Passing the Torch
Multigenerational Wood and Stone Work
Summer 2020
Written By: Evie Carrick | Images: Gillian Hunter
When Colby St. Clair walks into his shop in Kamas, he’s welcomed by silence. Then, he opens the shop’s south-facing bay doors and the sun and sounds flood in. Mountain air mingles with the smell of sawdust and you can hear music and chatter from the dance studio next door.
“It’s my happy place. I love hearing the sounds, smelling the wood. There’s something warm about the smell and the feel of a well-kept woodshop,” says Colby. It’s a feeling he’s known all his life. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and great uncle were woodworkers and his father is a stonemason;
you could say starting Park City Stone & Wood was his destiny.
“The natural trades of stone and wood have been in my family for a long time. I still have pieces of furniture that my great-grandfather built,” he says with pride. And that dedication to long-lasting, quality work isn’t lost on Colby. “I always tell people that I will guarantee a project for the rest of my life. That’s really what I’ve based my business model off of — standing by my work, which a lot of people won’t do.”
Quality and durability are important, but when you’re making pieces that will last generations, so is beauty. Colby’s pieces are featured prominently in some of Utah’s most stunning homes and businesses. He works directly with clients to conceptualize their vision, then gets to work designing, building, and delivering the finished product. It’s a process that can take anywhere from one to six months, and the result is what Colby promises to be the “ultimate piece of natural furniture.”
Currently he’s working on a project for an Olympic hopeful and designing and building new tables for High West Distillery. And he’s always working with Summit County’s best, high-end builders on custom furniture. Over the years he’s made a complex entry-way piece for a home in Wolf Creek Ranch, a double-sided stone fireplace, and a beautiful vanity with white oak dovetail drawers, but tables — from family dining room tables to conference tables — is what he loves working on the most.
“Tables are things that families gather around. It’s really a central gathering place, where your entire family year-after-year, generation-after-generation will come to enjoy a meal or drinks or play some games. I choose to design and build custom tables for that exact reason,” he says. “I love that something is going to be in a family for multiple generations.”
The idea of family is taking on a new meaning for Colby. He and his wife, Cassidy, had their first child, a daughter in 2019. There’s no telling who or what she’ll be when she grows up, but one thing is for certain — she’ll be raised around the shop, listening to the repetitive, meditative sound of hand tools or the whir of machinery while she watches her dad create beautiful works of art.
“There’s no place like Park City. It’s the best place to raise a family and it leads to people really loving custom work. There’s a great appreciation for quality trades and craftsmanship, and I’m honored and love calling Park City home for that and many other reasons,” says Colby, who attributes much of his success to ongoing partnerships with local builders and designers who know and can trust in the quality of his work.
In addition to making each piece with care, Colby sources wood that’s been responsibly harvested. Clients can choose from the assortment of slabs he keeps stocked in his woodshop — some as long as 14 feet — or order a piece based on their aesthetic. Regardless, each piece is made by hand using mindfully sourced materials.
“Park City is a big little town,” Colby explains. “If you’re not producing a quality piece of work, you’re not going to get more work.”
As a second-generation stonemason, third-generation woodworker, new dad, and business owner, it all comes back to quality. His job is to create a custom piece that is as durable and timeless as it is aesthetically pleasing — something that can live on for generations to come. He takes pride in knowing he’s “touched every square inch of a piece — and that’s what this business is about.”
