We got ours from Maine Soapstone. We made a template with the supplies they provided. They cut and shipped the stone and we installed it. It was a very good experience and we love our counters. And it was much more cost effective than any local options. Good luck.

Thank you! I checked out the webpage. Using the templates sounds like a nice way to go.

Do you mind sharing what kind of soapstone you went with? Were you able to get samples in advance or did you see pictures of the slabs online?

We only saw pictures of the stone online. Which frankly made me very nervous but we took a leap of faith and went with "Amazon". It really is lovely and seems indestructible so far. I have posted pics several times so others may be tired of seeing them but I will attach one for you :-)

We had only two seams and the product they included to seal the seams worked like a dream. You can barely even see them.

What a beautiful kitchen! Thanks for sharing the pic!

An 88 x 45 island will way around close to 700 lbs if using 3cm soapstone.

That's does not lend well to DIY! Please consider this when deciding which route to take.

The weight of the peninsula was one of my concerns. I have also considered using part wood/part soapstone for the peninsula, with the wood portion facing into the adjoining room on the breakfast bar side and the soapstone on the kitchen side, like in this sample pic from the Maine Soapstone page.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I love that picture with the wood and soapstone mix. Could you install the island slab in two/three pieces to make it more manageable. When you seal the seams the original veining pattern still matches up and looks well "seamless".
Our largest piece was almost 800 lbs. We had a party for all our strongest friends. There was a lot of audible grunting.

I was contemplating doing a couple of seams if I went with all soapstone. I am glad to hear that it is a reasonable option. I like the idea of having a large slab of soapstone with dramatic veining.

Did Maine Soapstone deliver your soapstone to your driveway?

No, they shipped to the FedEx Trucking terminal. We picked it up on the dock. They loaded the crate on our trailer. Maine SS sent directions on correct order of uncrating. They are really DIY friendly and were available for support at every step.
Also with the template, we located the under mount sink and they put in threaded inserts for ease of installation of the sink. I can't say enough good things about this company, the quality of their product, their customer support and keeping their word on costs/timelines etc.

Thanks for all the info on Maine Soapstone. It is helpful to know what it was like to work with them!

We purchased our slab from Walker Zanger in So Cal. it's called Mariana. I would say it's medium soft and love it! The patina just gets better with age...

Thanks, ctycdm! I'll look into Walker Zanger. Do they sell online?