Bringing ideas to life

MAKING IT WORK: Whetstone Workshop co-owner Issac Juodvalkis works with hand-guided tools in his custom fabrication business, which he and his wife, Maria Martinez, launched six years ago. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
MAKING IT WORK: Whetstone Workshop co-owner Issac Juodvalkis works with hand-guided tools in his custom fabrication business, which he and his wife, Maria Martinez, launched six years ago. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

When Whetstone Workshop launched six years ago, Isaac Juodvalkis was frugal, leasing space from another business, and putting all of the profits back into his own. He bought metal-fabrication tools every time he secured a new client, enough to get that particular job done.

Maria Martinez, his spouse and business partner, said they started slowly, building their reputation and equipment reserves with each new customer.

At first, the profits were thin.

Juodvalkis, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, recalled his first job. He created a custom metal railing, using $400 in materials, and charging all of $500.

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Whetstone now operates from its own leased space, a 6,000-square-foot industrial workshop on the waterfront of East Providence. The couple employs four additional workers. And their projects now include sculptural pieces and architectural installations, the kind of work they had always envisioned.

They work primarily with artists, designers and architects, on specialty pieces and sculptural elements.

The company has a reputation of producing a refined level of finish, explained Martinez. They are able to talk with clients, and help them design and execute what they’re envisioning, she said.

Their work is found in furniture, home goods, lighting and architectural details. Juodvalkis, who majored in industrial design, works with pewter, stainless steel, brass, bronze and zinc. Some of these metals are difficult, and expensive. He has found sources nationally.

The work is done with hand-held, or hand-guided tools, Juodvalkis said.

The business has grown by word-of-mouth.

“In our industry, we’re not placing an ad somewhere. It’s all based on your portfolio and word-of-mouth,” he said.

In April, their team started working on what will be their largest, most public project, a 10,000-pound sculptural piece that will be installed in the five-story atrium of a new addition to the Draper Laboratories in Cambridge, Mass.

The work will consist of an aluminum frame or skeleton, connecting sheets of polished stainless steel.

Called “Mirror Cloud,” it was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, and will be executed by Whetstone in eight sections, due to its size, then shipped and assembled on-site in Cambridge. They expect the project will be completed in March 2017.

Juodvalkis and Martinez said the project came after they had submitted a quote, but not been selected, for a much smaller commercial job for the contractor.

“We proposed a redesign that would allow it to fall within their budget,” Juodvalkis said. “One of the things we’re best at, is realizing people’s ideas into reality. You’ll draw a stool, for instance, and I’m going to figure out all the bits and pieces of it to make it work.” •

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