About

Randi L. Hodges has more than seventeen years of experience as a professional natural stone engraver. Hodges graduated from the Oregon College of Art. She originally worked as a sales representative in the gift-and-garden industry but was looking for a change of career when her daughter started kindergarten. Hodges stumbled across a stone engraving at a Seattle trade show and was hooked.

Hodges, an entrepreneur at heart, started her successful natural stone engraving business Northwest Stonewise. She was voted Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003 and 2006 by the Southern Oregon Women’s Access to Credit (SOWAC). She was given the 2002 award for a unique business idea through This Girl Means Business magazine.

She sold the business in 2012 and now devotes her time teaching the techniques of the stone engraving business to entrepreneurs and hobbyists alike.

Our Mission
Our Mission is to raise awareness about the stone engraving profession and provide a comprehensive set of resources to assist entrepreneurs in starting a stone engraving business. Our intention is also to address those already in the business of graphic design, sign business, award and engraving business, stone and masonry field and as well as those in the business of sandblasting of any kind. We offer this manual to you as a viable and profitable way to expand your services with some of the talents and or equipment you already possess.
Our vision is to become a leader in industry education and training and to establish and sustain an industry association to support new and established stone engraving companies; collect, analyze and make available industry data; facilitate relationships between industry stakeholders and raise consumer awareness about natural stone products. Our vision is to also establish affiliate companies that may mutually benefit from our manual and the wares they sell and promote.
Executive Summary
Who We Are
Natural Stone Engraving .Com is a sole proprietorship founded by Randi Hodges in 2012 and based in White City, OR. Presently, there are no other employees; however, collaborations and affiliations are being formed. They include Rayzist Photomask Inc., a major equipment and material supplier and manufacture for the awards and recognition and other related sandblasting fields, including natural stone engraving. We are being supported with endorsements and exposure through all the associations in the awards and engraving industry as well as the sign and graphics communities both national and international. We are currently working on ad campaigns that market to these 2 industries.
Randi Hodges first started in the natural stone engraving business in 1995 when she established Northwest Stone Wise, Inc. Through much trial and error, Northwest Stone Wise grew into a successful and lucrative stone engraving business. With no industry data readily accessible, and industry information carefully guarded, Randi set out to create the first ever complete industry manual and reveal the trade secrets of natural stone engraving.
In 2002 Randi created the first manual that would help struggling stone engravers to better understand the process. Having felt some mastery in the field, Randi also wanted to present this as a viable business or craft opportunity for others. Randi has since updated the manual twice and between the first three editions, sold 1,418 photo copied books through her stone engraving web site. The manual was retired from the Northwest Stone Wise, Inc. web site in 2009, as it desperately outdated and in need of an update.
These manuals were low quality B&W copies, coil bound
Randi has since sold Northwest Stone Wise in 2013 and focused on creating a comprehensive, professional set of resources - the first ever complete industry manual, explaining how to start and manage a successful natural stone engraving business. The guide is written in layman’s terms for the professional with an existing business, the entrepreneur launching a new business or even the hobbyist. This manual aims to take the mystery and the frustration out of the Natural Stone Engraving process.

It gets personal

Presents

Welcome to Rocktails the Tale behind the Stone:

