Making Money from Grieving Moments

I had a hard time figuring out a suitable title.

I just came across an article titled "Bye Bye, Love" in Time Magazine.

Business for products aimed at the newly divorced, from greeting cards and postbreakup getaway packages to custom-made cakes and joke gifts like wedding-ring coffins, is booming. New Orleans resident Reneé Savant bought a hearse, thinking she would rent it out for over-the-hill-birthday celebrations. But since she began her service last October, the hottest demand has come from clients who want to ride around as they and friends celebrate the death of their marriages. "I would never in a million years have thought the fad would be divorce parties," says Savant.

In the capitalistic market, all sorts of innovation and ideas turn into profitable businesses. As Divorce becomes a prevalent trend in the United States and some Western countries, entrepreneurs come up with divorce parties and gifts.

To an extent, such parties provide solace and comfort for the just-divorced individual. Before the concept of divorce parties, divorcees might bear the pain herself. They might not have the courage to seek help from peers or might not know where they could otherwise seek help. So with the introduction of divorce parties, friends and relatives come together and "celebrate", thereby alleviating the pain involved in the process.

Divorce gifts, like the knife rack above, also act as destressing (or revenge) tools.

I believe people in the East have not yet adopted such customs of throwing divorce parties. After reading the article, it reminds me of an industry in Singapore that is very profitable -- The Business for the Dead.

Why burn incense paper when you can burn designer handbags, branded watches, mobile phones, cars or even aeroplanes?

I had a hard time figuring out the title simply because such moments might not be so grieving after all...

Images from:
smashingkatie.com
studioleung.com