’s slower.
It’s more intentional.
And it carries a depth that no machine can truly mimic.

When I watch our craftsmen carve a letter, or bring a tiny detail to life with a chisel, I’m reminded that a memorial is never just a piece of stone. It’s a connection to someone’s life. It’s love made visible. It’s a story that will sit quietly in a cemetery for decades, sometimes centuries.

And that deserves a human touch.

What makes me most hopeful is seeing our apprentices learning this craft - young people who could easily chase quicker, easier paths, but instead choose to learn something ancient, patient and meaningful.
It’s beautiful to witness.
It reminds me that tradition isn’t fading… it’s evolving.

Yes, we absolutely embrace digital design and modern manufacturing. Those tools help us bring clarity and precision to what we do. But the heart of our work - the soul of it - still comes from the hands of real people who care about the families we serve.

For me, that’s the part we must protect.
Because technology can make things faster.
But craftsmanship is what makes them human.

💬 I’d genuinely love to know - what’s something in your field that you believe technology will never replace?

photography by

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07/12/2025

What if we rewrote the way we approach loss?

Having recently gone through my own bereavement after losing my mum, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we cope with grief in society - and how much better we need to get at it.

One thing I’ve realised is how few safe spaces there are to have open, honest conversations about death, dying and everything that comes with it. We’re surrounded by people, yet so many of us grieve in silence. And it shouldn’t have to be that way.

I’m passionate about Mindful Memorials being one of those safe spaces - a place where people can talk, remember, wonder, cry, question… all without fear of judgment.

It’s one of the reasons I want us to expand our services in the future (more on that another day).

But for now, there’s something that’s been sitting with me deeply:
What if we knew for certain that this mortal body - this chapter of our existence - isn’t the end?

What if Earth is just one part, maybe even a very small part, of our soul’s journey?

Would it change how we process loss?
Would we feel less bereft when someone we love dies?
Or would it change nothing at all?

After speaking to hundreds of families - each with their own stories of loss and their own beliefs - my sense is that we are more than we think we are.
I’ve had my own extraordinary experiences around this, especially during my mum’s passing… experiences I might share one day, but not today.

What I can say is this:

There are no easy answers.
These are some of the biggest, most painful questions we face as humans.
But that’s exactly why we need spaces, organisations and communities that allow us to talk about them openly.

Because honest conversations about death and loss don’t just shape how we die - they shape how we choose to live.

💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Do you think our understanding of what happens after we die influences how we grieve?

03/12/2025

Four Awards. One Grateful Team. And a Year of Real Reflection.

As we near the end of the year, we’ve been looking back at an incredible milestone for Mindful Memorials: we’ve now won every single award we’ve ever entered - four nominations, four wins. 🏆☺️

It all began this time last year when we unexpectedly won the Innovation Award at the York Press Business IQ Awards. We were as shocked then as we’ve been with every award since.

And when we reflect on what’s behind this success, one thing is absolutely clear:

Our team.

Their passion, their compassion and their craftsmanship are the reason families trust us with something as deeply human as remembrance.
Every member of our team plays a vital role - from the gentle first conversation with a grieving family, to the design process where ideas become meaningful memorials, through to the moment chisel meets stone in our yard. Creating a memorial is not just a task; it’s a collective act of care.
But this year has also made something else clear: the way we honour our dead is changing.

With the rise of direct cremation, many families are missing out on the rituals that have supported human grief for thousands of years. As I experienced personally after losing my own mother, coming together - sharing stories, tears, laughter - is essential.

And even when families choose direct cremation, the need for meaningful ritual and memorialisation remains.

That’s why, in the new year, we’re going to be launching a new range of personalised memorial pieces - sculptures, garden stones, memorial jewellery, bespoke urns, carved benches and more - all designed to give families meaningful ways to honour their person and maintain a continuing bond.

Our aim is simple:
To bring our award-winning craft, creativity and compassion to everyone who wants to remember someone they love in a personal, beautiful and healing way.

If you were to create a meaningful memorial for someone you love, what would it be - and where would you place it? We’d love to hear your thoughts as we shape the new products and services families truly need.

02/12/2025

Meet the Team 👋

Photography by

01/12/2025

When 100 Years of Craft Meets Modern Innovation… This Happens.