The tales behind the stones, the stories, the gratitude, sadness, joys, celebrations, affrimations, milestones some proposals some breakups….we have done tens of thousands of stones…with that came a lot of stories, that I have been honored to share a great many tears and a whole lot of laughter.
For our first Rocktail we shall start with our own:
Every Stone tells a story…
If you read my story, this is the husband of 17 years Randy Lee Hodges. Yup, same name. Randy loved the lifestyle of Southren Oregon and he always chose vocations where he was able to work in the great outdoors. We came to working in the recrecationa trail business as quite the artist and his very natural style of trail building was in high demand. whom built recreational trail for a living. He worked primarily in Oregon but in remote locations but was usually able to come home on weekends. It was brutally hard work but he lived for it. It also releshed in the fact that he is creating acess to places where one would be unable to go. INCREDIBALE places, Randy, and trail bulilders like him give us acsess to mountain tops and valleys, to water falls and hidden lakes.
Like magic, making the unaccessable accessable with low enviromental impact is the pact. It is a beautiful craft!
2007
Well we had just celebrated new years January 1st 2011, Nickie, Randy, Myself, Chris Nickies soon to be husband and his parents. Shane and Dianna. We were all together and up all night as Nickie had a flight at 4AM going to Mumbi India for her practicum. She had 40 littles Indians just waiting for their teacher to show up.
She was to be there 3 months when her trip was cut short with a phone call on February 15, 2011. The worst had happened. Randy was killed on the trail in Forest Grove Oregon.
Nickie made the 40 hour trek back to us with the loss of her Beloved, beyond loved wonderful dear father and human being.
Going through the process I came across a picture I had taken of Randy flying a kite. It was our first year of marriage. I was pregrnant. We were happy. Delierioulsy so.
I found this photo which had not surfaced for a decade. It took my breath away. The power of this silhouette. Only one of a kind thumb print, the silhouette! I became obessed with taking everyone I loved side view. Everyone takes the header with full grin….but the sihouette. Perfect. Even the selfies have a tough time with that!!
Apparetly, I was not privy to a conversation in which Nickie and her Father did discuss the where? In the ever after. He claimed on top of Mount Thielson. 4 miles about straight up just east of Crater Lake. I smiled, as this man did nothing in a little way, as sweat poured from our memorial party of 10.
at the top.
So long for now Daddy, until we meet again. And this can be found at the highest point of the glorious Mount Theilson. In the ring of fire in the cascades of the great Northwest!
Here are a few of my friends. They all induldged me for awhile.
Lovely….I am the goof in the front.

HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — The Washington County sheriff’s office says a Medford man was killed by a falling rock while working on a trail near the Gales Creek Campground in the Coast Range west of Portland.
The body of 59-year-old Randy Hodges was found by an Oregon Department of Forestry employee Thursday after the family said they had not heard from Hodges for four days.
Hodges was working alone under a contract to open an old trail that had not been maintained for some time. He was struck by a boulder that was dislodged in the area where he was working.

http://www.trailbuilders.org/rl_hodges.html

http://kdrv.com/send/send/204922

Man killed by boulder working on Oregon trail
www.nwcn.com
The Washington County sheriff’s office says a Medford man was killed by a falling rock while working on a trail near the Gales Creek Campground in the Coast Range west of Portland.

Boulder kills Medford man
www.ktvl.com
The Washington County sheriff’s office says a Medford man was killed by a falling rock while working on a trail near the Gales Creek Campground in the Coast Range west of Portland.

Falling boulder crushed a Medford forest worker clearing a Washington County campground trail
www.oregonlive.com
A boulder dislodged from a rock shelf and fatally struck Randy Hodges, 59, of Medford, as he was working to clear and re-open an old trail at Gales Creek Campground.
http://www.trailbuilders.org/rl_hodges.html

R.L. Hodges Contracting — Randy Hodges
www.trailbuilders.org
R.L. Hodges Contracting offers a low impact, high quality recreational trail that can include graveling or paving on a 2′ wide path. Designed to fit your needs and laid out to enhance the natural beauty of your land. A professionally constructed trail will last for many years to come.
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Randi’s Story 1995

In 1995, I was a young mother with a five year old daughter and a husband whose work often took him away from home for weeks at a time. We needed 2 incomes. I was working as an outside sales rep 3 years prior to her birth, in the gift and garden arena in which I had a 400 mile territory.

