Review - Sasshole Designs - Acid Etched Slate Coasters

A Manitoba Small Business

I want to write a review on a local Manitoba Company called Sasshole Designs. My wife and I met the owners at a farmer’s market just before the Winter Holiday season. The couple were very nice and answered all of our questions.

I often find that at Farmer’s Markets, the same items are being sold repeatedly. I love it when we find small businesses that make something unique and well-made. In addition to selling unique items, they also use very modern technology to ensure their designs are engraved or applied in a way that will last a very, very long time.

Besides their amazing thermal mugs, their coasters really stood out to me. The coasters are made from square slate tiles with soft feet that feel somewhere between rubber and foam. The material ensures that the coaster doesn’t slide around or make marks on a surface.

While they have many different designs, if you don’t see one that you like, they can most likely create a custom one for you.

The coaster that stood out the most to me was the Tragically Hip coaster you see below. As you can see, it almost looks like the logo was painted on, but it isn’t.

The cost of the coasters is around $10 plus taxes.

I like this so much that I wondered how hard it is to make these items, and I believe I found out how they are made. Considering that these things are made of slate and all the time and effort involved, I think buying them from Sasshole Designs would be the best option.

I believe the secret of the logo is Grab Etching Cream and a Cricut Device to create a template. The template prevents the etching cream from bleeding outside of the design.

The etching cream only removes a fraction of a millimetre from the slate. This means the logo will never come off and doesn’t affect the slate's natural texture.