There’s something to be said about the power of touch. It’s no coincidence that the word “feeling” often refers to emotions and physical sensations. It turns out that surfaces, temperatures, and other attributes of textures can have a significant impact on our emotions.
Founded in 2008, Stone Pros, Inc. just celebrated the official grand opening of its expansive 13,000-square-foot indoor luxury countertop slab gallery. Located in Burlington, in Skagit County, it’s the newest of its kind in the region, displaying row upon row of full-size and remnant slabs for both large-scale and high-end designs to smaller DIY projects.
“Our intention is to offer people an opportunity to touch and feel the materials they are considering for a project prior to installation day,” says Glenn Schiff, founder and president of Stone Pros, Inc. “Selecting materials and creating spaces that simultaneously resonate with both our emotional and functional needs are important. The slab gallery opens a door to creating this type of connection early on in the design process.”
Stone Pros – which offers custom countertop design, fabrication, and installation services – is deliberate when it comes to creating a welcoming and comfortable experience for visitors to its gallery.
Depending on the time of day, you may catch the scent of burning sage, but regardless of when you stop in, you’ll smell freshly popped popcorn filling the building. You may also witness Schiff’s four children wandering in and out between the offices and the gallery, possibly even coasting around on a scooter.
The juxtaposition of sensory placement is intentional.
“I like to think that our personal and business philosophies resonate well with others; it’s cohesive,” Schiff adds. “We have a family-first mindset that radiates loyalty and trust not only to our employees but also to everyone we are fortunate enough to do business with.”
This cohesiveness recently came in handy when Stone Pros was solicited for a remodel project in collaboration with Chuckanut Builders for a new Bellingham business, the Nomad Charcuterie and Wine Bar.
The primary objective to create a welcoming space that would greet restaurant patrons with the sentiments of warmth and brightness reverberated with Stone Pros’ philosophy that design is more than just aesthetics and function.
For this, Stone Pros installed beautiful white quartz with gray/blue veining for the countertops surrounding the kitchen and counter spaces as well as for some of the window seating areas, bringing in a lot of natural light to the restaurant.
“The countertops we selected are a nod to my home kitchen back in the Southeast where I spent a lot of time growing culinarily and feeding my family during the pandemic,” says Frances Jones, co-owner of Nomad Charcuterie and Wine Bar. “We love the look of our countertops and are extremely pleased with what they add to the feel of our restaurant.”
If touch has the power to bring happiness and emotional connection to our surroundings, Stone Pros is onto something good. 401 E. Sharon Ave., Burlington, 206.567.8893, stone-pros.com
