News From Stone Soup

The Heartwood School

The Heartwood School was established in 1978 to teach the skills and knowledge it takes to build an energy-efficient house.  Since that time, Heartwood has expanded their programs to include all aspects of the homebuilding crafts, particularly timber framing.  One of Mike's and Matt's favorite places to teach a workshop!  Check our their website at www.heartwoodschool.com.

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Duraamen Installers Edge Workshop with Bob Harris

We're happy to be hosting the next Installers Edge Workshop with instructor Bob Harris!

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From Haiti To Haiti, With Determination

re-published from Prosperity Candle

Haiti_earthquake

On January 12th, 2010 a powerful earthquake struck Haiti, taking 230,000 lives, injuring 300,000 and displacing over 1.5 million. Six years later, families and the country are still struggling to recover.

Here at Prosperity Candle, and for the thousands of people who have volunteered to save and help rebuild lives there, the devastation that befell this Caribbean country just a few hours’ flight from Miami is much more than images. We’ve worked in Haiti both before and after the earthquake.

So when Prosperity Candle was ready to expand to a new country to support women artisans and entrepreneurs, we knew it would be Haiti. Beyond donations, we wanted to reach out to help Haitians build a brighter future in the way our social enterprise was created to to do. Together with our sister nonprofit, Prosperity Catalyst, we went there and invested in a women-owned candle enterprise.

Three years later, we are continuing that effort with something new and entirely unique.

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Concrete candle holders made with rubble from the 2010 earthquake, symbolizing light from darkness and a brighter future ahead. Designed and individually handcrafted in partnership with Stone Soup Concrete, 10% of proceeds are donated to support women entrepreneurs and civic leaders in Haiti.

But today  through January 12, 2016 we are donating 100% of the proceeds.

 

Combined_Haiti_Pillars

Already these candles reside in homes from London to LA, given as unique and meaningful gifts this past holiday. The response has been incredible. Each begins with large blocks of concrete we handle with respect and awareness of the lives lost, and determination to help those still in need.

Turning these blocks into smooth candle holders is a slow process done entirely by hand from start to finish.  No two pieces are exactly the same due to the material we receive. Each arrives in with a story card and matchbox with inspirational quote. You can view the Haiti Rubble Series in our Limited Edition Collection.

 

If you are interested in supporting Haitian women more directly, we encourage you to visit Prosperity Catalyst, a Boston-based nonprofit that incubates and launches women-led businesses in distressed regions, creating opportunities for women to achieve economic empowerment. Its vision is  a world where all women have the opportunity, capacity and support to become powerful catalysts for social and economic chang

 

Thank you. Together we can – and will – create a brighter future for all.

 

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Candle Holders

Prosperity Candle and Stone Soup Concrete Collaborating to Support Haiti

One of the inspirational things about working in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts is the opportunity for meaningful coincidences. The Valley is home to artists, artisans, dreamers and visionaries of all stripes and, at Stone Soup Concrete, we get to collaborate with them on so many exciting projects.

Our newest relationship is with an amazing company called Prosperity Candle. Prosperity is   located in the same old mill building in Easthampton as Stone Soup Concrete. Prosperity  Candle works domestically and internationally to support refugee women and women’s entrepreneurship.

We are proud to be collaborating with Prosperity Cadle on their newest series -concrete pillar candle holders made with actual rubble from the 2010 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince.  10% of proceeds are jointly donated to support women entrepreneurs and civic leaders in Haiti. 

The candle holders are made to order by Stone Soup Concrete; the candles by the artisans at Prosperity Candle.

Learn more about this exciting project and Prosperity Candle.

 

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Stone Soup Concrete Builds Strong Community Ties in Easthampton, MA

Stone Soup Concrete was recently featured in an article by Paul Rowe on MassRealty.

"Concrete is an essential part of our world. Fusing metal with stone and structural strength with a tactile softness, the concrete made at Stone Soup Concrete cements disparate elements into fully human and humane designs.

Stone Soup Concrete strongly believes in the people of Easthampton, and has provided a strong foundation for its community since day one. From constant fund-raisers for folks having a hard time, to driving trucks full of clothes or tools for hurricane victims, to donating countertops to the local park, to hosting Habitat For Humanity events, Stone Soup always goes the extra mile for locals."

 

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Stone Soup Concrete + Slab Lab

We all appreciate those great athletes that choose to walk away from the game while still in their prime. Those that chose to step up to a new plate and take a swing. Think Steffi Graf, Bill Russell, Barry Sanders, or Jim Brown. In the somewhat less televised and fame filled world of concrete a star in his prime has chosen to take a swing at a new career.

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What's the Difference?

Precast decorative concrete has been a big thing on the West coast for well over 20 years. Over the last decade or so it has been gaining popularity here on the East coast as well. The increase in popularity is for good reason. Concrete countertops are beautiful, hardy, hand crafted, environmentally sound, and can be made in any shape, thickness, or color. When you are done choosing a color, coming up with a design, and getting to know and work with the craftsmen that make them, they are truly yours. They come with a good story that you can be proud of.

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Occupy Sandy

Saturday, November 24th, Greg and Mike will be packing the Stone Soup truck with donations and driving down to New Jersey to deliver much needed supplies to those affected by Hurricane Sandy in addition to volunteering their time to help with the aftermath that Sandy left behind. Please help us to fill the box truck completely with the following items, which the Occupy Sandy organization has deemed as most needed at this time:

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Tommy T Cook is coming to town!

Stone Soup Concrete will be hosting Tommy T Cook and Mike Cook from Gnomeadic Arts Inc. as they teach a 3-day fundamentals of GFRC and fabric forming class on August 9th, 10th, and 11th. This is a wonderful opportunity for both the Stone Soup Concrete staff and students to learn and witness the current cutting edge concrete mix designs and form making.

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Concrete is as special as your favorite beer.

All of us who work with concrete understand the nature of the intimate relationship with both our material and our clients. Concrete has the power to seduce. That is true for both those who make it, and those who desire it. This is as true for concrete dams, as it is for concrete countertops. My profession is an accident. Every job I have had since college, I have had for the sole purpose of gaining materials to make art...

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Counter education workshops

Mike Karmody and I have been teaching our craft of concrete countertops for many years now, both in our own shop and at Yestermorrow Design Build School in Warren Vermont. Our original reasons for teaching about concrete counters and sinks were twofold. First we wanted to ensure that if we had competition, it would be good competition. Second, we wanted to make sure that those that otherwise could not afford concrete counters would be able to make their own....

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Curved Concrete Barriers

For the past two years, we at Stone Soup Concrete have been involved in a project that has been quite special to us, and quite different from our core concrete countertops and sink work. The project involved the creation of 24 identical concrete objects that were intended to resemble Jersey barriers. But unlike the barriers found out in the wild, these were to be curved, not straight. And as they were to be shown in museum galleries...

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Our new web site

Thanks for visiting the new Stone Soup Concrete web site. Located in the heart of Massachusetts´ Pioneer Valley, Stone Soup Concrete serves all of New England, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, as well as New York, New Jersey, and parts of Pennsylvania. Stone Soup is all about concrete, and what can be done with it.

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