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Weathered
Stone™, the ultimate stone and leather replica
covering is manufactured in Fairhope, Alabama. Weathered
Stone™ is a patent pending product that does
what no other covering product can do: it becomes
pliable during installation and then hardens as
it cures. Weathered Stone™ can be used for
just about any interior surface. The unique ability
that Weathered Stone™ has to bend makes it
a viable option for wall coverings, columns, floors,
countertops, furniture, crown moldings, archways,
fireplaces, and much, much more. |
Company inventor and founder Sean Howard began his
career on a ladder at the age of 18, installing
commercial wall coverings. What began as a way to
make money during his summer breaks from college
at SUNY in Buffalo, NY became a career.
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In 1992, he started dappling in faux finishing
techniques. Howard was traveling all over
the country and abroad installing commercial
wall coverings and hand painting faux
finishes. Howard was contracted to complete
a sizable faux finishing job at the Regatta
Bay Financial Center in Destin, FL. That
when it hit him to create a faux finish
product
that would be less time consuming than
faux finishing directly on the wall. “Faux
Finishing is time consuming and difficult
to repair, said Howard. I wanted a product
that would save time and money.”
That’s when everything that Howard
knew about
mechanical engineering from college, commercial
wall covering installations,
and faux finishing techniques merged to
become the brain child of Weathered Stone™.
The first product was created in a rented
10X20 storage unit in Nashville, TN. He
spread out 30 foot burlap panels in a
vacant lot, and rolled them with plaster
and paint. The first project that was
created in the shed had actual pieces
of asphalt in the product. The variation
of texture and tone, served the product
well. Howard showed the RegattaBay Financial
Center interior designers an example of
the product, and they approved. They asked
him what he called it, and Howard on the
spot said, Weathered Stone™. The
original design was on burlap backing,
30 feet long, overlapped and double cut
and intended for a 30 foot tall foyer
ceiling. The first piece was too heavy
to install. Howard cut the pieces into
squares, and created the first Weathered
Stone™ installation. Quick thinking
on Howard’s part has become a life
long quest to perfect the product and
its manufacturing process.
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“Faux
Finishing is time consuming and difficult
to repair, said Howard. I wanted a product
that would save time and money.” |
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In 2000 Howard relocated to Fairhope, AL, and set
up shop. That same year, Weathered Stone™
got a makeover. Howard started creating the product
on a canvas backing. The canvas backing made the
product thinner, lighter, and gave it the ability
to wrap and bend around intricate detailed surfaces
for the first time. The makeover gave Weathered
Stone™ the edge it needed. There is not another
product on the market that has the ability to retro
fit solid surfaces.
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In 2004, Howard decided to take the Weathered
Stone™ to a national level by training other
people to use the unique product. Currently, he
has trained over 300 Certified Weathered Stone™
Installers nationwide. Weathered Stone™
is not like any other covering product. It has
the ability to stretch and bend during the installation
process. Training classes are divided into three
sections: theory of layout and design, hands on
techniques, and estimating and pricing installations.
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| Howard
has overcome several devastating set backs. In September
2004, Hurricane Ivan ripped the roof off the shop
and the unexpected death of his sister all occurred
the same week. Howard and his sales manager left the
day before Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast to attend
several planned events. Then the call came that his
sister died in a car wreck. Devastating unforeseen
news pushed Howard to the brink of collapse, both
professionally and emotionally. He pushed on through
his grief, and met multiple obligations at trade show
events and certified Weathered Stone™ trainings
in Nashville, TN, Las Vegas, NV, and a HGTV Give Away
Home where his product was displayed in the Club House.
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In August 2005, Howard was faced once again with devastation.
Hurricane Katrina ripped the roof off the shop once
again. The results were catastrophic. Instead of wallowing
in self pity, Howard set out with friends and business
associates from Fairhope, AL to help survivors of
Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, MS. He traveled to Biloxi
with a 10 foot trailer loaded down with food and water.
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Deadlines don’t stop for Hurricanes, and neither
did Howard. Howard worked for days without electricity
creating Weathered Stone™ with the help of generators.
August in the South is one of the hottest times of
the year, and he worked in the sweltering heat without
even a fan. He had a deadline to meet for the Kansas
City Parade Homes, Emmy Awards, and trainings in California
and Colorado, and not even a Hurricane and unrelenting
heat was going to stop him. The shop remained without
a roof, power, and phones for almost a month. |
What started out as a solution to a problem has manifested
into an empire that has revolutionized the wall covering
market. Weathered Stone™ has 22 standard colors,
and 11 grout colors. Howard has devoted his time and
energy to the further development of the product.
He consistently makes strides in developing new marketing
strategies to help not only the company, but in the
end everyone that is apart of the Weathered Stone™
network including employees, installers and interior
designers. Weathered Stone™ is only one piece
of the puzzle; Howard and his inventive mind have
many more stones to uncover. |
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