Good Grief is a space for inspiration, re-thinking the end of life.

Virtual 3D remembrance room by farvel.space

Good Grief is a platform showcasing innovative thinking & new talent.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
'Bringing death back to life' by Carmen López Brio
Photo credit: Bart Honing Photography / Studio Evoque
Flower-shaped burial shroud by Christel van Calsteren
Handmade, ecologic paper urns by Urnfold

Good Grief is trend-driven consultancy helping its clients to redesign death.

'Blooming Ashes' by Daphne Hagendoorn

Talks ⟶

News ⟶

Portrait Stefanie Schillmöller

Hello, I am Stefanie.

I am an experienced trend analyst and innovation consultant – and a Death Trends Expert.
I have been intensively researching contemporary perspectives on death on my platform GOOD GRIEF since 2019.

I'm a thought leader in this space, avid keynote speaker and advisor for various companies on innovation opportunities in this area. I'm providing them with insights on new developments around end-of-life planning, new burial practices and mourning rituals, the role of cemeteries in future cities and the challenges of our digital heritage, just to name a few.

Identifying emerging trends, new behaviours and value-shifting technologies, I help brands recognise those drivers of change, and act as a springboard to turn insights into actions — from future-oriented product concepts, services, communication to business strategies.

Interested in discovering trends & innovations in the Death Space?

News ⟶

  • The future of death

    Interview with Austrian trend researcher Anne-Lise Prem on death trends

    Podcast – English

    Listen

  • How do we grieve digitally?

    Interview following the TODtal Digital conference in Berlin

    Podcast – German

    Listen

  • Sustainable death trends

    I was interviewed by the blog Friedlotse on developments related to greener farewells

    Blogpost – German

    Read
More news

Feed ⟶

#REPOST @vice (Warning: This gallery contains images that some might find disturbing.⁠) ⁠ Introducing: karaoke funerals. In the poorer suburbs of Manila, in the Philippines, there’s a tradition that chimes with the country’s famous love f
Flowers, not just as a bouquet or a wreath at the funeral - but as a floral ribbon around the coffin. So beautiful, and I think the ritual of everyone bringing a flower and "giving it away" is very special.⁠ ⁠ @bloemenband is made of unblea
#burialshroud #design⁠ ⁠ In the Netherlands and Belgium, you can choose how to bury or cremate someone. A coffin is often used, but a shroud is a good alternative. A shroud is a piece of cloth used to wrap the body and is combined with a stretcher. I

What others say ⟶

  • I’m regularly exchanging ideas with Stefanie, presenting our findings at events or in publications. Her perspective on death brings a much-needed update to the field’s aesthetic and profits from her interdisciplinary approach that also acknowledges global trends and societal phenomena. I always turn to her for a breath of fresh air or when I need to reduce complexity on something. At Germany’s biggest funeral company Ahorn Gruppe, I commissioned her to research change within the digital end-of-life planning sector as well as the future of grieving and remembrance rituals. We use these reports regularly for inspiration and as a benchmark to come up with something contemporary and inspiring. In the future, we hope she will play an important role in redesigning our product palette so we can stay ahead of the market in our country.

    Charlotte Wiedemann, Funeral Culture Advisor, Ahorn Gruppe

  • Stefanie has been one of the most valuable connections I have made during my 10 year journey seeking to ‘redesign death’. An unremitting resource of inspiration, research, contacts, energy and passion, she has added a depth of knowledge and insight into our OverMyDeadBody Community for which all of us are profoundly grateful. Having herself led a virtual session with our community on ‘Beauty in Death’ she opened new perspectives and a fresh narrative that brought a welcome joy and optimism, to a classically grim subject.

    Cori Moore, Innovation & Learning Experience Design / Founder OverMyDeadBody

  • We turned to Stefanie with specific questions for our business idea. She was able to help us better understand future trends and opportunities. In a two day workshop, Stefanie worked with us to find answers to questions such as: How will the market continue to change? How can the market size be defined in the future? Which key partners will emerge from this? This helped us a lot to better understand the market and our customers and to specify our product more precisely.

    Lilli Berger – Founder farvel.space / erinnerungs|raum

  • When we revamped and relaunched our symposium "TODTAL DIGITAL – Bestattungsbranche und digitaler Wandel" (Digital Transformation in the Funeral Industry) in 2021, Stefanie was on our shortlist for speakers from the get-go. Stefanie managed to set the pace and direction for the second day by clarifying and reifying questions on developments around grief in the digital age. Her talk was very well received – and many attendees who gave us feedback after the conference specifically noted the positive impact of her talk. Communicating with Stefanie before, during and after the conference was smooth and pleasant. We can wholeheartedly recommend her and we hope to work together again.

    Dr. Simon J. Walter, Cultural officer at the specialist publisher of the German funeral industry and the German funeral culture foundation