Art In Stone Monuments

If you know what you want, see Leon and Michael Rader. If you don’t have a clue what to do but you what the best carved monument for a loved one, see Leon and Michael Rader.
Reasonably priced meticulous stone carving is the cornerstone of Art in Stone. I provided detailed drawings and the Rader’s helped educate me on proportion, contrast and message for conveying thoughts in stone. I should get learning units from them.
I can honestly say AIS is the real thing, not just a popular name along the El Camino Real.
They can be busy so don’t make «fast» your primary reason to go to AIS. Quality, value, and design is assured.
Greg M., Registered Architect

There is nothing more nerve wracking than planning a funeral process for someone you love. In this case, it was for my dad. Holy Cross cemetery referred me to Mike at Art In Stone because he was reputable in the headstone business.
It was my intent to have my dad’s picture on the stone, plus engraving and additional artwork done. But I needed ideas on artwork. Mike came to the table with ideas that I can place on stone besides picture. On the side of stone he beautifully engraved praying hands, on top of stone a heartfelt bible scripture, on front a large cross, a Honduran Flag, and an artistically crafted picture done of my dad.
Put it this way, I was choked to tears when I saw how beautiful the stone came out. I’m so glad I went with Art In Stone. His work is breathtaking and worth every penny.
Besides his obvious talent and professionalism, Mike was accommodating with final payment as well. He understood how costly planning a funeral service can be nowadays and allowed me to make the bulk of the payment upon completion with only requiring a small deposit upfront, instead of half down like most places charge.
I highly recommend Art In Stone to anyone looking for an exquisitely crafted headstone. Don’t cut corners and go with anyone. This is your loved one and they should go out with class.
Thank you Mike for such a stunning job for my father. You are truly the best in your field.

A big thank you to Michael and Leon for their beautiful beautiful work, great customer service, fast replies, attention to our needs, and flexibility! The headstone ended up looking amazing and the whole process was very speedy. Would definitely recommend Art in Stone !!!

We wanted the same monument for my mother that my grandfather had in the Serbian Cemetery. We communicated with Mike, gave all the information 3/​2014, by ⁹⁄₂₀₁₄ we had heard nothing, my Aunt called, they were «just going to install it», There were typos and mistakes, to their credit, they re-​did it however that took until ⁵⁄₂₀₁₅. So 14 months later the work was done, I sent in the checks.
6 months later, they call my Aunt, fuming that they were not paid the proper amount and they were going to charge interest and take her to court. (note, we have NEVER heard from them after sending the checks in May).
I emailed the «VP» of the company to tell him I will put the check in the mail, but he is being rude… he tells me that it is all my fault.

A humble note of appreciation for the outstanding and supreme efficient services provided by Art In Stone. Michael and Leon truly understands what it means to connect with their customer on personal level. And what I mean by this, is that they keenly listen to your needs, and is present wholeheartedly.
My cat Indekah passed away July 16, 2015. A couple days ago Michael invited me back to Art In Stone. There I saw the finished monument that was perfectly hand crafted by Michael. When I saw the art in the stone, I was breath taken…
Death is never easy, it can be so stressful and harrowing for those left behind. It gave me peace of mind to know that my final affairs are squared away, and that Art In Stone was a big part of this journey. I am grateful to know that their are businesses, such as Art In Stone that cater to the community and provide the highest quality of customer care.
I am in full gratitude for your kindness, help and services. Thank you Michael and Leon.

Quality of work 3 ½ to 4 Stars
Art in Stone’s quality of work is very good. They specialize in unique memorials that definitely stand out.
Communication 0*
The people who work there are very nice, when you have their attention. They are absolutely horrible with communication. They are extremely inconsistent with follow up. They expect you to respond quickly to a question, then when you do you hear nothing for months. Even when you consistently poke them with an email or call, you may still not get a response for a long time.
In my opinion from what I experienced, they are not very organized. If someone goes on vacation or is gone there is no one to follow up. NO one is able to help you in those cases and you are left in the dark until they get back to you.
In Summary
If you don’t know exactly what you want and don’t have the patience or time to deal with an EXTENSIVE process then this may not be where you wish to have a headstone done. This is especially true if you are not certain and need to work out details, you may want to reconsider.
If you decide to go with Art in Stone. I highly suggest you do not pay 100% up front. Then they have no reason to attend to your memorial as quickly. Again their work is very nice and their prices are competitive. I think they need to work on organizing/​managing their workload so that their customers are not «forgotten» for months on end.
I had quite of bit of specifics that I wanted for the memorial I had them do. Granted it took me time to decide and had to bounce ideas off them. It’s been almost a year and it is not completely finished. If their communication was on the ball I would estimate that it would have shaved at least 4 – 5 months off of the process.

