With granite shop relocated to Gilpin, former corporate exec’s future set in stone
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Lisa Akscyn of Manor Township has risen from a place of adversity.
Akscyn, 54, received life-changing news in 2011 while caring for her terminally ill brother.
“I got a letter in the mail informing me I was let go,” Akscyn said. She had lost her her lucrative, long-term corporate job in Pittsburgh.
She opened her own fabrication business, Phoenix Granite Fabrication, in 2017, building from the ground up. She learned the granite business while working at the former Blooms in South Buffalo, which burned to the ground in 2015.
For Akscyn, choosing Phoenix as a name for her business was personal.
“It means rising from the ashes,” said Akscyn, who studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
In June, Phoenix Granite Fabrication relocated from Richland to its new location at 825 Evergreen Road in Gilpin.
Gilpin Supervisor Linda Alworth toured the facility over the summer.
“We’re very excited to have another business in Gilpin,” Alworth said. “I was impressed with their capabilities during my tour. The granite is first class, and so is the lady who owns it. Lisa is very knowledgeable of her products.”
Akscyn said “lots of reading” has contributed to her knowledge of natural materials such as marble, granite, limestone, soapstone, quartzite and travertine as well as man-made conglomerates.
She said the decision to relocate to Gilpin was primarily geographic.
“My commute is minutes now,” said Akscyn, a Burrell High School alumna.
The six employees who comprise Phoenix’s team work from two buildings, a showroom/office building and a large fabrication shop. The company shares its space with a concrete and mason contractor, The Bazella Group.
“We watch herons eat fish from the creek and see deer, ” Akscyn said of the new rural address.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony in September announced the company’s custom cabinet and countertop store. Phoenix fabricates and installs its products.
Akscyn works with her husband, Mark, offering on-site fabricated countertops, bars, shower/bath items, fireplaces and creative accents such as desk accessories, wine barrel tables, dog dishes, Lazy Susans, sconces, cheese plates and more.
“The wine barrel tables are very popular right now,” Akscyn said.
Most of the world’s granite comes from Brazil and elsewhere in South America, Akscyn said.
Customers can choose from about 20 colors in the outdoor slab yard. Trendy hues include blues and greens and warmer tones, Akscyn said, but the top-selling color at the moment is Fantasy Brown.
“People buy emotionally,” Akscyn said.
The average price to install granite in a 35-square-foot kitchen layout, including the sink, is about $2,200. Turnaround time from purchase to installation averages seven days.
Gilpin Supervisor Charlie Stull extended a welcome to Phoenix Granite.
“We’re always happy to see new businesses interested in our beautiful township,” Stull said.