Marketing Savvy and Diverse Offerings Keep Vermont Marble Jumping

Shannon Carey

Photos Courtesy Paul Thompson

This Nectre Bun Baker XL 2500 stove was installed with 1,950 lbs. of 2-3/8 inch thick Soapstone veneer.

Above: This Nectre Bun Baker XL 2500 stove was installed with 1,950 lbs. of 2-3/8 inch thick Soapstone veneer.

River Stone island and countertops carry a theme through kitchen and master bath vanity for this residential project. Thompson uses a portable router to mill and polish edges, along with the traditional polishing pads.

Above and Below: River Stone island and countertops carry a theme through kitchen and master bath vanity for this residential project. Thompson uses a portable router to mill and polish edges, along with the traditional polishing pads.

River Stone island and countertops carry a theme through kitchen and master bath vanity for this residential project. Thompson uses a portable router to mill and polish edges, along with the traditional polishing pads.
Commercial job for the Salt Kitchen Bar includes extensive installation of matching Imperial Danby marble for all the table tops, countertops and service stations.

Above and Below: Commercial job for the Salt Kitchen Bar includes extensive installation of matching Imperial Danby marble for all the table tops, countertops and service stations.

Commercial job for the Salt Kitchen Bar includes extensive installation of matching Imperial Danby marble for all the table tops, countertops and service stations.
Soapstone counters, hearths, “Bigfoot Ware” and even shot glasses are just a few of many specialty natural stone products that Thompson offers. “We get handwritten letters, (our customers) are so passionate about their soapstone.”

Above: Soapstone counters, hearths, “Bigfoot Ware” and even shot glasses are just a few of many specialty natural stone products that Thompson offers. “We get handwritten letters, (our customers) are so passionate about their soapstone.”

Take high-quality natural stone, add a pound of innovation and a heaping helping of marketing know-how, and you’ve got Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate and Soapstone Company, founded by Paul Thompson and going strong since the year 2000.

We recently featured Vermont Marble’s unlikely mascot, a metal statue of Bigfoot, in the Slippery Rock Gazette. Situated in front of the Vermont Marble showroom on Route 4 in Whitehall, New York, Big Foot brings visitors to the showroom who might never have set foot there otherwise. And while the statue is stunning, the company and its founder are even more interesting than the roadside attraction. 

Firm Foundations in Stone and the Digital Age

Thompson was born in Brooklyn and grew up in northeast New Jersey. He attended Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont, and decided to stay in the area after graduation. He worked in marketing and restaurant management before he landed a job with RMG Stone, where he launched the Green Mountain Soapstone brand, which “put soapstone on the map,” he said.

Eventually, as soapstone started to come into the U.S. in containers, Thompson was laid off, so he founded Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate and Soapstone Company, and he set it up for success. Even in those early days of Internet marketing, Thompson made sure the name was searchable.

“In the beginning, we were the first seven listings on Google when you put in ‘marble,’” Thompson said. “That’s faded over the years with more and more companies having websites, but it was good being one of the first back in 2000.”

Why did he choose to stay in the stone industry? Thompson said it was for love of the product.

“I love the different varieties of colors in all these stones available,” he said. “Nothing beats natural stone.”

But it’s not just natural stone that Vermont Marble markets. It’s local, natural stone. Located near many Vermont marble quarries, on “the slate belt,” and near Coldspring granite quarries in Sable Forks, New York, Vermont Marble carries domestic stone in unique colors and hardnesses at competitive prices.

“We find for local markets, people like local,” Thompson said. “But it is also world-known, and people come just for slate.”

Vermont Marble offers full service templating, delivery and installation north to Montreal, south to Richmond, Virginia, and west to Cincinnati, for all types of veneer, flooring and countertops. They also ship nationally.

“If someone is looking for a solid or slab soapstone sink in Hawaii, we can help the and we ship it,” Thompson said. “The Internet brought us to national attention quickly. What a great tool.”

A Soapstone Specialty

Of all the beautiful, natural stones at Vermont Marble, soapstone is hands-down Thompson’s favorite. The company specializes in soapstone, and Thompson’s innovative uses for the stone border on genius.

Traditional applications include countertops and veneer pieces, but Vermont Marble also offers bricks, plates, mugs and even ice cubes made from soapstone. The stone can withstand both heat and freezing cold, making it ideal for cooking or keeping drinks cold. Vermont Marble even offers soapstone pizza stones with Bigfoot’s silhouette sandblasted in so it leaves a Bigfoot imprint on the crust.

Another innovative application for soapstone is for masonry heaters and ovens. These metal, wood-burning ovens are clad in soapstone and come in all sizes from the super-sized Sinatra X to the compact Bun Baker.

