Solid Solutions:

Solid Solutions, located in Fresno, Calif., specializes in new and residential remodels. The company has carved themselves a niche in California's Central Valley by crafting unique countertops and decorative flooring. "If it isn't pretty, we don't do it," laughs Solid Solutions owner Evan Lloyd.

Lloyd explains that in an effort to create distinctive works, he recruits artists from the local art school in Fresno. The end result—one-of-a-kind countertops. And a big part of the process involves getting into the heads of clients, asking questions such as," Where do you stand most in your kitchen? Where do you drain your pasta? Where do you do all of your cutting?"

"It's all so we can accommodate the way they function in the kitchen," explains Lloyd. He adds that with those answers, he knows precisely where to create cutting boards, trivets and drain boards in countertops.

"By the time we're done, we're satisfied we've created something unique, and they are satisfied they're getting something that's one of a kind," he adds.

One look at Lloyd's resume and you might never imagine he would be where he is now. Lloyd once lived the rock and roll lifestyle in Los Angeles, working as a recording engineer on high profile projects for clients including Disney and the Spice Girls.

And going back even further in Lloyd's life, it's hard to imagine him in Los Angeles. Lloyd grew up on a ranch in Arizona, where he and his family did everything from building barns to fixing cracked pipes in bad weather.

The only foreshadowing of what was to come for Lloyd was the fact that his dad's passion and hobby is woodworking, so Lloyd has always been very comfortable with tools.

"In L.A. I was bored out of my mind, it was a dream job but I couldn't stand it," Lloyd explains. But all that changed when his father-in-law started remodeling a home in Fresno.

"He called me and told me he wanted concrete countertops, and he told me to check them out on the Internet," says Lloyd. "I went on the Internet to research them, and I saw them and I thought to myself, oh my gosh that's gorgeous...Then thought, I can do that!"

Lloyd says as he started to dabble in concrete, he found himself calling in sick more and more until he finally quit the recording studio job to work with concrete companies in L.A.

Then fate stepped in when Lloyd and his wife were visiting a high-end appliance store in Fresno and they bought tickets for a custom home tour, during which Lloyd noticed that all the kitchens had granite countertops.

"I was already doing concrete countertops at the time," he recalls. "We started asking the vendors [in the homes] questions and found out that there was only one company in Fresno doing concrete countertops, and they weren't focusing very much on it. Everyone said no one's doing it, but everyone wants it. I wanted out of L.A., and my wife is from Fresno, so it fit."

Solid Solutions now has their work on display in that very appliance store, as well as in many other high-end businesses in Fresno. "Basically, we have showrooms we don't have to staff or pay anything for the space," Lloyd explains of the arrangement. "We give them work for the cost of materials, and they basically get something for free and we get a lot of advertising out of it."

Which leads to projects like what Lloyd calls "The Condo." The clients are a retired couple (the husband is retired from the circus), and they live in a high-end condo. When their neighbor put his condo up for sale, they bought it to use solely as a place to play poker and have parties.

"It's the most creative project we've ever worked on," explains Lloyd. His work on the condo includes an flooring overlay with saw cut designs of playing cards in a Royal Flush that measures 10 feet by 10 feet, bar countertops with smoked glass panels lit from underneath, entryway walls stamped in roman slate pattern, a castle stone stamped entryway, a concrete shower with an artistic rendering of a large jester, and concrete sinks in custom shapes.

There will also be a model train running in and out of every room through the walls of the entire condo. Lloyd cast the fireplace surround and had an artist design a mosaic of San Francisco. When the train goes over the fireplace, it passes over a replica of theGolden Gate Bridge.

The project is expected to take less than six months, and Lloyd credits that to unlimited resources and the work of the very best contractors and vendors in Fresno. "They have helped make the project a dream," he says. "Everyone is happy to be there and excited about the work and the right to be creative."

Solid Solutions also expanded into Arizona recently, opening an office in the Phoenix metro area that's doing well. So well, in fact, they will be expanding to Sedona soon. "We realized there is no city more suited to what we do than Sedona," Lloyd explains. "We've already started advertising there, and the phone hasn't stopped ringing."

Lloyd also credits the Concrete Network with a steady stream of jobs. "The website has been huge referral for us," he says, adding that 80 percent of his calls originate off the Concrete Network.

Lloyd explains an upcoming job in Hollister, the result of a website referral. Solid Solutions will be creating concrete floors throughout an entire house for a family with a severely disabled child—floors with no seams and no thresholds, and even concrete showers so the child will be able to wheel everywhere.

"They said I was the only one who would come out to see them," Lloyd continues. "I couldn't say no to them when I found out what they needed and why. When you can help people, you've got to give something back...We're putting inlays in the floors, artistic stuff above and beyond what they asked for. We're giving them everything because they deserve it."

Solid Solutions also recently developed a proprietary mix for their concrete countertops—t e best of both worlds—something that's both artistic and durable."

Lloyd says he gets the mix materials from Japan, and the materials are the same as those used in Japanese architecture. "They have millions of little earthquakes all the time there," he says. "And the materials allow concrete to sway and flex without cracking...So our countertops have give to them. We even dropped one off a trailer and it didn't break. Now we take samples to potential clients and tell them to throw them on the ground. It's changed everything for us."

Solid Solutions
Evan Lloyd
3682 W. Stuart Ave.
Fresno, CA 93711
(602) 412-7252 Office

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