"The Counter Tops Professionals - Mastering the Art of Counter Tops Since the 1980's"
For my EYD next blog post I decided to write about a very special company that is on the forefront of the counter top and stone industry, and is located right here in Effingham, IL. Pyramid Marble and Granite has been around since 1989 started by Effingham native, Barry Brandt. Pyramid Marble and Granite sells granite, marble, quartzite, engineered quartz, and porcelain for counter tops, stunning moldings, trims, wainscot panels, fireplaces, sinks, tables, monuments, emblems, thermal forming, inlays, texturing, sculpting, and much more. They take on challenges with excitement and creativity, and can create any project that you can dream of using stone or engineered quartz. (Insider Design Tip: They also have a massive selection on remnants, which are left over pieces of slabs that have been used on other jobs which are fantastic deals, and great options for a bathroom make over!)
The company is currently owned and operated by Barry Brandt, and his son Ryan and daughter Megan are also a key part of the operation. Barry is a man that is truly inspired by and dedicated to the stone industry. He lights up when talking about natural stones, and will make you feel just as inspired. He is an endless wealth of knowledge on the subject, and you just may leave his presence also developing a slight obsession with natural stone (I sure did!) Some of Pyramid’s past clients include Jimmy John (yes, of “Jimmy Johns”!), Steven Jobs, and James Baker of the United States Treasury!
You won’t find just your average run of the mill stones here, Pyramid’s stones are hand selected for beauty, quality, veining, coloration, and size. Barry has made it his life’s mission to find the most beautiful stones from around the world and to stock them right here in Effingham, IL! Barry carries quartzites (natural stones that are very hard to quarry but have beautiful, dramatic looks), porcelains (the latest counter top material to revolutionize the market), marble, high quality granites and engineered quartz’s (man-made materials made out of resin/glue and natural quartz). You will only find the best of the best here. And why would you want to settle for anything less when you are planning to invest your money in your counter tops?
You also won’t find just adequate customer service at Pyramid. The Pyramid designers are happy to send you your actual counter tops patterns laid out on your slab so that you can help decide what part of the stone you want to see, where. This allows you to be very intentional with the details that matter most to you, like if you want a dramatic vein on your island or if you want to avoid a part of the stone that you like less than the rest. You can also come in and actually watch your counter tops being made! What a cool opportunity for those out there who like to be more involved in their home building process.
Pyramid stays very current with all of the latest trends and technologies in the industry by being an active part of the Stone Fabricators Alliance (S.F.A.) and continuously traveling to visit other fabricators, and visiting stone suppliers and stone quarries across the world. Barry has been to Brazil twice recently to hand select quartzites and granites. Recently, Barry’s son was also hand selected by the S.F.A. to be a part of a small selected group of individuals to go to Italy to see the latest marbles, precious stone tops and porcelain tops. Barry owns a second tool design company called Stone Pro Equipment which has designed and fabricated about 30 tool designs that are now considered standards in the industry, right in Effingham! How great is that?!
During my interview with Barry, Ryan and Megan, I asked them “What is the future looking like for Pyramid?” I was excited to hear that they will be bringing some of the new viewing methods that they have learned on the road to Pyramid. They have recently begun building a huge new building to be their showroom with stone slabs that will sit off the ground at eye level for optimal viewing (think of art on an easel). The facility will be completely indoors (so no more walking outside in the rain to look at tops!) and will put these natural beauties on display like the master pieces that they are. There will also be a dark room for showcasing stones that can be back-lit. This consumer-friendly new facility due to be completed this January will “be an experience that will get you excited the minute you walk in the door”.
At the end of my interview with Barry, Ryan and Megan I also asked them “What is the future of the counter top industry?” Barry answered and had two major conclusions.
The first conclusion, Barry vehemently said that natural stone is back (not that it ever was NOT in style). After the engineered quartz industry has taken about half the market over the past 10 years or so, the recent new tariffs have raised the prices of many engineered quartz’s significantly and Barry is sure that this will bring people back around to wanting natural stone. Barry then suggested an interesting perspective, “How would you feel if your husband had proposed to you with a cubic zirconia ring rather than a real diamond? So why then would you want to put an engineered stone in your home rather than a real one?” Although Barry is excited about the come back of natural stone, he also stated that he still offers hundreds of engineered quartz colors for his clients as well.
The second direction that Barry sees the stone industry moving towards is he believes that porcelain counter tops will take the place of engineered quartz’s. He said that this is already happening in Europe, and is starting to happen on the coasts of the United States. With a porcelain material you can get more realistic looks, and a more durable material (will not stain, no glue used here!). There are still a few draw backs to the new material, like the edge profile has to be a dropped mitered edge, which is a more contemporary look. And it is harder to fabricate with the worry of chipping on the edges during the cutting process. But Barry assured me that the industry is already beginning to come up with ways to get around those issues.
To close this blog post, I want to thank Barry, Diane, Megan and Ryan for the opportunity to learn more about their amazing business! I am a secret geology nerd and really appreciate what they are doing, and I find it exciting to know that we have a state of the art business right here in our own back yard.
If you would like to get quotes on counter tops from Pyramid, please call me at Kuche Fine Cabinetry & Design at 217-342-2244 or on my cell phone at 612-702-2929.
Information About Gallery of Photos Below:
The first 3 historical photos below are of momentum place in Dallas, Texas that Barry Brandt did the stone archway for in 1983. The 4th photo is James baker’s office (United States Treasury) of which Pyramid did the fireplace which is hand sculpted Italian marble to historically match other existing fireplaces already in the treasury. The 5th and 6th photos are pictures of the cash room at the United States Treasury. The 7th and 8th photo is Steven Jobs master bath shower Pyramid did out of jet mist granite in 1993. The 9th is Steven Job's upstairs kitchenette. The 10th photo is Barry setting a granite staircase. The 11th photo is a gazebo that was shipped over from Italy in pieces, torn down and then reassembled and put up in the Anatole in 1983. The 12th photo is a roman travertine that Pyramid did all of the vertically vein matched tiles in a Catholic Church in Michigan in 1984. The 13th picture is a recent photo of how Pyramid came up with a unique edge profile with a crescent dropped mitered edge for Jimmy John's new home he is currently building. The 14th photo is an example of how Pyramid's new indoor showroom will display slabs of granite at eye level. The 15th and 16th photo show Ryan in Italy in a marble quarry. And the rest are other photos of materials and projects by Pyramid and Kuche.
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