Thanks For The Help!

I'd like to thank Matt Jecker and Chad Carlson for all the help they gave me last week over in Nixa. Matt spent some time with me helping color one of my tops that I had made for a beauty salon. He took the time to show me some little tricks that really helped the tops colors stand out.

Chad spent around three hours one on one training with me. He showed me some other really neat ways to get the colors to stand out. Chad and I talk on the phone at least once a week either I have a question (imagine that), to shoot the bull, or he is telling me about something really cool he has come up with.

I'm a very new dealer and I'm amazed at the support they have given me. Not once has a call with a question not been returned.

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it!

Mark Collier
EncounterStone, LLC

Happy customer

Great blog! I wanted shirestone the moment I saw it at a nearby kitchen store. Chad and Megan Carlson from T & H Construction in Minnesota were extremely knowledgeable about the product and did an exceptional job installing our kitchen countertops - it has held up well over the years. We get a lot of compliments from people wondering what the material is.

Shire Fire

Happy New Year to all from CounterStone Designs, LLC

At CounterStone Designs, we view Shirestone as a journey, not a destination. Things are always changing and we continue to work diligently to hone our craft and take it to the next level.

One of the first impressions we (my wife and I) had of Shirestone was the creative possibility of this medium. This is not just another countertop product. This product is only limited by imagination and creativity.

When I first met Matt and Debbie, I was impressed with their warmth, personality and passion. During our initial training session, Debbie volunteered to baby-sit our yorkie, as it was too cold to leave her in the car. On another occasion, my wife and I sat down with Matt for a six-hour marathon design session resulting with many new ideas and creative design paths.

One of the strongest pillars at Shirestone is their support staff. Brad and Nan have answered so many questions and made countless helpful suggestions. They really deserve major kudos for their effort, patience and resourcefulness, helping us to advance on knowledge and understanding of Shirestone products and applications.

When called by someone interested in becoming a dealer, I try to break it down to a simple consideration of two parts. First, there is the mechanical side. You need to have the skills to understand the basic fundamentals of construction and able to execute the necessary foundational requirements. Lacking this, it is possible to develop these skills and come up to speed. The second part is the artistic side. You have to understand color, texture and form. You need to be able to visualize and be creative. Shirestone is quickly becoming an art form. If the right side of your brain isn’t tingling when you see Shirestone, you may not be dealer material. There are also the financial, business and marketing facets necessary, and each person needs to be able to determine if they can meet these criteria.

At CounterStone Designs, we have combined Shirestone with the hand-forged ironwork that has been a passion of mine for years. This creates an amalgamation of mediums that is very distinctive and opens a whole new paradigm of design possibilities. We can create vanities and tables with a look that is just not available anywhere else. We welcome Shirestone dealers to contact us if there is an interest in custom hand-forged iron bases.

We wish everyone a fruitful year in 2010.

Best regards,
Moses & Vicki Schilling
CounterStone Designs, LLC
Oklahoma City, OK
405.250.7530

counterstonedesigns.com

Moving on in 2010

First of all thanks to everyone who has posted and shown support for this blog, for Shirestone, and the good positive effort most of us dealers have put into our businesses and everyday lives. As with any business or anything you do you get out of it what you put into it. I was always told that the one who works the hardest or the one who puts in the best effort will be the one standing on top in the end, and that's how I've run my business. Now is that time where we all need to stand up put in that extra effort and go that extra mile to overcome these obstacles, whether they be slow economic times, or negativity and false claims, Shirestone is an outstanding product and company that I'm proud to support and be a part of. So I say lets all look at 2010 with new eyes and new visions and go out and make this the best year ever for your business and your lives. For every negative comment you hear go out and try to get two positive things out of it whether it be two new jobs lined up, or meeting those new designers, or getting some new displays out there. Lets all keep working for the positive and good things out there and keep moving on in 2010!

My wife, Nan, and I have been involved with Shiretone since its inception. We are indendent contractors and have installed over 100 countertops, both residential and commerical. Most of or jobs are the result of referrals. We have received only praise about the product and our workmanship from our clients.

We are still amazed by the transformation a Shirestone countertop makes in a room. The degree of texture, addition of backsplashes and a unique ability to pull colors from the room almost always results in a "wow" from our customers.

Shirestone has met, or exceeded expectaions, with all of our installations and we have had many customers call us back for additional installations. By the way, rewards also come in the form of profitability.

In addition to our business we have been part of the technical support team for Shirestone for a few years. We have been available 24/7 and still are today.

Bradley Custom Countertops
(417)739-5387

No limit for Shirestone!

Hello to all and Happy New Year! We here at Grandeur Countertop Creations are excited about the great things to come in 2010 and beyond with Shirestone. As you all know Shirestone is rolling out the all new Atlantis mixture. A cutting edge product that allows for faster production times which in turn allows us to create these beautiful works of art for even more customers then thought possible. The excitement and buzz that we feel for Shirestone as a new dealer is genuinely brought out in our work and attention to detail, detail being one of the Shirestone hallmarks.

We here at Grandeur are passionate about our work and are thankful for the outstanding dealer support we receive from Shirestone. ALL of our questions are answered quickly and thoroughly by product support/installation specialists and sometimes by Matt Jecker himself! Matt’s enthusiasm, devotion and dedication to building a strong and ethical company shine through in his demeanor, personality and most importantly, his actions! Matt walks the walk, period. Matt has presented himself to us as an honorable man who truly believes in and is whole heartedly passionate about his Shirestone creation. We believe in Matt and in his business philosophy and feel that his integrity is beyond reproach. We are excited about our future as a Shirestone dealer and would welcome any and all questions or comments. Matt, we wish you only the best and we know that the future of Shirestone shines so bright….we all need sunglasses!

