Slippery Rock Gazette

Peter J. Marcucci

Photos (2)  by Gregg Ferraris

Seth and Michele Farry, owners of Humblestone, are indeed humble about the future of their young company. 

Now based in Palmer, Massachusetts, it’s been a long and winding road for the Farrys, whose journey towards stone fabrication began in 1996, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Construction was booming at the time, and Seth used his acquired skills as a tile setter to become a full-time master mechanic installer. Seth: “I’ll never forget the first job I bid, installed and accomplished that was my own. Right away I knew that I wanted to start my own business.”

As a ski and resort town, Steamboat Springs offered lots of high-end work, honing Seth’s tile skills and wife Michele’s business prowess. Explained Michele, “Right off the bat we were doing high-profile work in exclusive communities like Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado. It was sink or swim. The experience taught us how to serve clients, face installation challenges and build business skills.” This was when Seth and Michele saw the importance of a range of clients to keep the schedule booked. 

Seth: “We solicited work from local stores, designers, builders and even other large tile and stone contractors, and then we always worked hard to deliver. It opened up doors and built a reputation with many tradesmen who then referred us.” 

Four slab kitchen in Longmeadow, Mass., with 3cm honed Jet Mist granite to match an existing hearth in the house. Matching slabs of Jet Mist granite were selected by the client, and installed in three rooms.

Above: Longmeadow, Mass., kitchen  features 10mm cove edge and drainboard runnels in Jet Mist granite from IGM, and Subway backsplash tile.

Above: Kitchen in the Deer Path Farms, Hudson, Mass. community of homes, designed and built by Gerald Sarno, featuring 3cm granite and backsplash tile from The Tile Shop.   Photo by Gregg Ferraris

Above: Bath and barrier-free shower for a private residence in the Deer Path Farms development, Hudson, Mass. Materials used include a combination of largeformat tiles for the floor and walls.  Photo by Gregg Farraris

Above: 12 foot Limestone waterfall with hand chiseled face, installed at a residence on East 49th Street in NYC.

Above: Bathroom in Hadley, Mass., for Ron Bercume, Bercume Builders features 12 x 24 polished porcelain from MSI, with a glass tile border.

Above: Samples in the expanding Humblestone showroom. “We additionally offer custom layout, and invite our clients in to preview and consider layout options of the slabs and tiles. It’s where I feel the trust really happens — when our shop doors are open,” says Michele Farry.

Pulling up Stakes, Putting Down New Roots, and Branching Out 

Although Colorado was where it began, the couple moved to the east coast to be closer to family, settling in western Massachusetts. While working jobs from Vermont to New York City and everywhere in between, Seth and Michele continued laying the groundwork for their future.

Michele said, “When we came east in 2000, that’s when Seth took the business end of the company to a whole new level. He fully realized the benefits of being diversified in his field and doing good business became just as important as delivering high quality. Additionally, it was Seth’s willingness to invest in relationships that created opportunity.” 

   Seth: “I feel that this is where we really honed our skills. It was how we were building, not just what, and work was acquired through referrals. I beat the pavement, worked the nights and weekends and did the time — all the things that business owners do to truly be invested, and our clients became our friends. So it was really all about relationships.” 

Michele continued, “It felt like just about every family member has supported us while we grew. We were not doing it alone. Seth’s sister Becky was the best finisher we have ever had and mother, Debbie and Father Tim Sr. have all pitched in. My parents and brother Danny have been there, too. Humblestone is still all about the family. Everyone was all in, and our two sons love stone and the shop as much as we do!” 

We Love New York

In 2005, the couple decided to challenge themselves even more and took on a whole new adventure: New York City. They took on the biggest challenge yet! They hit the ground running, and for the next six years worked in Central Park West, in movie and sports stars’ homes, historical sites, commercial projects, museums and many other famous locations. Seth: “The tile and stone we worked with was incredible. Making relationships with major tile manufacturers, like getting referred by Artistic Tile’s showroom and handpicking from massive stone yards right over the bridge in Jersey was an experience.” In those days there were many times the couple had the “shop conversation,” as Seth worked with more stone than tile, but Michele was hesitant to pull the trigger because of the idea of paying overhead costs. While in New York City, Seth, also received an offer from Bisazza North America to be Technical Installation Advisor. After much thought he decided he wanted to pursue his own dreams and creativity. 

Seth: “The work was coming in at a really nice pace. I have to give a lot of credit for this to someone I worked for. His name is David Floricic, and he’s the owner of ProDesign in Astoria, New York. He does ultra, high-end fabrication and tile. Watching him deal with people, his attention to detail and how professional and patient he was, I learned so much from him. On one occasion, I brought an architect up to the Danby marble quarry in Vermont to personally select slabs and cubic materials on David’s behalf. My business model is taken from David, and I learned from him how to go the extra mile.” 

