Soapstone: Cleaning Up In The Market?

September 6, 2005

   With rare exceptions, distributors and fabricators of soapstone say the demand for the niche product is booming. That increased demand can also be something of a mixed blessing.
   Because of the demand, importers are sometimes finding it hard to keep product in the channel, and slab quality can occasionally be erratic.
   On the positive side, today’s soapstone customer is an educated buyer seeking out the stone for its unique look, durability and easy care. And, that buyer – most often a homeowner – is putting it into the kitchen first, and then expanding to the bathroom, the family room and even outdoors.

REALLY RISING
   Talk with those fabricating it, and – with rare exceptions – most will tell you that the market for soapstone is pretty strong at the moment.
   “I think the demand is increasing on a minor basis year-in and year-out,” says Glenn Bowman of Perkinsville, Vt.-based Vermont Soapstone. “I don’t see any huge change, but it’s certainly a steady increase.”
   “It’s as strong as it’s been since we’ve been in it,” says Mike Wilson of Glen Ellyn, Ill.-based Hummingbird Soapstone. “The remodeling thing is still strong here. People are wanting to fix up their homes, and they’re using soapstone to help do that.”
   “It’s been busy for us,” agrees Ron Pihl of Cornerstone Masonry in Pray, Mont.. “While I’m referring especially to countertops, we’re also selling lots and lots of tile. Of course, we have a greater variety than we did a few years ago.”
   Pihl attributes a lot of the interest in soapstone to the publicity it’s gotten from the media, and Steven Chavez of Denver-based Dorado Soapstone agrees.
   “Up until about three years ago, people outside of New England didn’t know that much about it,” Chavez says. “Then, Martha Stewart put it in her house. A lot of the TV shows that teach people how to do renovations and remodel their kitchens started picking up on it. Since then, it’s been featured in magazines and newspapers, so public awareness of soapstone has really risen.”
   Nor are those the only sources of information that have helped raise people’s consciousness about soapstone. Sally O’Brien of Old Mill Soapstone in Scottsville, Va., says that many of her customers learn about the material in old-fashioned and new-fangled ways.
   “A lot of it is word-of-mouth, or people searching for soapstone on the Internet,” O’Brien says. “There are a lot of chat rooms on the Internet about kitchen projects and people will say, ‘I was in a chat room and somebody was just raving about soapstone.’”
   As with the others, both Chavez and O’Brien say the demand for soapstone is growing in their markets.
   Both O’Brien and Pihl say that some customers prefer soapstone because it’s just not granite; they’re looking for something that doesn’t show fingerprints and smudges or that doesn’t have a shiny surface.
   Wilson agrees, adding that people who buy soapstone tend to be those who do their own thinking and aren’t carried along by the crowd.
   “Granite, as a general rule, seems to be more faddish,” he says. “They buy granite because a friend of theirs has it or they think it’s the latest and greatest out there.”
   However, Rose M. Garcia of San Francisco-based A.S.N. Natural Stone Inc. warns that soapstone could be just a fad as well – and that’s certainly been the case in her market.
   “Soapstone has always been an alternate material,” Garcia says. “When people wanted to get away from the mottled marbles and grainy granites, they looked for something softer and more neutral-looking, and we saw the revival of soapstone. However, in the last year it seems like it’s really slowed down, and now we’re selling a lot of granite with alternate surface finishes.”

DIGGING DEEPER?
   While customer demand for soapstone is higher in most locations, some of that may also be fueled by the simple fact that there’s more – and different – soapstone available than in the past.
   As Chavez says, for years the stone was primarily a staple of New England. Although its use crept southward into the Atlantic Coast states, it wasn’t commonly seen much outside those areas.
   The worldwide boom in natural stone production has brought new soapstone lines – mainly from Brazil – into the market. While that’s expanded the number of soapstone looks, it hasn’t necessarily always kept up with demand. Experiences vary.
   Vermont Soapstone’s Bowman says his impression is that the stone is a little more difficult to source.
   “We’ve been working with the same quarries and sources for about 15 years now, and it’s a good, consistent supply,” he says. “But, when we need extra or specialty items, they’re harder to come by.”
   Peggy Farr of Soapstone West in Escondido, Calif., says her experience obtaining soapstone from Brazil can be full of surprises, and even painful at times thanks to inspections, delays by part officials and other problems.
   “We order what we want, and order what we hope to get,” she says. “Sometimes when we open up a container, we have problems. Sometimes it’s really predictable, and it’s what we expected in a certain type of soapstone. We’ve also had to say that some orders are unacceptable and we won’t sell the stone to people.”
   As it is, Farr adds she’s able to keep about 800 ft² of stone in stock.
   On the other hand, Dorado’s Chavez says he’s been able to lock up an exclusive arrangement with one Brazilian supplier, an agreement that really paid off for his company when a competing quarrier hit a dry spot.
   “My supply is good and I can get as much stone as I want out of Brazil,” he says.
   Still another world hot spot for soapstone is Finland, where Tulikivi Corp. – the major soapstone producer that’s branded its product with tiles and stoves – is expanding its operations.
   “Tulikivi in recent years has developed three new quarries in Finland,” Pihl says. “They’re really spreading out and looking for different soapstone in Finland and in Russia.”

