It all starts with quarrying raw slate at the Hadeka Stone Corporation.
Even in the quarry, slate has natural stratification that makes it good for chiseling into flat pieces.
Pieces of slate can weigh anywhere from 6 to 10 tons before being cut down.
Large pieces of slate are loaded onto the conveyor belt from a backhoe outside, then are cut down into more manageable pieces with a block saw.
After cutting the chunks of slate are more manageable in size, but still don’t resemble the final product.
Bill Hadeka, father of Brooklyn Slate Company co-founder Kristy Hadeka, hand splits slate into thin pieces with a chisel and hammer.
Using a trimming machine, the edges of the slate are trimmed to a textured bevel; this is where the final size of the slate takes form.
Imagine all the cheese it would take to fill this many slates!
Each and every slate is inspected.
Many different shapes and sizes of slates are created for all manners of place settings.
Each slate is hand-polished with food grade mineral oil. Tice and Hadeka recommend repeating this process a couple of times a year to keep slates looking their best.
Brooklyn Slate Company co-founders Sean Tice and Kristy Hadeka package slates with twine, a soapstone pencil, and care instructions in their Brooklyn, New York store.
The interior of Brooklyn Slate Company is warm and inviting.
Liz Clayman
Photographer and food stylist