Sincerely,
The team at Grandeur

(661) 259-0051

Another Happy Shirestone Dealer

First, I would like to thank Chad for initiating this blog. It was a pleasure talking to you on the phone the other day. Hello also to Pat, Jeff and the many others who are following this effort to back up a company that has been misrepresented on numerous levels by disgruntled, sad, and mistaken individuals.

I have been a proud and successful Shirestone dealer since September of 2005. During that time, I have had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with the entire Shirestone staff including Matt and Debbie Jecker. Recently, we just returned from Hawaii where Matt and I taught a "new dealer" training. Earlier in 2009, we helped out at the International show in Las Vegas. These folks are among the finest I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. To think that a person whose credibility speaks for itself would have the nerve to publicly slander such fine individuals is unspeakable and it is an honor to defend what they represent.

Unfortunately, I have also had the misfortune of meeting one Gary Anderson. Make sure you have some time before you google this individual, his rap sheet is, shall we say, developed?? But what that doesn't show is the countless hours of time that many of us have personally contributed to him, including myself. I exchanged numbers with Gary during his training in Reno where he came by our showroom, asked business advice, installation techniques, and many other pertinent questions. They were all answered. The phone calls continued and were always answered or returned. From the beginning, Mr. Anderson struggled and I wondered why, given that his demographic and population base is such that I think any of us could generate some sort of positive business. Geez, when I had questions of Brad and Nan they were all answered, and correctly each time. But YOU Mr. Anderson get a personal visit!!! I don't know how many of us dealers got that but I'm pretty sure not too many. This just shows what kind of effort Shirestone has given you to help you succeed. The more I looked into you the more clear your problem became. All good businesses are a byproduct of how they serve themselves, their customers, and ultimately, the laws that govern them. Clearly you have been unable to remember the customer and law parts of this equation.

But this couldn't possibly be because of you!! No, no it has to be somebody elses fault of course!!

Shirestone is a young company whose products are fantastic. Is there always some tweaking and fine-tuning that goes into having a good product? Certainly. Nothing is perfect. We are all tradesman and it takes a bit of time to learn any trade. Mr. Anderson has only given this company four, five months tops? He was given the tools, knowledge, and accessibility to be as successful as he wanted, ability on the other hand, rests within each of us.

Keep up the good work Shirestone, can't wait to see what the next few years will feature!!

To any who might wish to contact me or my company, please do not hesitate.

Thank you.

Troy Valenzuela
Vivid Countertops LLC
775-629-4507

Shirestone 2010 new Beginnings

As we end 2009 and head on into 2010 I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We all know the end of 2009 has brought some negativity out of the woodwork, I look at this like a school bully they're going to push you around as long as you let them, but we all know if you ignore them and they don't get a rise out of you they go away. In the end right will prevail their lies and deception will get the best of them, it will eat at them that we are dealing with a great product,a great network, and most of all a great family. Like Pat I have been involed with Shirestone several years (going on 4) and have been involved with dealer trainings, and tech support, as well as installing all of my own Shirestone Countertops. The product is amazing, the look, the versitility, the durability, and knowing I've given my clients a truly unique one of a kind piece that they will enjoy for years to come gives me great piece of mind. As I've said before Matt and Debbie Jecker and the Shirestone Employees are amazing people, they always go the extra mile. I'm proud to use and support Shirestone as a product my company offers. Being around Shirestone the last few years has been a great experience, witnessing all of the product development and new features Shirestone has added such as decorative backsplashes, corbels, etc making Shirestone truly an all encompassing product. With 2010 just around the corner I'm excited to see what the new year brings, the new products and developments are going to be amazing and make everybodies businesses much more profitable and successful.
Please feel free to contact me as well.
Chad Carlson
Round Table Dealer
952-381-7913
TandHConstructionMN.com

Letter from Pat Simpson

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Hello and Merry Christmas to Everyone!
I hope this email finds all of you ready for an exciting 2010!!
I'm not a fan of lengthy emails so I'll try my best to be brief and to the point.

Recently I've received two emails from someone by the name of Gary Anderson. I received one on 12/13 and one on 12/22. It's my understanding that many of you have been receiving emails from him as well. The purpose of my email is to set the record straight in regards to what Mr. Anderson has falsely stated about me personally, and SHIRESTONE, the product with which I am proudly affiliated.

Let me clearly state that I don't know Mr. Anderson, and prior to December 13th, regardless of what he alleges, I've never received any correspondence from him. I've never received a phone call, a voice-mail, a text, an email, a website inquiry, a fax, a letter, nor a carrier-pigeon message from this person. To my knowledge, I've never received any sort of inquiry whatsoever from Mr. Anderson, yet he claims he's tried to reach me. My email addresses and phone numbers are openly posted on my website, and we've had no inquiries. The 12/13 and 12/22 emails I referenced above are the same emails that some of you may have received, and they appear to have been sent to many recipients.

It's obvious to me that Mr. Anderson is disgruntled for some reason or another, and is going to great lengths to fabricate stories, and spread as much false propaganda as he can, with clear intent to harm not only the SHIRESTONE brand, but also harm Matt and Debbie Jecker, personally. Let me clearly state another fact. I've been involved with SHIRESTONE for several years now and have no regrets whatsoever. In fact I'm proud to be a SHIRESTONE dealer and more proud to be a business associate and friend of the Jecker family.

If any of you wish to talk to me at anytime, on a business or personal level, my contact information is below.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!
Best,




Pat Simpson

251-923-9292 direct

251-650-1331 fax

www.patsimpson.com



“Fix it right the first time because there’s nothing more permanent than something temporary.”

Curtis Simpson, Sr.