“The heater has internal channels and airways that the smoke and fire travel through before being exhausted out of the unit,” said Thompson, “The heat from the fire heats 6,000 to 8,000 pounds of soapstone which then radiates heat for over 20 hours on a single burn. Several years ago, I noticed a small oven from Australia in the $2,000 range. I dressed it up with soapstone and sold it for under $10,000 as the Bun Baker and Bun Baker XL. It’s a third of the weight so you don’t need a full foundation. You can bake, boil, fry or heat hot water. It’s really great for leaving the grid. Our masonry heaters are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and we travel nationally to do installations.”

In fact, you might call Thompson a bit of a soapstone fanatic, and he’s willing to spread that passion to anyone who wants to give the stone a try.

“People come in sometimes and ask what the difference is between soapstone and granite. It’s day and night. I tell people if I was a lawyer for soapstone, I would first have the jury close their eyes and feel a piece of granite and feel soapstone. The soapstone feels warmer and a little soft,” he said. “Then I would take out a torch and hold it to both pieces of stone, and when it hit 400 degrees the granite would break into pieces. You can go up to 2,000 degrees and have no effect on soapstone. Then I’d pour on sulfuric acid and it would etch the granite, but it wouldn’t change the soapstone.

“Then the lawyer for granite would take out his car keys and scratch the soapstone. Then I’d buff out the scratch. If little scratches bother you, don’t get soapstone. But those who do the research and decide to put in soapstone countertops love them. We get handwritten letters, they’re so passionate about it.”

No Job Too Big, No Job Too Small

The wide range of sizes, from three-quarter-inch ice cubes to massive installations, means the fabrication shop at Vermont Marble needs to be flexible. Staff includes seven full-time employees with two in the office and five in fabrication. Vermont Marble has two fabrication sites local to the store/showroom, which is 3,000 square feet divided between gift items like soapstone dishes and Bigfoot T-shirts and a showroom with samples and displays. There are also displays of stone slabs outside.

“There’s plenty of room to really let someone get an overview when they come in,” said Thompson.

And they do come in. The showroom’s location is highly visible, with 10,000 to 15,000 cars passing each day on their way to skiing and other recreation.

In fabrication, Vermont Marble uses two Achilli A&R 200s. A tracksaw sees use onsite and offsite, and diamond-tipped edger/routers are also in use.

“We’re really small in that regard,” said Thompson. “With soapstone we do get the opportunity to fabricate on the jobsite, which is really unheard of with marble and granite. Soapstone cuts so easily and nicely with diamond saws.”

Recent commercial jobs include restaurant installations at the Ground Round in Rutland, Vermont, the Timbers Bar and Restaurant in Bangor, Maine, and the Salt Kitchen and Bar in the Wentworth Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Salt Kitchen and Timbers were both Imperial Danby Vermont marble for all the countertops, service stations and tabletops. The Ground Round installation was a 200-linear-foot bartop of Madura Gold granite.

Timbers Bar and Restaurant in Bangor, Maine features a massive bar top of  Danby Imperial marble.

Above: Timbers Bar and Restaurant in Bangor, Maine features a massive bar top of  Danby Imperial marble.

Above, Left: The entertainment center work in progress.  Above, Right: Danby Imperial Marble custom fireplace and entertainment center as installed in a New Hampshire residence.

Above, Left: The entertainment center work in progress. 

Above, Right: Danby Imperial Marble custom fireplace and entertainment center as installed in a New Hampshire residence. 

Paul Thompson, owner of Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate & Soapstone commissioned this “lifesize” Bigfoot statue to promote local lore.

Above: Paul Thompson, owner of Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate & Soapstone commissioned this “lifesize” Bigfoot statue to promote local lore. 

Vermont Verde Antique quarry, Rochester, Vermont

Above: Vermont Verde Antique quarry, Rochester, Vermont

Looking to the Future, Embracing the Past

In marketing and in fabrication, Vermont Marble is melding two eras. They’re reaching folks in the digital age, but they’re not leaving anyone behind.

“In Vermont, I deal with two different companies that use the paper fax machine only. They don’t turn on a computer,” said Thompson. “I put a full-page ad in the Farmer’s Almanac every year. We get inquiries from people who do not have cell phone or Internet whatsoever. We send out hard copy brochures. Print is still good.

“We stand for the partially old-school fabrication techniques, hands-on fabrication. And we’re perpetuating the use of natural stone in and around everyone’s home.”

Thompson is looking to grow and diversify the business even further, possibly expanding the showroom to include a wood-fired pizza oven to serve food to folks taking selfies with Bigfoot. And he’s committed to keep innovating new uses for soapstone.

“I try to invent one new product per year and get it out there,” he said.

That includes insulated goblets that use soapstone as a cooling mass and outdoor wood-fired grills with soapstone tops.

“We plan to stick around,” said Thompson.

For more information about Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate and Soapstone Company, visit them online at www.vermontmarbleandgranite.com or call 802-468-8800.