What's Your Local: Noela and Mike Sullivan of Vermont Slate Art
As third-and fifth-generation Vermonters, Mike and I feel a strong bond to Vermont and what we feel it represents: hard work, ingenuity, integrity and a love of the land. Our work at Vermont Slate Art embodies those values.
We began crafting slate switch plates in a small shop on our property back in 1999. We feel very fortunate to be able to work from home, and self-employment has given us flexibility in our lives, which is important as we have raised our two boys over the years.
We primarily craft our products from salvaged roof slate that once served as rooftops of century-old farmhouses, barns and churches, but we buy new slate as well from a quarry in Poultney, Vermont. We love traveling the state finding old slate stockpiles. Those excursions bring us to parts of Vermont we have never seen and have introduced us to many unique people.
Mike and I are proud that our work adorns thousands of homes around the country, as well as Canada, England and the Virgin Islands. The fact that we work with a material that is native to our home state seems to bring everything full circle. Our work is a piece of art that was formed over 500 million years ago in a valley of western Vermont, pulled from the earth, made into roof tiles, then placed on rooftops. At some point, property owners replaced the slate roof, or perhaps demolished a structure, and instead of discarding in a landfill, they tucked the slate away in some old forgotten corner of a barn, in the cellar of a church or in the backyard-woods of a homestead. That’s when we come along and breathe new life into it; transforming a utilitarian resource into beautiful, functional art. The possible story behind each piece is truly amazing. We love that each and every item we craft is one-of-a-kind, and that Vermont history has found its way into homes in every single state of our country.
We are deeply satisfied that we have been able to create a business for ourselves that has spanned two decades and that our work brings joy to others. Being able to live and work in Vermont is a privilege we cherish and we appreciate that our hard work and enterprising spirit is evident in our children as they have grown.
