Urn art
At the moment of farewell, the urn leaves a final, unforgettable impression of the deceased. For this reason, we created this unique, handcrafted urn collection, which can also provide comfort. In addition to the traditional placement of the urn in a cemetery, in an urn grave, or in an urn niche wall, you can also place the urn in your living area or outdoors, thus keeping your loved one in your thoughts and memories in a dignified and special way. With our small keepsake objects and jewelry pendants, you can also retain a small amount of ashes as a memento. If you wish to scatter the ashes later in a special place, the urn can be left behind as a keepsake.
Urne.ch is a unique urn studio with a showroom in the heart of Zurich and has offered over 100 individually designed, classic and modern urns since its founding in 1998.
Urn ordering and delivery is possible at very short notice, even in the evenings, on weekends, and on holidays. Please contact us by phone or email and let us know your request. We will advise you personally, sensitively, and competently. We can also deliver the selected urn quickly, easily, and securely in a special shipping box to private individuals or hand it over to the authorities or funeral home.
Sustainability and Ecology - Urn Art - Individual and Artfully Designed Urns: "cosmicball" Thomas Schär, artist, designer, founder, and owner of the company, designs and creates each urn from scratch. This gives the handcrafted urns an identity, a name, and their own story. Urne.ch employs a small team of employees with diverse talents and areas of expertise.
Highlights
Timeline
‘cosmic ball collection’
‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär – With his current ‘cosmicball collection’ 2025 in the Swiss mountains on the Flüela.
Creation of the new logo for URNE.CH
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, the founder, artist and company owner of ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär is treating himself to a redesign of the previous
URNE.CH logos. The new logo shown above was created over the course of a year and first published in 2024.
The design of the logo is like all important
Works by the artist ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär are also deposited and protected by the IGE, the Swiss Institute for Intellectual Property.
The exact meaning and background of this new symbol with a youth crossing a river and a
protective starry sky as a symbol of cosmic infinity can be found on the website www.urne.ch.
20-minute visit to the artist's studio.
The artist ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär exhibits urns in his studio in Zurich Wiedikon.
‘I found standard urns incredible depressing. You're already sad when a loved one dies. So why choose a sad-looking urn?’ says Schär. ‘I'm an artist and I countered that with something colorful, something special.’
October 30, 2024
History is made and never bought
The ‘old’ URNE.CH logo served us for 25 years: 1998 – 2023.
We show it here again and thus keep it in honorable memory!
Presence at the Vögele Cultural Center
Tuesday, 17 May 2022 to Sunday, 18 September 2022
Thomas Schär, also known under the artist name ‘cosmicball’, is part of the exhibition ‘Death, Radically Normal’ at the Vögele Kultur Zentrum. Here he presents his works, the result of his 25 years of commitment. With his work and dedication, Thomas Schär makes an active contribution to removing the taboo surrounding the topics of ‘dying, death, farewell, and memory’. His goal is to encourage people to confront the supposed taboo of ‘death’, to rethink their own habitual behaviors and perspectives.
question and thus increase awareness about one's own death.
‘Death, radically normal.’ with ‘cosmicball’
May 17 - September 18, 2022.
Cycle 345 Zurich 2022
A walk through Zurich's creative quarter.
This year, ‘cosmicball’ is once again participating in the Kreislauf 345 project with Urne.ch. Visit Urne.ch's unique showroom at Zentralstrasse 50 in Wiedikon, Zurich.
SRF Faces & Stories
A beautiful ending.
In February 2022, Swiss television SRF ‘Geschichten & Gesicht’ (Stories & Faces) visited the Urne.ch studio in Zurich Wiedikon to learn more about Thomas Schär's urn collection and his life as an artist. In the report, the artist talks about his past, the conservative approach to death here in Europe, and his goal of remove the taboo.
Tagesanzeiger Zurich 2021
He creates artistic covers for the final journey.
Thomas Schär doesn't want to end up in a conventional vessel. Learn more about his art project here.
Oct. 2021
Observer 2021
Art until death. - ‘The urn is the final remnant of a person.’
Thomas Schär tells more about his life’s work.
June 2021
Cycle 345 Zurich 2020
Discover Zurich's creative quarter.
Ashes to Ashes. Bowie's song is timeless. Urne.ch, the unique urn studio and showroom in Zurich, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is anything but dusty. If there's anything fair: We all have to die, whether rich or poor. This is one of the reasons why the artist and owner of Urne.ch, ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär, designs each urn from scratch. This gives the handcrafted urns their unique identity—including individual wishes! Schär also supports youngart.ch and other projects.
promising young art according to the motto: Life goes on.
Swiss Radio SRF interviews ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär / 12.3.2020 ‘Kultur kompakt’ / Interview - Editor: Balz Oertli
An interview: Thomas Schär answers questions about dying, death, farewell and memory in his studio URNE.CH in Zurich.
Cycle 345 Zurich 2019
Discover Zurich's creative quarter.
Ashes to Ashes. Bowie's song is timeless. Urne.ch, the unique urn studio and showroom in Zurich, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is anything but dusty. If there's anything fair: We all have to die, whether rich or poor. This is one of the reasons why the artist and owner of Urne.ch, "cosmicball" Thomas Schär, designs each urn from scratch. This gives the handcrafted urns their unique identity—including individual wishes! Schär also promotes promising young artists with youngart.ch and other projects, following the motto: Life goes on.
Zurich Art Scene 2018
Portfolio viewing with ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär at the Rote Fabrik, Shedhalle Zurich. Presentation of the ‘cosmicball collection’ idea and concept with ball of love ‘skull’ and ‘strawberry’.
At the portfolio viewing, several artists present their works and portfolios within a limited period of time to art lovers and renowned art experts – including Aline Juchler, curator and art expert at Pro Helvetia, Sabine Rusterholz, curator and member of the Zurich Art Commission, and Gianni Garzoli, President of the Swiss Association of Art Collectors.