Renting shop space on weekends and doing kitchens, furniture and waterfalls, they continued to work with stone. Seth’s brother Tim became a huge support for the direction Humblestone was going. Tim had worked as a fabricator in Massachusetts for 10 years. Like Seth, he was all about quality over quantity. That’s also when the back yard work began, and they froze literally at times, fabricating in the snow and cold. But the sacrifice was worth it. Seth: “So if there is any takeaway lesson from those times, it was that I never said no to the right jobs. We made it work somehow, someway. I owe a lot to my brother for enriching our fabrication knowledge at Humblestone.” Michele added, “The love of tile and stone seems to run in family for the Farry brothers, and feels like its somehow part of every conversation.” 

Coming Home

After much hard work and accomplishments, Seth and Michele had started their own young family. They put down permanent roots back in Palmer, Massachusetts at the Maple Tree Industrial Mill Center, an old manufacturing town. Palmer and nearby towns are blue collar. Humblestone services an 80-mile radius, which encompasses most of Massachusetts, northern Connecticut and southern Vermont. The focus is mainly on residential work using 2 and 3cm materials. With a ratio of 60 percent tile and 40 percent slab work, inventory is kept to a minimum. 

Seth explained, “Transitioning from New York, we realized how what we had learned about doing business was priceless. In New York we saw what some people were making work for shop space and tools; it was inspiring, and it keeps us grateful for what we have.” 

Michele added, “I feel that our time in New York was like getting a degree in the tile and stone industry that we can take anywhere.” 

“There is a fair amount of competition in this area. I would say that within a 15-mile radius there are at least five shops. We are doing more locally, everyday. We bring the artistic side of Humblestone too, like restoration work and the mosaic workshops that we host. We have donated time and materials to our local schools and truly enjoy seeing people enjoy tile and stone like we do.”

Seth added, “To be honest, my only regret is that we didn’t open a shop sooner.”

Humble in Space and Equipment — Big in Heart and Soul

By the time you read this story, Humblestone’s 3,000 square foot facility, including showroom, shop, office and storage will have only been in operation for 5 months. Tools and equipment are growing. All cutting is done with an AccuGlide rail saw on a wooden table, while the grinding and polishing of edge profiles, such as cove and ogee are done with hand tools and a Hercules Edge Profile Machine supplied by Braxton-Bragg. 

Michele: “Steve Bussell from Braxton-Bragg, who certainly knows his business, took our application, considered it heavily and gave us that chance. That took us to a whole new level in our shop. I think what’s inspiring about using this level of equipment is that anything is possible.”

“Humblestone is a work in progress, and everyday we add more slab and tile samples,” continued Seth. “A 2003 Zonato 500 bridge saw with tilt table will be installed fall 2016, too. 

“I think the Accuglide rail saw is awesome but has its limitations. It’s a very cool setup but does not give you the ability for milling and mitering. We’ll continue to use both.”     

Michele: “To be able to offer both tile and slab installation in clients’ kitchens or bathrooms is huge. It’s one of the things that sets us apart from others, and we are proud of that fact we offer high quality in both fields.” 

 The couple does use local quarried material when possible, but mostly buys from MSI and IGM, explained Seth. “MSI and IGM carry a lot of slabs and tile, and we can send our clients there to look at samples. You can’t read their minds, and they can pick out both tiles and slabs without us running around collecting samples.”

A fair amount of engineered materials are popular too, said Seth, adding, “It seems that more and more people are liking quartz, so we offer these materials. We additionally offer custom layout, and invite our clients in to preview and consider all layout options of their slabs and tiles. It’s where I feel that the trust really happens – when our shop doors are open. I am enjoying this aspect of it.” 

Michele continues, “Seth is very professional and technical when working with clients. He educates them on options and new technologies with stone and tile. We wear company shirts that identify us, our vehicle is marked and we keep things very clean and protected while we work. Clients really respond to that. It doesn’t matter if it’s a backsplash or a $30,000 kitchen renovation — it’s about making people feel validated in their concerns, respecting their space and offering quality materials and installations by not cutting corners. We pride ourselves on this, and it’s who we are.”

Endgame Plans

Staffed at the moment by Seth (sales, fabrication and installation), support from Seth’s brother Tim and Michele (administration and sales), the couple will be expanding. Seth explains, “It’s wanting to grow in the right way at the right pace. We are looking forward to the new machinery and tools and hiring a few employees to grow our family. Additionally, we want to get into laminating, and we are working on getting more tooling from Braxton-Bragg. 

 “The things we look forward to in our future are acquiring quality clients and work, growing a dedicated team, developing our new technologies and tools and staying challenged by really enjoying the craftsmanship of the tile and stone business.” 

For more information, please visit www.humblestone.com.