I would travel with my daughter, Nickie, to the many kid-friendly buyers’ meetings at which she was happy to play quietly with her books and toy bag. Plus it always meant jumping on the hotel beds at night and eating fast food! She loved our road trips and we enjoyed our time together. My family worked it out that when my husband would come home, he would stay with our daughter and I would go to the meetings at which a child’s presence would not be appropriate.
By the way, that 5 year old is 22 and just received her Master’s, Summa Cum Laude . There are rumblings of a doctorate in the works as of my last Entry 2012.
Update, Nickie is now a Kindergarten teacher here in Southern Oregon for 48 (that’s right) little ones As we now proceed with the plan for a July 2015 wedding to an equally wonderful and talented man!
ANYHOO……….back to the 90’s
Then she, Nickie, was about to enter kindergarten. A traveling lifestyle with Mom was no longer an option. Uh oh….what to do? I was doing one of our 3-time yearly trade shows in Seattle. While wandering the 20 some floors of a wholesale gift mart, my eye caught this little stone, about 5” in diameter that had the word “imagine” engraved on it. I went in to ask if the Seattle rep knew where I could purchase one of these stones locally. I was directed to the Seattle Wharf and handed over $23.00 for almost the same wonderful stone with “imagine” all in lower case. Just a rock…$23.00??!! A plain simple river rock had me mesmerized. I felt the power of it and was comforted by both that and the simple word that was deeply engraved upon it. I smiled at what I held, and the value the message had for me. I was locked in to what my future would consist of…I will learn this craft. Whatever I was to become, I would be good at this. My love for nature, the natural, the organic, the simple and an overwhelming entrepreneurial spirit would fuel this goal. Since I was 4 I had been entertaining the ice cream man with a short song for an ice cream and raising guinea pigs & rabbits, publishing manuals and many other pursuits. I have an art background and have been a quote collector since I could remember. I could do this, and do it well. Perfect! Now what? (Read More…)
www.naturalstoneengraving.com
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I began my research at memorial headstone businesses. Their guidance was valuable and it gave me some information but I know that natural stone handled much different than polished marble and granite. I then hit Google. I found 2 others that had similar ideas about stone engraving but it was not of the quality that I wanted to achieve. When I spoke to both men they were very reluctant, to say the least, to offer me any information. Game on….Thus the manual. We feel that there is enough opportunity for every entrepreneur across the country to do well with this business with a bit of gumption, focus, long hours, and hard work. Even if you just stay in your town between the vets, memorial homes, cemetery sextons, realtors and craft and growers markets, you would do great. These were my beginnings.
We are now in our 19th year. Since this is the newest edition, I will not proceed with the details in-between: we went bigger, we went bolder, bigger shops, smaller shops, built shops, hired and fired web masters, we went mobile, went “postal”, we went smaller, we added wholesale, dropped wholesale…what a journey at best.
Our team included 4 full-time & 6 part-time employees; 2 of which are “Master Engravers.” They have combined over 31 years’ experience with engraving stones, including my sister Laurie for 4 years at with me. To date, our team has engraved over 140 tons of natural river stone; over 952,000 stones for companies like Ford Motors (they ordered 325,000 alone) and over 85,000 gift, corporate, weddings, anniversaries, celebrations, proposals, commemoratives, memorials (people and pets), cornerstones, family stones, address stones, affirmations, meditations, contracts….the list goes on and on. See the gallery in the back for examples of our work.
All engraved stones were completed at our facility to our exact standards. To meet our customers’ requirements, the graphic design, stone selection, engraving & packaging is completed entirely by our staff. We are sure our customers will be satisfied with their custom engraved stone.
As of 9/9/2012, I have sold the business to the artisan Tonia who has been with me for years. She has taken over with an army of family members with areas of expertise that all work well together in this still growing business.
We have expanded, learned and grown so much over the years.
I now have the time to develop this e-manual. It is what I wanted to do all along but could not get to it after so many 12-14 hour days. I remain the pinch hitter for the new owners at StoneWise if needed. I wish them the very best with all my heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears that went into the creation of this wonderful business and now the manual. I have enjoyed immense personal and professional fulfillment working with nature’s finest canvas. Stone, Rock, Simple and Symbolic.
I wish for you too every success.

Randi