About
Cafe Mortel is a creative studio and production company reimagining funerals and memorial experiences through art, design and ceremony.
Conceived in 2021 and launched as a studio in 2024 by Ruby Cohen Love, Cafe Mortel challenges traditional narratives around mortality, transforming funerals into curated cultural expressions that honour individuality and inspire intentional living.
Through art direction, philosophy and thoughtful design, we explore how death awareness can inspire creative ways of honouring life. Embracing grief while celebrating the people and stories that shape us.
Ruby is a creative director and Central Saint Martins graduate in Fashion Communication. She brings together a background in fashion, art and gastronomy with ongoing studies in thanatology, the discipline that examines death, dying and loss. Her work merges aesthetics and empathy, proposing that funerals can be designed with the same intentionality and beauty as any other milestone in life.
Origins
In 2017, Ruby envisioned her own funeral as a fashion exhibition in Copenhagen. A moment that reframed death as an act of creation. That personal vision became Cafe Mortel.
The name draws from Bernard Crettaz and his cafe mortel movement, better known as the death cafe movement, which opened intimate spaces for conversations about mortality. We continue that dialogue through immersive events, exhibitions and collaborations that make death a subject of beauty, creativity and presence.
Philosophy
Cafe Mortel is about death, but it is for the living.
We believe facing death reveals profound meaning and transforms how we live. By treating one's deathstyle with the same intentionality as lifestyle, we encourage reflection on legacy, values and the art of living well.
Sustainability
We are committed to a more regenerative future for death care. We aim to collaborate with natural burial grounds, eco-memorial reef initiatives and innovators in sustainable burial technologies. Turning endings into beginnings, leaving behind not only memories but living ecosystems.
Social Impact
We believe everyone deserves a meaningful farewell, regardless of circumstance. Affordable funerals, suicide prevention, the right to die with dignity, organ and tissue donation. Each a different form of continuation. For us, reimagining death also means reimagining how we care for one another in life.
Q&A
Q: What is Cafe Mortel?
A: Cafe Mortel is a creative studio and production company reimagining how we honour life and death through art, design and ceremony. From bespoke funeral pre-planning to immersive cultural events and memorial art, we create meaningful experiences for the living, the dying and those left behind.
Q: Are you a funeral home?
A: No. We are not a traditional funeral provider. Our work focuses on creative direction, storytelling and experience design. Where post-mortem procedures are needed, we work with trusted specialists.
Q: What do you mean by “deathstyle”?
A: "Deathstyle" is our way of saying that death deserves the same reverence, creativity and individuality as lifestyle. It is about shaping how you are remembered, not through excess, but through intention and beauty.
Q: Why talk about death at all?
A: Because ignoring it doesn't make it disappear. Research shows that unresolved death anxiety is one of the leading drivers of stress, depression and low life satisfaction. Talking about death helps us live more consciously, to value time, relationships and meaning.
Q: Who are your projects for?
A: Anyone curious about mortality, ritual or legacy. We work with individuals from their thirties onwards, families, artists and brands who want to approach commemoration in a more creative, reflective or sustainable way.
Q: Do you replace religious or cultural rituals?
A: Never. We honour tradition while expanding what ritual can mean today. Our ceremonies weave together art, design and personal heritage, coexisting with spiritual or cultural customs, not erasing them.
Q: Are your experiences only for the end of life?
A: Not at all. Many of our events and services invite people to reflect on mortality as a way of celebrating life, at any age. Pre-planning your funeral at any age is one of the most intentional things you can do.
Q: How do I get started?
A: Every immersive event and experience begins with a conversation. Whether you are planning a funeral, commissioning a memorial, or simply curious, start by taking our Funeral Personality Quiz or email us at contact@cafemortel.world