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The Beacon of The STone InduSTry www.slipperyrockgazette.net
SepTemBer 2019 Volume 25.9
Living and Working with Stone: Maine Artist Mark Herrington
the quarry was opened in 1889 to produce cobbles for Haverhill, Massachusetts.
“As I was finishing up with the last piece of plywood for the roof and getting ready to set up my shop to do woodworking, I was looking out over the quarry think- ing, I’d rather be working with granite than wood. So I went over to Freshwater Stone and asked Jeff if he still wanted to give me a job, and he hired me. I had never worked a piece of stone until I worked there, but I knew how to measure from doing cabinets, and started selling window sills and framing. I worked there for four years until 1993, and then wound up coming back here and opening up my own little stone countertop shop. I did my own templating and did cutting with a hand saw, while part-time guys would help me polish and install. It was great, but it wore me out. At the time, I wasn’t selling that many counter- tops to walk-in customers. It was mostly to kitchen and bath shops where I put in displays.”
Please turn to page 8
IT
Maine, for a story. This trip I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with Mark Herrington, a talented stone carver who has worked with stone to produce everything from countertops, to furniture, to sculpture.
While making my way through the towns of Ellsworth and Sullivan to Herrington’s shop and showroom in Franklin, Maine, it was obvious that this pristine area has a long history of stone quarries. Mark’s shop sits adja- cent to an old quarry as well as a picturesque pond fed by a small waterfall – an idyllic spot to con- template the next sculpture, fish for trout, or simply take a break from the daily grind.
Every nook and cranny of Herrington’s showroom is filled with original art, thoughtfully placed. From his collection of tools and machines, Mark and his
is not that often that I get
Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Mark Herrington and Peter Marcucci
rustic studio have gone through many changes, throughout the past 20 years. This is his story.
The Metamorphic Years
“I Grew up in Orono, Maine, and in 1979, at the age of eighteen and right out of school I started building guitars,” recalled Mark. “At the time, I just wanted to build things, and later on got a job in Boston making harpsichords. I did that for a while until 1980, when I mostly bounced around in the Portland, Maine area doing cabinet work, gaining skills and staying poor. Then, in 1982, my dad called me and my brother on the phone saying, ‘Come on, let’s build a camp,’ and five years later we’ve got this huge house. It
to travel to my home state,
was all part of his diabolical plan, and we now called it home and moved in with him in Gouldsboro, Maine.”
By the late 1980s, Mark wound up building houses on Mount Desert Island. They were big custom mansions for million- aires with lots of woodwork. He ran the woodshop and built cabinets, and that’s where he met Jeff Gammelin, the owner of Freshwater Stone in Orland, Maine.
“Jeff was putting stone counter- tops on the cabinets I built, and we would talk about them and work together on designing the next countertops. Jeff also said that if I ever wanted to work in the stone business, to come and see him for a job.”
As time passed, Mark bought the property to build his current
location. “My shop and show- room is right next to the Orcutt Granite Quarry, which is part of the Sullivan shield. The towns of Sullivan and Franklin are very old granite quarry towns, and
Braxton-Bragg Named Preferred Partner of FLEX for Stone Industry
Braxton-Bragg has “FLEX’s reputation of creat-
been named Certified
Preferred Partner of FLEX Tools for the stone industry.
This partnership will allow for some unique cross-func- tional promotions. FLEX is the German company that in- vented the first high-speed angle grinder in the world in 1954, now known as “The Original,” as well as being the first to implement water into an elec- tric tool for stone grinding and polishing.
ing quality, innovative handheld tools for the stone industry, is a perfect fit for our customers and company philosophy,”- said Braxton-Bragg CEO Rick Stimac. “In business since 1922, FLEX is still making quality products on their original fac- tory floor in Germany, but also innovating at the industry grows. The two companies share a vi- sion for creating and adapting to the current and future market, to give our customers what they need to do their jobs well.” Please turn to page 4
Above: Herrington built his studio with large barn doors to accommodate his larger sculp- tures.
Right: Herrington’s Recurrent Journey dates from the 2009 Scoodic Symposium, now placed in the Franklin Granite Park, Franklin, Maine.