We came in to Art and Stone Monument in search of a memorial that will capture all the great memories my 7week old grandson. Michael just asked to give him what we wanted and he and his staff came up with a Beautiful art work on a granite. Once it was up it was SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL! So Stop looking you found it! #itsnevergoodbye #rileyjordan

We ordered a monument from Art in Stone for my father. It took longer than we had expected to be completed. However, the end result was more special than we had anticipated and worth the wait.
My mom had the original design in mind. However, it was Leon’s artistic touch that made it so very special. The monument turned out to be beautiful, sleek and unique. One of a kind just like my father was.
If you are looking for a piece of art and not just a slab of granite then this is the place to order.
Thank You Michael and Leon!

I am baffled by the bad reviews. In the last 5 years, my family had to order 2 tombstones from these guys, and people are in shock when they see the beautiful work. My grandpa’s monument is gorgeous, has a beautiful rose, a portrait of him on it, it’s flawless on beautiful, smooth, clean, granite. Our family dog passed away recently, and we wanted the best for him as well, so we came back here. Let me just say, when I put the picture of my dog’s monument on my social media pages, people were just absolutely shocked and amazed.
The owners are great. They understand your pain, they understand the feeling, and they do the best job I’ve ever seen. Their monuments stand out at both cemeteries; my grandpa’s and the pet cemetery. Their work is beautiful and the customer service is fantastic. They do amazing work, and they also don’t just sit and listen to what you want but offer opinion and help if needed. I hope I don’t have to go to them anytime soon, but as life goes on, we will only be going to Art in Stone for all monuments.

Awful customer service. Awful work. No communication, false premises, the kind of pressure and stress no one should face at such a difficult time.

Review Unavailable

I was very pleased with my entire experience working with Art in Stone. Creating a headstone for a loved one is a difficult process, and Michael could not have been more wonderful to work with. He was very knowledgeable, made excellent suggestions, and showed great warmth and compassion throughout the process. We also had an issue with the cemetery that would not allow our original design, and Michael handled this exceptionally well also. The headstone he created was truly beautiful, elegant, and a work of art. We had the unveiling a week ago and I still remember the feeling when we took off the veil and saw the stunning work underneath. Thanks to Michael and Art in Stone for making this stage of our mourning process as easy and meaningful as possible, and for creating a beautiful marker for my mom’s headstone.

«YOU JUST CANNOT RUSH ART»
The monument this place designed for my parents is just absolutely amazing. The granite colors matched almost perfectly, which is very hard to find in natural stone. The lotus design is one of a kind and it resembles a dragon (which is kind of strange because neither Leon or Michael knew that both of my parents were born in the Year of Dragon, I guess it was just all meant to be and I love it!)
Leon was my initial contact and I just love the way how he tells it like it is. Basically, we sat down with Leon and told him what we want, don’t want, what we like and dislike and he sketched this amazing design with his magic pencil. Michael took over the sketch and created the gorgeous stonework. Both of them listened to what our family wanted and gave their input. I truly believe that my parents have the best looking monument in the cemetery.
Thank you Leon and Michael! I’ll be in touch with you to refurbish my grandparents monument.

We placed an order back in early May of 2012 and it was stated on the contract that my father’s monument would be completed August 2012. As of today… NOTHING. Now, I fully understand that sometimes there are hiccups in any plan but we’re going on NINE months now… I COULD’VE HAD A BABY BY NOW!!!
I am writing this review only based on the customer service my family and I have recieved thus far as I have yet to get a glimpse of any part of the monument yet. No phone calls ever made by the company with updates, reports, reassurance, etc. However, I called many times but only to hear excuses like 1. have to talk to Michael to find out what’s happening, 2. Michael went home sick today, 3. Michael is still sick (two days later), 4. weather delayed shipment, 5. problems with distributors, 6. stone is at port but not at the facility. Oh, they don’t return phone calls either. Actually, Michael did call me back once after I left many messages. Not that it mattered because my father’s final resting place is still missing a headstone… nine months later… oh, did I mention that already?

