The Stone Quarry is a Newport News business specializing in natural stone products for residential and commercial projects. Offering stone at both wholesale and retail levels for landscape, construction and interior designs, the business’ product is used for landscape designs, patios, pathways, retaining walls and creative installations. At the wholesale level, the business works with customers in and out of the Hampton Roads area to meet needs for stone materials such as bluestone, granite coble stone and full stone.
Paul Lamberson, owner and founder, is dedicated to the detail and knowledge that stone requires. Native to New York, Paul remembers a fascination with stone as early as childhood. As a kid, he would sit out in dry riverbeds and crack open stones, looking for fossils and examining their make-up. And now, his business is home to his passions and has been for the business’s 26-year lifespan.
Lamberson wants each customer to know exactly the best stone for his or her project, as not all stone is created equal. Since all stone is unique and carries different properties, he consults with customers to understand the intent of their project so the recommended stone lasts forever.
Diligence is required for every step of the process, including extraction. The Stone Quarry crew frequents bluestone operations up north, in Pennsylvania and New York. To find stone, Lamberson has employed unique methods. “We will put announcements in small newspapers or even signs on trees in neighborhoods that read “Will Buy Your Stone,” he says.
Some aspects of the business have changed over the years. The business no longer installs stone. “Stone is very meticulous,” Lamberson says. “It’s not like laying concrete or brick. It requires a much different skill set.”
In working with different crews, Lamberson never wanted the installation side to get too big, since it then becomes difficult to manage quality, which he reveres with the utmost importance. Instead, he now refers customers out to a trusted installer located in the Williamsburg area. Other changes to the business include its expansion into offering sandpits and river stone at the retail and commercial level.
One of the projects Lamberson worked on is the Friends of the Pagoda and Oriental Garden in Norfolk, VA. He collaborated with garden owner Madeline Sly and the City of Norfolk to turn an empty lot into the beautiful public space it is today. Using boulders, Lamberson created a yin/yang design for the garden. It remains one of the most unique projects of which he had the opportunity to be a part.
“To start a business on your own takes a tremendous amount of energy and creativity,” Lamberson shares. “You can’t let doubt get in the way.” And though the doubt and obstacles can be challenging, Lamberson knows the importance of being a problem-solver at the end of the day. He always wanted to do something different and unique in his work, which he gets to do with The Stone Quarry.
Throughout his time in the business, Lamberson has committed to quality and longevity for his products, no matter the challenges. Because of his decades-long work with stone, Lamberson gets to be exploratory, creative, and knowledgeable, and customers reap the benefit through long-lasting, beautiful material.
TO THE POINT
The Stone Quarry
Address: 371 Chatham Dr., Newport News, VA 23602
Contact: Paul Lamberson
Phone: 757-722-9653
Facebook: facebook.com/TheStoneQuarryInVa
