Sonoma Cast Stone:Offering Up Almost Anything Concrete — Even the Kitchen SinkJust as a great winery begins with a seed of inspiration and matures through constant nurturing and loving experimentation by its vintner, indelibly leaving its mark on others through its own unique characteristics, so too has been the course for Sonoma Cast Stone. It's been about five years since Stephen Rosenblatt sold his single-stop, drive-in facilities business in Utah. The sale gave him enough money to build his own dream house in California's wine country. That process morphed into a reality that was almost unimaginable at the time — through building the unique home, he discovered concrete and used it liberally in his own home — the seed that ultimately blossomed into Sonoma Cast Stone. Sonoma Cast Stone, located in the Southern part of the Sonoma Valley — the heart of wind country — offers a hand-cast product line of vessel sinks, tiles, pavers, counter tiles, countertops, fireplace surrounds, and integral sinks. The company has 68 showrooms in major cities across the county.
His dream house inspired many of the ideas for his product lines. "My idea was to make everything on site," Rosenblatt said. When he priced limestone at $24 a square foot, Rosenblatt scouted out alternatives. His initiative resulted in the creation of his attractive concrete pavers. Because his house was so unusual, it piqued the interest of local architects and designers, many of whom toured the home. "So many of the architects were telling me how beautiful the pavers were," he said. Encouraged by the constant stream of enthusiasm, Rosenblatt pursued his first project outside his home — a local winery. He created what he now calls his Softstone pavers — pillowed pavers that blend four colors formed into nine sizes, recreating a non-repeating pattern. They can be used indoors or outdoors. After working in pavers, Rosenblatt came up with the idea of casting sinks and developed a machine to do just that. And then came the turning point. Rosenblatt's work drew the attention of Ann Sacks, whose product line Ann Sacks Tile & Stone is carried by Kohler and featured in showrooms across the country. Rosenblatt took some of his work to one of those local showrooms. The staff there sent it to headquarters. "She was interested. Two days later Ann Sacks herself came down," Rosenblatt said. "That was the big break for us." From there the company branched off in several new directions while countertops and pavers remained strong staples. "Sinks began to take on a life of their own," he said. Vessel sinks — inspired by old English washbasins and available in eight colors — became popular. But they also posed a new challenge: because they sit higher than the countertop, standard faucets generally didn't work. So the company came up with a line of new faucets, which it since spun off into its own company, Sonoma Forge. And since then the company has developed a series of unique sinks: The wave sink. This sink — which features a concrete-formed wave between two or more faucets — is designed to lead all the water back to a pair of slot drains. The sink and counter essentially become one. The ramp countersink. The sink's basin is shaped like a ramp — water flows down the ramp and disappears down the drain, sloped to either the end or the back of the sink. The company makes an ADA-compliant version, and, in fact, recently sold 800 sinks to Capital One, the credit card giant. The trough sink. This is a one-piece countersink that can accommodate two to four faucets and is made to fit on a conventional cabinet. Many restaurant chains, like P.F. Chang's, have ordered up this style sink. The farm sink. Sonoma Cast Stone offers a full line of kitchen sinks. Rosenblatt calls these big and gutsy. The farm sink offers a workable, deep, large sink. The chef sink offers the handcrafted beauty of concrete, but it is also a chef's dream. A stainless drain board slides over the sink, functioning as a large strainer so food can be prepared and rinsed directly over the sink. Rosenblatt's vision when designing the various models was to achieve uniqueness. "I'm always trying to get a different, unusual look," he said. And clients are responding: the sinks have become an increasingly large part of the business, Rosenblatt said. In fact, Rosenblatt estimates that about 35 percent of the overall business is sinks. Some 40 percent is commercial and 25 percent is custom residential. Meanwhile, the company's latest venture is its new countertops program. The company will continue making custom countertops, but Sonoma Cast Stone will begin producing ready-made kitchen countertops with a fixed width of 25-1/2 inches (or 22-1/2 inches for bathroom vanities) and a length of up to 7 feet. "A huge part of making a custom countertop lies in the customization," he said. "A lot of typical kitchens can accommodate the countertop." Obviously one of the key benefits is cost — the cost of a "standard" countertop will be about $60 a square foot while the rate for a custom countertop is about $100. The company is busy building standard forms and already has a handful of orders pending. Rosenblatt said the new "standard" countertops will ultimately be available in the showrooms — the 68 dealers offer either a kitchen and bath or tile showroom. But Rosenblatt said his plan is to merge the showrooms to display all the products in each showroom. Rosenblatt has watched as people in various parts of the country have reacted to his company and decorative concrete. He said if he had to put an order to concrete's popularity, it would go something like this: leading the way is California's Bay Area, then Southern California, and New York. Miami, Atlanta, and Denver are also popular concrete cities. And then there are the trendy, upscale resort communities of Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Lake Tahoe, and Aspen. "I think it's the nature of our design. It goes well with the country look and the Tuscan look," he said. And it's a look that Rosenblatt hopes will continue to sweep the country. Plans are in place to kickstart a national advertising campaign and build a brand name. The company also aims to add another 10 or 12 dealers, and is looking at outside investors to achieve the new goals. The timing is good, he says. "The industry is very healthy now. When interest rates drop, people refinance and a lot start putting back into their house ... We're just now seeing that," he said. Meanwhile, Rosenblatt would like to see the industry in general become more professional. "There are about 12 to 15 people who really know what they're doing," he said. "Hundreds of others are doing one or two countertops a year and don't understand everything involved, so it turns out to be quite a different product." That results in re-educating those who have had had less-than-perfect experiences with concrete or those who are new to the wonder material. "Some people are shocked at the price, especially because the price is comparable to granite, which is considered luxurious," Rosenblatt said. "But when they see it, it's a whole different thing. They're pretty fast converts. "And you want to know the other interesting thing — the countertop I built three or four years ago looks much better today. It takes on more interest and depth." Sonoma Cast Stone
Michele Dawson writes each week on one of the contractor members of The Concrete Network (www.concretenetwork.com). She has written about the home buildingindustry for several years and was on the public affairs staff of the California Building Industry Association. Find a Concrete Contractor 24 Services in 221 Metros -- U.S. and Canada © 1999-2010 ConcreteNetwork.com None of this site may be reproduced without written permission |
Site Sponsors |
Concrete Decor Show
Free Magazine For Contractors Sign-Up Today!
Concrete Countertop
Concrete Floor Stains
Concrete Homes
Concrete Polishing
Tools, Seminars,
Concrete Countertops
Reinforcement for
Training By Bob Harris
Radiant Floor Heating
Products & Training
Prepackaged Admixtures
Professional Grade
Concrete Crack Repair
Foundation Repair