Thanks Francoise - It's called Medium Minus. I got it at Dorado Soapstone in Shrewsbury MA. I've really never seen it before or since. I've seen soapstone's called Minas, but I don't think they're the same. Mine has large streaks of turquoise in it and a lot of veining.

I would say it's a medium in hardness. So it does get some dings etc. but nothing major. Here is a picture of the actual slab. Let me know if you want more pics of the kitchen after the installation and if you have any more questions.

Good luck finding something you love. I looked at hundreds of pieces of granite and then decided I wanted something different... this is what I ended up with.

What part of the country are you in??

Dear Prill,

Thanks so much for your helpful response about your beautiful soapstone. I'm in central NJ. I've been all over the place with counter choices, but feel like I need to make a selection soon since I want to know what my counters will be before I pick the Farrow and Ball paint for my cabinets.

I'm going to check out Garden State Soapstone tomorrow. I believe they carry some of the same slabs as Dorado soapstone.

Keep me posted. Can't wait to see what you choose. What are you thinking for cabinet color? F&B look like great paints, but no one near me sells them. I'd love to try some of their colors.

Prill

Prill, who installed your soapstone? I will be getting my slabs from Dorado in Shrewsbury sometime in the fall of 2011, but we haven't settled on an installer yet. We're on Martha's Vineyard, so whoever we find needs to take a ferry boat to get to us.

I went through Central New England Soapstone & Masonry Fabricators in Barre MA. The owner of Dorado and his son actually installed mine. Not sure he owns it anymore. His name was Dave and his son, Ben, worked in the Doraado showroom in Shrewsbury.

The contact person at Central New England was Darryl - darryl.centralnesoapstonefab@yahoo.com. I had mine installed back in April 2009, so he may not be there anymore. Good luck!

We're in central MA, and we just used Central N.E. Soapstone for ours, which came from Dorado and was installed on Weds. They were awesome, Dave and his two sons...but they're not out of Barre anymore, rather NY. They did happen to mention having another job on the Vineyard...so they'll travel. If you ask Dorado, they'll recommend Greenstone Fabricators, but I found their quote to be super high and went with Central New England instead. They're also the only guys that fabricate on site at your house, which was so cool for us.

Dear Prill,

Thanks again for your help.

I went soapstone shopping at Garden State Soapstone in Central NJ this morning. I felt like I just spent two hours in an amazing geology museum and I learned so much. The owner, Jay, was great -- super knowledgeable and very experienced.

We thought we would want the more dramatically veined Minas soapstone, but ended up falling in love with the elegantly subtle spider veins of a P.A. soapstone. Perhaps now I'll finally stop posting questions on GW about different counter materials: I think I've met my stone!

Both F&B Wimborne White and Slipper Satin look beautiful with the soapstone.

Jalsy6. That's good to know. It was fascinating to see them park their truck in the driveway and fabricate right here. Post some pics!!!

Francois, glad you found something you love. Can't wait to see it.

prills soapstone was my inspiration. She has that one turquoise vein that haunted me!

Prill, at the risk of being an enabler, I am at the F&B showroom on a regular basis. I have all of their chips and a good number of large sample boards I've painted up. Let me know if you ever want anything. :-)

amy, really? Have you used it a lot? Is it worth the extra cost? I just sent for their color chart. Maybe I should consult with you on new colors for my LR & DR. I'm having to repaint due to water dam damage. I'll e-mail you if I don't hear back on this thread.

Thank you, prill and jalsy6! I'll definitely check out Central NE Soapstone.