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"Bowlders" (left) and food slabs (below) are popular kitchen items.
What makes a rock a keeper you ask? According to Croteau, it’s what’s inside that counts. Over the years, he has fine-tuned the art of selection and knows what to look for in terms of color, texture, and gradient, qualities that hint at the beauty within. To him, no two rocks are alike; each is a work of art and a slice of nature. Once the rocks are selected, they are hauled to the company’s studio in Lowell, Massachusetts, where Croteau and his fellow artisans get to work unloading and sorting. Then they use custom-made diamond hand tools to slice, sculpt, and hone the fieldstones. Even after years of working with stone, the team still gets excited for each first cut. The idea behind American Stonecraft is simple and driven
Ready-made products include trivets, coasters,
by science: granular convection to be exact. Every spring,
cabinet pulls, candle holders, cooking stones, and
fieldstones rise to the surface of farmland, driven by the
food slabs, a customer favorite. Also popular are full
winter’s repetitive freeze-thaw cycle, and lie ready for the
rock sets, where a rock is sliced into six or eight pieces
taking (no blasting required). Historically, farmers stacked this
to create matching food slabs, plates, or coasters.
rock to create the iconic stonewalls we see today.
Every item comes hand stamped with the company
ON Either American Stonecraft or the farm pack up choice
fieldstones, typically the size of a volleyball to a large
logo and native farm. American Stonecraft also executes custom jobs for
watermelon, in sturdy nylon bags. In return for the sustainably
customers who prefer to find their own stone. They
sourced raw material, Stonecraft creates handmade products
can search their own land or a special locale worth
for the farm to sell in its stand.
commemorating. Custom inscriptions complete these
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one-of-a-kind keepsakes. All products are food safe and hand washable and are never treated with chemicals. The rocks get their shine from the polishing process, whereby the artisans use sandpaper with differing levels of grit to achieve the desired smoothness and shine. Products are available for purchase online, at the company’s flagship store in the Boston Public Market, or by appointment at the Lowell studio. NEL
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