Moderation: Salome Hohl
Art scene 2018 with ‘cosmicball’
November 2018
Presence in the Kunstzeughaus Rapperswil with 29 works
THAT ONE MOMENT
‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär at the Kunst(zeug)Haus Rapperswil 2018
Death and Transience: In 2018, an exhibition by IG Halle took place at the Kunst(Zeug)Haus Rapperswil on this topic. However, the focus was equally on life and the question of how all the moments are lived before this one moment occurs. The selection of works offered the opportunity for discussion on various levels. Renowned artists, as experts in transformation, raised the question of death in an explicit or indirect way. Through their individual approaches, the selected works touched on very different aspects of the topic: from the depiction of ruins and skulls to the exploration of matter at the border of abundance and chance to the visible and invisible phenomena of
Perception. In addition to the artistic approach, several
Events offer an in-depth discussion, e.g. through encounters with people who carry out unconventional activities or who deal intensively with death in their professional lives.
That One Moment with ‘cosmicball’
August 26 - November 4, 2018.
TeleBasel
TV report: Tele Basel about the urn collection of ‘cosmicball’ Thomas Schär in the newly opened studio in Basel, St. Johann.
August 2017
Curated Exhibition – Design - Pforzheim University
Exhibition Pforzheim 19 May to 25 June 2017: Urn sculpture room of silence® with urn ball of love®
The exhibition ‘Luxury!? – Positions between Opulence and Asceticism’ explores historical, contemporary, and future concepts of luxury. It focuses on both the material and the immaterial. The focus is on consumer goods and works of fine art that straddle the poles of ‘more is more’ and ‘less is more’. Concepts of ‘hidden wealth’ are on display, including objects from the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, Otto Künzli, Leica, and Maison Martin Margiela. Urne.ch was also invited to the exhibition with the ball of love®, which is encased in the room of silence®.
May 19 to June 25, 2017
zhaw - Urne.ch on cover
"cosmicball" Thomas Schär on the cover
from VITAMIN G with urn ball of love® chrome
Vitamin G - End of life
May 2017
Lecture before the SBAP
Lecture on ‘Farewell and Funeral Culture’. An event organized by the SBAP, the Swiss Professional Association for applied psychology.
February 2017
Founding and creation of
Reto Stalder: ‘The ballot box of his choice’
’Fabio’ is interviewed by Schweizer Illustrierte at Atelier Urne.ch.
January 2014
Radio Lora: Interview with "cosmicball"
’cosmicball’ in conversation with Radio Lora: Listen to the interview
November 2013
Teaching assignments
Teaching assignments at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences
September 2010
‘For the love of diversity’
‘cosmicball’ in the photo book. Photographer Primo Martinelli portrays personalities from District 3
September 2009
cooperation
Model design for the Ilmenau Columbarium with urns from the URNE.CH ‘cosmicball collection’
nomination
The ‘cosmicball collection’ by URNE.CH is nominated for the international Funeralaward 2008.
July 2008
Founding of www.youngart.ch
URNE.CH received a visit
Urne.ch received a visit from star designer Karim Rashid from NY
July 2007
Invitation
URNE.CH invited to the Trendboulevard Zurich.
July 2007
Founding and creation of EMOTIONAL PRODUCTIONS
www.emotionalproductions.com
The special, hand-picked collection of links...
January 2007
URNE.CH with sign of memory at the Design Center Hessen
The exhibition presents around fifty objects of contemporary cemetery and funeral culture by renowned designers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
July 2006
URNE.CH at the Museum for Sepulchral Culture Kassel
‘dernier cri - designers design the farewell’
July 2006
URNE.CH at the Museum Bellerive Zurich
’Design between eternity and transience’
July 2006
URN.CH
on German television SWR 10.11.05
July 2005
Hochparterre - Publisher for Architecture & Design
‘cosmicball’ has built the virtual Bundesplatz...
July 2004
Cosmicball with Ball of Love at FACES 06/04
‘...they can organize your departure with the most style.’
June 2004
TV: cosmicball - URNE.CH
with ball of love as guest on the talk show Aeschbacher
Anniversary - 100th broadcast
July 2003
cosmicball - URNE.CH on TV (ZDF)
July 2002
cosmicball - URNE.CH
Various publications, press and TV appearances. First exhibition and media presence in Berlin
July 2000
Publications and reports
about the new urn creations from URNE.CH on television on SF DRS and on the radio on DRS3 as well as various publications in the press.
July 1999
‘cosmicball’
The pseudonym ‘cosmicball’ stands for the creation, conception and appearance of the URNE.CH collection
July 1998
First urn concepts
By ‘cosmicball’ for URNE.CH under the pseudonym mass-massenware
1996
First projects
Under the pseudonym mass-massenware
1st and 2nd place National Youth Competition Switzerland
Winner of the Swiss youth competition ‘Ideas and Design for the Switzerland of Tomorrow’. Organized by UBS Switzerland, the submitted work: a futuristic traffic control concept and design for a three-wheeled earth shuttle vehicle. Judged by a panel of around 30 experts.
1st place Solothurn / 2nd place in the final evaluation Switzerland.
July 1987
International Design Competition - uvex Germany
Topic: ‘Helmet of the Future’ / Evaluation by an expert jury (Prof. Dr. Th. Raabe - University of Hanover / M. Ninic: Development & Design Audi AG / G. Scholz: Marketing Director uvex / M. Wimmer: Professional Racing Driver...) Criteria: Styling, technology, design. 2nd place in the final evaluation from over 700 entries.
July 1986
1st place - Youth Drawing Competition Switzerland
75 years of Aluminium AG
July 1980
