The natural stone industry is filled with companies of all sizes, but we know that most are small-to-medium size companies. When it comes to marketing and training, I often hear about limited budgets and staff resources.

Since its inception in 2001, the Xiamen International Stone Fair has exploded. Geared for stone industry professionals worldwide, the scope of the international exhibition has drastically changed from its beginning days.

Karen Kettler, the president of Karen Kettler Design, based in Charlotte, NC, talked with Contemporary Stone & Tile Design to discuss her 20 years of experience with using stone and tile in her designs and the trends she is seeing in the industry.

Stone and tile trends change constantly in the architectural and design communities, and can be difficult to keep up with. We at  Contemporary Stone & Tile Design magazine wanted to get opinions from different architects and designers around the country to find out what they are seeing, and what they expect to see.

Is natural stone making a comeback? Did it ever go away? One of our main stories this issue is stone and tile design trends. We spoke with architects and designers from around the country about what they see are the tile and stone trends in the market right now, and moving forward. 

With the advent of online reviews, HGTV and social media, consumers are saturated with options ranging from natural stone, engineered quartz (quartz surfacing), pre-cast concrete, porcelain, glass, stainless steel, sintered surfaces and so on.

Since starting his fabrication business, Marjan Stone, in the early 2000s, Hikmet Pauls has strategically grown the company. Based in Spring Valley, CA Marjan Stone operates an impressive 18,000-square-foot shop that currently serves the residential and commercial sector.

It only takes a few minutes after stepping on to the premises of Stocchero Attilio & C. s.r.l. in Verona, Italy, to realize the company runs a top-notch operation.