Hello, I live in Minneapolis and have fallen in love with soapstone countertops. We are looking to install and fabricate them ourselves, and I am looking for a place to buy the slabs! I don't think that anyone locally carries them here. Does anyone have any advice about where to buy the slabs from, how the shipping went, and how much i should expect to pay? I am seeing quotes from $22 - $75 a square foot. We need to stay in the lower range to make this possible.

Also, I remember reading something about a material that was similiar to soapstone but that it was synthetic, but also used in chemistry labs, etc. Anyone know what that might be?

Thanks so much for your help. I am excited that we may be able to afford soapstone, since we can cut it ourselves, but i am concerned about finding a supplier and shipping it. See my blog about our project here: 4048.blogspot.com