We’re feeling incredibly grateful after winning our fourth award at the The Yorkshire & Humberside Family Business Awards 2025 - a recognition that means so much to us as a business built on more than ten decades of family craftsmanship.

Long before Mindful Memorials took shape, my great-grandfather Henry Rotherham passed down the ancient craft of stone carving and lettering to my grandfather, Joseph Rotherham. Joe then trained Paul, Neil and Martin our three master masons who still work with us today - and who are now passing on that same craftsmanship to our apprentices. Two of them, Stephen and Benji, shown in the photo above, are Henry’s great-great grandsons.

Why This Award Felt Different

Every shortlisted business receives an in-person visit from the judges, who take the time to understand not just what you do, but why you do it. We deeply valued that.

And when we saw the incredible companies shortlisted for the Manufacturing Excellence Award, we honestly didn’t expect to be the ones standing on the stage. So when the judges began their introduction… and we realised they were talking about us… it was a moment we’ll always treasure.

The Judges’ Words (Which Meant So Much)

“This winning family business impressed the judges with their strong brand, clear direction and deeply held values.
They showcased real innovation and excellence in their manufacturing processes, with meaningful examples of how they work with their clients.
They also shared an inspiring vision for the future, with plans to reinvest in their people, their customers and the wider community.
More than just a business, it represents the continuation of a craft shaped across generations, built on trust and care.”

To have our work described in this way - as the continuation of a generational craft - was incredibly moving.

22/11/2025

We won another award - this time for manufacturing excellence 🙏

Winning the Yorkshire & Humberside Family Business Award 2025 wasn’t just a business milestone - it was a moment that captured decades of dedication, sacrifice, and love poured into our craft.

What we do at Mindful Memorials is deeply human work. Behind every piece we create is a team who gives their full heart, day after day. Some of our master masons were trained by my grandfather more than 40 years ago - generations of knowledge held in their hands. The skill and care they bring to every memorial is the unspoken, humble kind of excellence that can only come from a lifetime of doing something with purpose.

And now, we’re doing everything we can to pass that legacy on.
To teach the next generation.
To protect the art of true craftsmanship in a world that often forgets its value.

But the real soul of our business has always been this:
To honour the people we create for.
Families who trust us in their most vulnerable moments.
Stories we are privileged to hold.
Lives we help remember with dignity, beauty and truth.

Last night reminded me of something deeper and something very personal to me and my family at the moment after the recent loss of my mum- that we are not alone.

There is so much heart and soul in the businesses across our region. So much determination. So much pride in doing things the right way.

To the Mindful Memorials team - past, present and future - thank you. You deserve this recognition more than words can say.

This award belongs to every pair of hands, every early morning, every late night, every moment of care you’ve given.

And to the families we serve - you are the reason we do what we do. ❤️‍🩹

08/11/2025

We won 🙌🏻🤩😃🥰

So delighted for the whole team that we were awarded Gold Winner at the SME Business Awards National Awards at the QEII Centre in Westminster last night.

Our category was for service excellence and is a real accolade to the hard work and the dedication of our team to ensuring our clients best interests are always at the centre of everything we do.

In all honesty we don’t really strive for excellence we strive to create human connection, to treat everyone we are fortunate enough to work for with kindness and compassion and to build creativity and skilful craftsmanship into all our offerings - so I think service excellence is just a natural by product of leaning into our humaness and genuinely caring about the families and individuals we work for - who are often going through some of the most difficult times of anyone’s life.

Anyway, that’s a bit of a long winded way of saying a huge thank you to our team and all of our clients for allowing us the honour of doing this work for you. 🙏

07/11/2025

Adrian and I (Anna) are down in London for one night only for the SME Business Awards tonight, so I thought I’d share the impressive stone work and art deco carved statue we can see from our hotel…anyone recognise it?

Wish us luck - we’re finalists in the service excellence category 🤞🙏🤞🙏

We’ll let you know how we get on 😊

Address

The Masons Yard, Rossmoor Park, Melbourne
York
YO424SZ

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9am - 4:30pm
Friday	9am - 4:30pm

Website

https://mindfulmemorials.co.uk/contact

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