Matéo Clausse & Shuling Liu

Sinaling

Porcelain maker

The art of crafting porcelain funeral urns

Shuling and Matéo's approach is about respect and lightness
Their urns can be placed indoors or in a columbarium
They also make urns for animals

In 2020, during the pandemic lockdowns, Shuling Liu and Matéo Clausse received the unusual order to create a bespoke porcelain funeral urn. This was the light bulb moment for them to launch Sinaling, even though their workspace was set up in their garage. Together Matéo and Shuling specialise in the design and manufacture of personalised funeral objects, and use porcelain because of its aesthetic qualities, resistance and durability. Innovation is their leitmotiv: offering memorial objects with a deeper connection, less formulaic and impersonal than what has historically been available. The quirkier the order, the better, in their view. The duo also make funeral jewellery such as tiny houses on rings, and amulets. They have now garnered respect and visibility. They were invited on national television to talk about their niche business, and were even congratulated in person by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Interview

Where does the name Sinaling come from?: Matéo: Sina stands for China in Latin because I studied ceramics in Jingdezhen, in China. Shuling studied in Limoges. Ling sounds like the bells used by Tibetan monks during funeral ceremonies.
When did you realise there was a gap in the funeral market?: Matéo: I was child when my grandparents died. All the accessories in funeral stores looked so kitsch that we only bought the coffin. Nothing has evolved much today. When I met Shuling, she was also working on funeral and memory. Together we decided to try to change that market.
How many hours does a bespoke urn take to make?: One of our urns took us a week to make, with us both working on it exclusively. However, most of the time, families phone us when a relative has passed away and we set up a process to make an urn for them quickly, within three days.
Can Sinaling help its grieving clients?: An urn can take a very important place in ceremonies. It is a tribute, a monument to the person deceased. Porcelain is a very durable material that allows customers to leave an enduring trace of their personality and history on Earth. They therefore experience this object as a relief.

Matéo Clausse & Shuling Liu are rising stars they began their career in 2019