Leathered finish

We are now able to offer 'leathered' finishes on any stone. We also do honing and brushing.
The leather finish is kind of like a river-washed effect. As if the softer portions of the stone had been eroded by a natural stream over many, many years. To the touch, it has the slightest texture as you run your fingers over it. It also takes away most of the shine, although we can color enhance it to bring the uniqueness of the stone color back. But, it will remain a matte finish.
Several US slab distributors offer a very limited amount of colors in leathered stone. Usually in dark colors. [Cambrian Black seems to be used quite often]
Now, we can leather any stone. We are not limited to what their suppliers provide. We're running some Golden Crystal right now.
Any color you want can now be leathered, honed or brushed.

Water Jet

We now offer the only stone water jet service in the state.
We can do signs, business inlays [logos in a conference table as an example], outdoor signage, decorative inlays in countertops. Whatever needs you may have, we have the technology to do it.
We just completed some onyx inlays for Todd Luster, who is doing the Warren theater in Moore, Ok.
There are several examples in the showroom.

Gambling

For most people, their home is their largest investment. Most are not into gambling on that investment. When it comes time to sell, the primary assets are the Kitchen and Master Bath. That is what we do for a living.

Since we are 100% digital, our work starts in a computer and stays there until a skilled fabricator finishes the polish by hand.

The above image is the bird's eye view of one of our client's kitchen. There is a sink in the top portion of the horse shoe, pretty much in the center. There is a free standing stove on the bottom right and the little piece goes on the other side of the stove. In the picture, the vertical lines on either side of the sink are seam locations. Most companies seam at the corners- we almost never do that, because that is where people look first.

The Stone choice is Crema Mara. It is very active with lots of pattern and color changes.

Next, I'm going to show you a 'normal' layout of this stone. All pieces except the sink piece come out of the first slab. The sink piece somes out of slab two, and it does not matter which corner you choose re the match. This one comes from the top left, which was the best, such as it is.
This method saves the most material. In this case, probably $400 worth of savings, if it was bought domestically [We actually imported this one].

Here's what your gamble looks like:



We're the second Stone Fabricator in the country using this new system. We got it in December and have used it numerous times.

Here is what the clients actual investment will look like:



The difficulty on this layout is the grain and color match on the sink section. In our layout, the colors match and the grain is right.

Did we use more material than the 'normal' one? Yes. Does it show? Yes, it does.

The system actually shows you real time changes as you maneuver the parts over the picture of the stone. Sometimes, it takes a while to get it right. So be it. This one took two of us about 15 minutes to get the color and grain the way we wanted it.

There have been times where we actually changed the seam locations just to get the matches we wanted.

We're not gambling with your investment. We know exactly what it will look like before it ever hits the Sawjet.

2008

Its' been 13 months since I've updated this blog, and my how things have changed around here.
First, what is on the water right now:

From the Italians, we have a Marble order en route. It should be here in about 3 weeks.
Emperador 2 and 3cm.
Black Guinea 2cm. A very old Italian Quarry. [Guinea is pronounced Gwen-Nay] Our Italian rep is slowly teaching me some Italian. And, I do mean Slowly.
Calacatta Fantastico Light. 2cm. Very pretty white.
Calacatta Fantastico Dark. 3cm. A little darker, but equally pretty.
Breccia Oniciatta. 3cm. This stuff is really pretty, but really fragile. When we open the container, my guys will want to shoot me when they see it. It is difficult to work with.

From the Brazilians, I finished one yesterday. It should be here by the end of April.

2 bundles of 3cm Soapstone with the gorgeous white veining.
1 bundle of 3cm Supreme. A brand new offering from one of our favorite suppliers. Vibrant golds and blacks. This company is famous for their Classico Supreme. I'm guessing this is from a different part of that quarry because the golds and blacks are very similar.
2 bundles of 3cm Napoleon. We got one late last year from the same supplier. It was the best looking Napoleon I've seen in 5 years. Really top-flight. Great colors with no orange or peach.
1 2cm and 1 3cm Giallo Ornamental. Subtle whites, but very elegant.

I'll deal with the hardware and software changes in a later post.

