Materials

We work in three stones: alabaster, travertine, marble. Each has a different character.

Alabaster

Calcium sulphate. Translucent. Light passes through where the stone is thin. Used historically for windows in cathedrals before glass was common. Spanish alabaster has a warm milk-white tone with subtle veining. The most light-sensitive of the three. The most porous to water.

Care: dry cloth only. Keep dry.

Travertine

Calcium carbonate. Open-pored. The pores are part of the form. Travertine reads as honest stone. The colour ranges by quarry and oxidation: cream, beige, yellow, silver grey, walnut. Italy is the source.

Care: dry cloth. Seal for kitchen use.

Marble

Calcium carbonate also, but compressed and crystallised. Smooth surface. Veining is the defining character. Quartz, mica, iron all show through. Cream marble is the softest tonally. White marble is the most associated with classical work. Italy and Greece are common sources.

Care: dry cloth. Most porous to acidic substances.

Why these three

Different weights of presence. Alabaster reads as light. Travertine reads as form. Marble reads as line. A room can hold all three. A surface usually holds one.