He Makes Custom Ice Sculptures

2024 - Volume #48, Issue #1, Page #22

[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story | Read this issue]

“Stan the Iceman” is a world-class professional ice sculptor who runs a “choose & cut” Christmas tree farm near Jordan, New York. He also operates “The Ice Farm” alongside his Christmas tree farm.
At The Ice Farm, Stan Kolonko creates spectacular hand-carved ice sculptures for weddings, banquets, corporate functions, birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, and other special events.
“Our ice is unmatched in quality and purity because we use reverse-osmosis filtration and Clinebell ice machines, which provide the clearest ice south of the Arctic Circle,” Kolonko says. While his sculptures can be enormous, most sculptures are approximately 40 in. high and 20 in. wide and weigh about 125 to 175 lbs. A circulating pump keeps ice clear as it’s slowly freezing over several days. The typical cost for a sculpture is $300 to $500.
Kolonko says he first learned about carving ice sculptures when he was in culinary school. “After I saw them, I just had a passion for making them,” he says. Kolonko says the majority of his training came from “the school of hard knocks.” Now he competes in ice-sculpting events whenever possible and says he learns a lot watching and talking to other carvers from around the world. He says most sculptures take about 1 hr., “but I can spend days on large, elaborate pieces.”
Sculptures for special events and festivals are carved in advance and carefully delivered in pieces and assembled on-site. Incorporating corporate logos into a sculpture is one of The Ice Farm’s specialties. Once removed from the freezer, a typical sculpture will last between 4 and 6 hrs. for peak viewing.
Kolonko says he’s experimented with a variety of tools for ice sculpting, “using anything that will alter ice,” but the primary tool for roughing out a sculpture is an electric chainsaw. Once the basic shape is established, he uses an array of shaping and grinding tools. One of his most popular products is a party luge, a simple ice sculpture that can be used as a drink or shot chiller. They’re popular for parties, bars, and martini displays.
The Ice Farm’s Christmas tree business is open from the day after Thanksgiving through the holidays and focuses on helping families carry on the age-old tradition of walking a tree farm and choosing and cutting their own special live tree. “We’ve planted 15,000 trees in the past three years, so there will be plenty of trees to cut for years to come,” Kolonko says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Stan Kolonko, The Ice Farm, 124 Clinton Rd., Jordan, N.Y. 13080 (ph 315-406-4250; www.theicefarm.com).

Click here to download page story appeared in.

Click here to read entire issue

He Makes Custom Ice Sculptures FARM HOME Novelty Items “Stan the Iceman” is a world-class professional ice sculptor who runs a “choose & cut” Christmas tree farm near Jordan New York He also operates “The Ice Farm” alongside his Christmas tree farm At The Ice Farm Stan Kolonko creates spectacular hand-carved ice sculptures for weddings banquets corporate functions birthdays anniversaries festivals and other special events “Our ice is unmatched in quality and purity because we use reverse-osmosis filtration and Clinebell ice machines which provide the clearest ice south of the Arctic Circle ” Kolonko says While his sculptures can be enormous most sculptures are approximately 40 in high and 20 in wide and weigh about 125 to 175 lbs A circulating pump keeps ice clear as it’s slowly freezing over several days The typical cost for a sculpture is $300 to $500 Kolonko says he first learned about carving ice sculptures when he was in culinary school “After I saw them I just had a passion for making them ” he says Kolonko says the majority of his training came from “the school of hard knocks ” Now he competes in ice-sculpting events whenever possible and says he learns a lot watching and talking to other carvers from around the world He says most sculptures take about 1 hr “but I can spend days on large elaborate pieces ” Sculptures for special events and festivals are carved in advance and carefully delivered in pieces and assembled on-site Incorporating corporate logos into a sculpture is one of The Ice Farm’s specialties Once removed from the freezer a typical sculpture will last between 4 and 6 hrs for peak viewing Kolonko says he’s experimented with a variety of tools for ice sculpting “using anything that will alter ice ” but the primary tool for roughing out a sculpture is an electric chainsaw Once the basic shape is established he uses an array of shaping and grinding tools One of his most popular products is a party luge a simple ice sculpture that can be used as a drink or shot chiller They’re popular for parties bars and martini displays The Ice Farm’s Christmas tree business is open from the day after Thanksgiving through the holidays and focuses on helping families carry on the age-old tradition of walking a tree farm and choosing and cutting their own special live tree “We’ve planted 15 000 trees in the past three years so there will be plenty of trees to cut for years to come ” Kolonko says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Stan Kolonko The Ice Farm 124 Clinton Rd Jordan N Y 13080 ph 315-406-4250; www theicefarm com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.

SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW NOW