Coffin It Up features unique coffin artistry from Las Vegas designer Bryan. The real draw on this site is the furniture: end tables with lids that open, display cases with spiderwebbed doors, coffee tables with pull-out drawers. (As of this writing, guitarist Jeff Hanneman has commissioned Bryan to complete a series of mahogany and glass coffin tables, pics of which can’t be posted until the line is finished. What better coffin craftsmanship stamp of approval can you get than somebody from Slayer?) For those of you who can only dream of owning stuff like this these days, Bryan also does some interesting trinkety bits…

First up is a coffin pendant, carved from obsidian legally collected from Glass Buttes in Oregon. The species available include midnight lace, jet black, rainbow, silver sheen, snowflake, and others. The one that called out to us from their vendor table at C9 was a lovely fire obsidian – this particular stone features a natural pattern that looks like a golden ocean swirling under a pitch-black sky – a little difficult to capture on film, but we tried. Something we’ve noticed is how drawn people are to touching it. I’m not into stone magick, so I don’t know what the properties of obsidian are, but it seems to have an inviting tactile effect. More(and better) pics of their work can be found here.

Next is a coffin keychain, carved from the wood of an abandoned barn. Being a member of the found objects community on LiveJournal, I had to ask where the wood came from. I got this pic:

and this bit of background from Bryan: “I wish I had some juicy piece of history on it, but I really dont. It was built in 1870, and was used for storage of hay to feed the cattle and sheep that were farmed there. I would imagine the farm animals were also housed inside during bad weather. It was located on US 395 near Fox, Oregon.”

It has to be mentioned that recently I went into a swank downtown SF beauty parlor to pick up some moisturizer and while I was paying for my purchase, the stylish cashier freaked out over my inadvertent handbag ensemble of coffin keychain and coffin wallet(pictured under the keychain – not from Coffin It Up, it’s something I snagged while in Venice Beach last Halloween), greeting my coffins with an delighted purr of, “nice share!” At this point, all I need is the cigarette case and and I’ve got a complete set.

Overall, Coffin It Up combines sturdy craftsmanship with originality, and this is a great site to pick up a one-of-a-kind gift for the morbid-hearted.