Our Shop

Over the years we have added machines, people and technology to give us the edge in producing consistently excellent Soapstone products. Our goal has always been to be able to keep dreaming and designing new sinks, backsplash options, carvings and inlay work, and that is exactly what we have done. While the most tedious work is still done a lot by hand, we count on our computer driven machines to help us along the way. We have been blessed to employ talented young men that have bought into our vision and they too keep dreaming and adding to our list of things we want to do.

After your showroom experience we will schedule a date to have one of our template craftsmen come out to your home.  We take this very seriously so we use the most accurate digital template machines available. Each of these craftsmen is familiar with every step of our operation because they have moved through the ranks and settled into the position that gives them the most fulfillment.  Its not just a job to us.  We have the opportunity to create as a part of a team and we all have pride in our craft.

After we return to the shop we will process the information on your kitchen into a drawing and do the stone mapping.  Interpreting the flow of the room along with the focal points and features allow us to layout the stone for the most appropriate impact.  This is one of our favorite parts of the process because this is step one in drawing you to the soapstone, making you have to touch it and experience the tactile presence that tops off your project and all of your decisions.

Back to where we came from with an old trusted ally, the tape measure.  In this step we are fine tuning our stone map.  Here is where the DNA of your countertops is transferred to the next craftsman in the process.

Sinks

Handbuilt Sink Shop

Say hi to Adam, really, you will see him when you come in and we give you a tour of the shop.  Adam has been with us for around 10 years now and one of his talents is to create hand-built soapstone sinks.  Making our soapstone sinks is one of our most demanding shop stations.  We specify woodworking joinery techniques to make our generation enduring sinks. If you are having us make your countertops too, we will cut your sink parts from the exact same slabs that you chose for your counters.  Most of this process is done by hand, that is why we call these creations, “hand-built sinks”.  When we template your tops we will also measure the opening for your sink.  If we are making a hand-built sink for you we will make it to fit the opening provided.

Block sinks

 One of our adventures into the land of the unknown began in 2007.  We made the necessary steps to become the first American manufacturer of soapstone sinks carved from a solid block of stone.  There was quite a learning curve to endure in this process.  Getting settled on the best set of procedures, the best tooling, and the fun part, product development.  It’s hard to believe we are in our 10th year of doing this.   We make these sinks in specific sizes for standard size cabinet openings.  The most popular sizes are 30 and 33 inches wide.  All of these sinks fit into a cabinet with these size openings and then 10 inches tall.  Feel free to further explore our offerings under the header Block Sinks.

Waterjet Cutting

 Wait a second, that looks like our old friend Adam who builds the Hand-Built Sinks!  Good work detective.  I told you one of Adams skills was making the sinks, well another one of his skills is running the cool water jet we have in our shop.  While most of the time he is cutting soapstone this bad boy machine can cut up to 8″ thick steel, 5″ thick titanium.  Not to mention glass, rubber, etc. etc.  We also cut aluminum, copper or other materials to inlay into our soapstone for personalization.  You could say Adam has mad skills.

Finishing

We take a lot of pride in using our hands to finish all surfaces of soapstone.  Hand tools and abrasives are skillfully used to achieve the finishes that we developed over the years.  This is where we add the Franklin Edges, drainboards, including the most popular Franklin Drainboard.  With these hand tools we prepare every edge and seam to give our Installation team the best job site conditions to meet our standards for excellence.