Like Phil R’s review, we had Art in Stone make a headstone for our baby. We also knew we had a photo in mind to capture the spirit of our son’s moment with us and the tragic day he was born.
Michael the sales lead took this into account and honored our other wishes for elements we wanted in the design. He also made very helpful suggestions. We live in Sacramento so it was easy corresponding via e-​mail and pictures.
The process is time-​honored so if you want something a little more unique and want to put a lot of thought into design then this is the way to go. The sand blast etching is a real artful way of capturing photo on stone.
Although not inexpensive, we thought the price was reasonable compared to other headstone makers who were charging much more for much less.
We also met Leon, the business owner who is from Russia and started this family run business from scratch. Nice man! Mike and Leon made us feel very welcome every time we went in. Nice showroom and nice examples of work. Doing business here was one bright spot in our long journey. Pet friendly too.

I cannot recommend this business. They are rude, won’t listen, won’t follow directions and cause a great deal of unnecessary anguish during what is the most difficult time in someone’s life. To be bullied and punished when trying to honor a beloved family member is unforgiveable and inhumane. The final product does not warrant the way I was treated.

I took a lot of time to find the best possible option for my daughter’s marker. My wife and I knew we wanted a photo on the stone to honor our beautiful baby but didn’t really like the look of the color photos attached to other stones we saw at the cemetery. We wanted something more elegant and timeless.
I came across the Art In Stone photo gallery on their website and knew the special etching process of Art In Stone would be the best for us. I met Michael and discussed our needs and parameters. We gave him several photos to work with and we both agreed on which one had the best fit. He had some really good design ideas from the start, and took a lot of time with us to make sure we got exactly what we wanted. He even humored us with mock-​ups of my own design changes when he knew they would not be the best choice. Of course he was right on with his ideas and we now have a beautiful and timeless stone to honor our daughter with. The amazing part is that the working area of the stone was only 8″ X 16″ and Michael managed to get everything we wanted on the stone along with a beautiful photo etching of our baby without making it look too busy or tacky. The picture on the stone perfectly caught the spark in our daughter’s eyes. These guys do great work. Expensive and worth it.
The process took longer than a traditional stone would have taken, but quality does take time. I knew this going in from the other Unilocal reviews here. It may not be the fastest way to get your memorial, but I will gladly wait longer for something that will last forever.

Every time I get to the grave site I thank them in my mind for the job they have done. It was a very difficult time for all of us. I was very annoying. Changed my mind several times, was not sure what I want, cried every time. Everything was not good enough and so on. It took me almost 3 years to write this review. Leon, thank you very much. My family and I are very grateful for the work you did, for your patience and professionalism.
This is the very last thing we were able to do for my Dad and it was up to you how it will turn out. I can’t thank you enough.
People here wrote about time frame. There is no hurry anymore. It will be there for centuries.

After writing this review I want contacted by Art in Stone to clarify the matter.
This review is only criticizing the way I was treated and their customer service. I understand that they would not want to create a monument in which they feel is not up to their design standards. That being said I think that it is more important that the family and friends of the deceased think that it is beautiful and a good representation of their loved on.
IF you have no idea what you want in terms of design, Art in Stone can definitely guide you. BUT if you have an idea in mind and just looking for a company to make it a reality you might want to look elsewhere.
I’ve added one star back because they did professional contacted me about this issue but I can’t give them anymore because of what happened.

I came here to order a gravestone for my mother as my grandparents’ stone was done here a long time ago. My father had remembered what a great job they had done. This time, however, I was disappointed with their service. They gave me a promise date, but did not meet it. I would have really appreciated it if they would have called/​contacted me to let me know of the delays and give me a better estimate of time, but they did not. Instead I had to constantly contact them. As for the memorial, they did do great job. It was beautiful. And now when I visit, I have a place to be with her.
To summarize, I give them 1 star for service and 5 stars for the memorial.