Carving Rocks into Bowls

I am carving bowls out of rocks using an angle grinder to use at the restaurant of the RESET Hotel. Building this hotel involves a lot of side projects both big and small. I have been traveling with my team all over Southern California gathering materials, meeting with vendors, and picking up prototypes in my 2025 Subaru Forester. I work with a small group of trusted collaborators and we are grateful to Subaru for sponsoring this video and providing us with safe and comfortable transportation on these maker adventures.

This video is sponsored by Subaru #SubaruForester

Here are the stone carving tools I used:


For additional projects and information check out our website:

[lesleywright]

We were living in Peru for the past 4 years and one of the treasures that we brought with us were hand carved bowels and larger stone vessels just like the ones you are making. The tradition of using stones to grind food is very much alive in much of that part of the world. They are so beautiful and rich with the weight of time and the cosmos. Thank you for showing us how to make them! Can’t wait to try it.

[adamkhan]

Instead of flat bottom and losing height, could you use the 'ball' grinder to remove a lot of material from the underside adjacent to the rim of the com cavity (you could imagine the it as the cross section being a curvy capital M shape). Would have to maybe be quite a narrower in diameter so that the underside 'excavation' remains completely unnoticeable from the top /side elevation of the bowl.

Beautiful idea with the bowl btw ❤

[kickpushlongboards]

Civil Engineer here! Thermal cycling on rocks is not an issue for your dishwasher/freezer setup, the issue is the freeze/thaw cycle for water which cracks rocks apart. I would recommend drying the rocks in an oven after hand-washing to reduce the amount of water absorbed by the stones (or leave them out for a few days in the nice dry desert environment)

[sherryu]

This is so fun watching the process. The bowls are awesome and Al's food looks great.

[CoryMacVie]

When you’re up and running, I want to be the first to reserve a room and a table, it looks amazing. I live in the LA area and would enjoy supporting you.

[PEAKCENTURY]

Gorgeous! I agree with commenters saying no to dishwashers with detergent. This are hand wash only with mild Castile soap. Can’t wait to visit, the salad and date ice creams look incredible!

[julietphillips]

I like them. Cavemen would definitely endorse.

[zanadoo]

The wait staff will get a serious workout carrying the bowls about!

[garagemonkeysan]

Super video and project. Rock on! Mahalo for sharing. ❤

[bigfatdynamo]

Those are gorgeous, but I worry about their practicality in a restaurant setting. Even if you get them down to around 5lbs each, how is a waiter going to cope with an extra 15-20lbs on a platter in addition to all the regular tableware?

[nakata]

Those poor waiters better never skip arm day

[bakerfx]

R/wewantplates is going to eat this up lol

[ianm]

Questions: What type of stones are you using? And is the mineral oil sealant not removed by the dishwasher? Very cool concept none the less!

[Ernzt]

The rocks are very original and look great, but I'm not sure if the waiters and dishwashers are very happy with these.

[Brian-osqj]

Y’all think, acquire by whatever-means-possible, or divine intervention the coolest creations. Thx for the entertainment

[jonnyalive]

The stones will absorb the chemicals from the dishwashing, you don't want to be using them for food after that.

[deziomakes]

Always good, refreshing stuff! I wonder if you could lock those stones in place using modeling clay.

[Badge]

I love the bowls! Do you think the surface roughness hinders adequate cleaning?

[crystalcharee]

I think the stuff you make for your hotel is beautiful but between all of the wood, glass, and stone, it doesn’t seem like comfort is a focus, which is weird for a hotel. I guess it makes sense since your particular set of skills isn’t focused on soft materials. I’m just curious as to how you’re going to meld all of these ideas into a comfortable place to stay

[jwhite]

Very cool, but LOL - I think if ANY car company gave me a brand new free vehicle I'd be inclined to rave about it, lol