ENTICED BY PERFORMANCE
   The advent of soapstone with different shades and different movements is important to consumers, but it’s certainly not all they’re looking for. The typical soapstone buyer is a homeowner who’s done homework on the stone’s characteristics and is at least as attracted to them as its look.
   It’s not that architects, designers and decorators aren’t aware of soapstone. Chavez says his company has worked hard at introducing the product to those people, and Pihl agrees more are picking up on it. Still, they aren’t as enthusiastic about it as the potential end users.
   “We mainly talk with homeowners,” says A.S.N.’s Garcia. “We get calls from people who’ve read an article, or know someone who has it, or remembers their grandmother having it. I’d say the designers and architects have been there and done that.”
   “We deal with homeowners, as well as contractors and designers,” says Old Mill Soapstone’s O’Brien. “It depends on who’s making the inquiry, but we deal with a lot of homeowners who put us in touch with their contractor or designer. They’re the ones who’ve seen or read about the stone or are looking for an alternative to granite.”
   Actually, they’re looking for much more when they turn to soapstone. Having done their research, they’re enticed mainly by its performance.
   “Cooks love it and restaurants love it,” says Chavez. “You can cut on it and it’s gentle on cutlery. You also can’t stain it. If you’re in a kitchen where cooks are using wine or acids such as lemon juice, it doesn’t bother it. And, heat doesn’t bother it; you can put the hottest pot on it and it’s not going to burn.”
   “It’s great to have choices with the colors, but it’s the characteristics they’re coming for,” says Pihl.
   While the idea that stone is a natural product is one of its big selling points with some customers, both Soapstone West’s Farr and Hummingbird’s Wilson say that’s particularly true with soapstone. Farr says she got good play at her community’s Earth Day celebration.
   “There are no man-made chemicals used on it,” she says. “In fact, you can find natural glues to put it together if you have to. A lot of people love that they can repair it themselves. Even if you treat it badly, it will endure and behave beautifully.”
   “You never know what it’s causing when you’re putting a sealer on granite that’s around food,” echoes Wilson. “I think people really like the fact that soapstone can be coated with a very pure mineral oil. It’s all very clean.”
   Uniformly, these people say their customers are accepting of the fact that soapstone’s color palette is limited. However, with new stones coming on the market, they also say that’s changing to some extent.
   Farr says her own biggest complaint is that sometimes if the soapstone is too quiet it can ultimately not resemble a stone as much as some of the man-made products on the market, even Corian®.
   “Some people tell me that if they had to do it over, they’d get a busier stone, a more-lively stone,” she says. “But, most go for the traditional look when they come shopping.”

BEYOND THE KITCHEN
   Tradition may be okay when it comes to the look of soapstone, but buyers are installing their purchases in more than just kitchens.
   “We probably do about 90 percent of our work in the kitchen,” says Vermont Soapstone’s Bowman. “Then, there’s the bath, with shower basins and tubs. We also do fireplace work and exterior barbecue areas with it, but probably 90 percent of it goes into the kitchen.”
   Old Mill Soapstone’s O’Brien says the number of people who are buying soapstone tile for bathrooms and mudrooms surprises her. Some of her buyers also incorporate it into furniture.
   “For some reason, lately, we’ve been doing a lot of tops for buffets and tables,” she says. “I assume there’s been a magazine article or something on television. Often, if I get a call for a tabletop, then the next 10 people who call will also want tabletops.”
   Dorado’s Chavez also says he’s seeing uses well beyond the traditional kitchen ones.
   “We’re putting it in bathrooms and on fireplaces,” he says. “It’s also getting a lot of outdoor use covering posts and pillars, or being used as risers and treads on stairs. We’re putting it on Jacuzzi® tub surrounds, and people are buying some of the softer stone and having it carved into fountains.”
   Wilson says for his customers the kitchen is still the driving force with the initial soapstone sale, but once that job is installed, homeowners look for additional ways to use it.
   For example, Hummingbird recently did a bathroom job that started with a soapstone vanity top, then expanded into a shelf and a seat in the shower.
   “People see it in the kitchen and think it’s great for a fireplace surround and hearth, so they do that,” he says. “We’re doing a job right now that has more than 2,000 ft² of soapstone tile. When the customer saw how it looked on the kitchen floor, they switched to it from slate for the rest of their project. All the floors are heated with hot-water tubing and it’s a great heat-transfer material.”
   Soapstone West’s Farr says its ability as a heat transfer material makes it great for more than just pizza stones. A small piece, cooled in the refrigerator or heated in the oven, will keep a beverage cold or hot. Others utilize it for shoe or foot warmers.
   “It’s great for cookware, and it makes really great wine racks because they stay cool,” she says. “We have people think of uses for it all the time that we haven’t thought of.”
   With all those uses, it’s not surprising that Cornerstone’s Pihl says he’s confident soapstone will be more than just a fad in most markets. He agrees with Wilson that for many customers, once they have some soapstone installed, they’ll be buying more.
    “As our customers who are buying them look at soapstone for other applications in their homes, I know the countertops and tile will continue to grow along with it,” he says. “I’m confident for me it’s going to continue to grow.”