Italian Order

We just put the finishing touches on our next container from Italy. The nice thing about the Italians is that they can get some materials you can't find anywhere else. The bad thing about the Italians is that they are fully aware of this and charge accordingly. Oh, well...



This is Ice Flower Soapstone. 1 bundle coming. You can get Soapstone in Brazil, but the problem is you almost always have to order a full container of it, since most of these suppliers specialize only in Soapstone. A container of Soapstone would last me about 314 years. The other problem is that it is usually the green type. People prefer the Ice Flower, especially with veins.

This bundle will have a smooth finish on one side and a 'leather' finish on the other. Your choice. BTW, Soapstone is unstainable and always waterproof. It is soft, but we view it sort of like your oldest leather jacket. It will wear a little, but it only adds to it's character.



3cm Juperana Super Classico. 1 bundle. This is Brazilian and I know which quarry produces it, but it rarely looks this good. I assume the Italians have some very good connections.



3cm Juperana Golden Sun. 1 bundle. This is also Brazilian, but I was told that the quarry had died. Apparently not. We used to get this one about 6 years ago, but none until now. This stuff is Stupid Pretty.



3cm Purple Dunes. 1 bundle. Another Stupid Pretty stone. That Maroon color is very deep.



3cm Terra Brasilis. 1 bundle. Only 4 slabs coming. We've had this one before. 'Had' being the key word. We sold out pretty quickly. Same quarrier as the Super Classico. Nice, soft colors with movement.



3cm Cactus Boreale. Only 2 slabs coming. This is very near a quartzite in hardness. Sadly, it is also priced like a Ferrari. We'll have to place this one somewhere in the slab yard where there is proper drainage, otherwise the drool will begin to puddle.



3cm CremaMara. 1 bdl. This is another one I have not seen in about 6 years. Very pretty.



3cm Daino Reale Marble. 1 bundle. Daino Reale is usually a fairly soft grained marble. The mix of the darker brown at the bottom is fairly unusual, but gives it quite a bit more character than normal.

These should ship the week of the 19th of February. They'll probably be in transit for all of March, and should be here the first part of April.

Timing

How long from the time of templates until installation? The usual answer is 2-3 weeks. There may be extenuating circumstances, such as waiting on delivery from another distributor, but if we stock it, it usually falls into that time frame.

We usually template during the trim stage of a new house, fabricate while the painters are in there, then install immediately after the painters leave.

Remodels are usually different. Circumstances vary. But, with remodels, timing is also critical. Raising a family with no kitchen for any length of time is not very good. So, we try to turn those around as quickly as possible.

If it is a normal remodel where only the tops are being replaced, the installation happens in one day. No down time per se.

I hear stories of 6-8-12 weeks out on installation. Frankly, I can't imagine why it would take so long.

There are large shops around the country that do 3-5 day turnarounds. To do that, you have to be all digital, which is exactly what we're implementing in January of 2007. It'll take a while to fine tune, but all the necessary pieces will be in place by then. A digital templating system, the ability to email the templates immediately after our measurement appointment, a digital template projection system and a second CNC for processing. All this will be here very shortly.

Price per square foot

This falls into the category of useless information. Pure 'bait and switch' material. What you really want to know is the TOTAL COST.

Do you buy cars by the pound? I would not think so. Everyone can relate to automotive references, but they only go so far. There may be 3 Honda dealers all selling the exact same model. Only the dealerships differ. Not so in stone. Everyone may start with ubatuba, but the results can vary wildly. And, even atrociously.

Big box stores are notorious for luring you in with the big print and gigging you with the small print. As are a number of the scurrilous wannabees. You are not interested in the starting point, you are interested in the ending point. Bottom line.

Estimating cost, templating cost, edge charge per running inch, trip charge, tear out charge, fixing your cabinets charge, base cost per square foot, laminate charge, installation charge, sink cut charge, undermount charge, stove cut charge, hole drilling charge, fabricating charge, slab cost charge, etc. You get the point. What can start at $36 psf can end up at $57 psf in a hurry.

The summation is, ask more pertinent questions. 'Price per square foot' is the proverbial 'tip of the iceberg'.