The Housing Industry Association (HIA) publishes an annual report which examines the numbers of kitchens installed in the past, as well as future projections. This is of specific interest to the stone industry, as we witness the continued acceptance of engineered stone as a benchtop surface, and a gradual resurgence of interest in granite, marble, and other natural materials. Read more…

Statistics on imports and exports of Australian stone are published yearly in Discovering Stone magazine. ASAA members can access more statistics from past issues. Request log-in details via email.

Offices of architects and interior designers often contain dusty alcoves, cupboards, bins and boxes that house samples of stone and tiles from helpful suppliers. When fashions in stone change or office IT persons demand space for ever more gigabyte hard-drives and icloud nebulisers, these samples may be cleverly recycled into crazy paving or rustic Gaudi- inspired barbeques at beach houses on the Mornington Peninsula, corrugated retreats in Kangaroo Valley and their equivalents in other places. This writer has been particularly impressed by the stone decoration, clearly influenced by Munch and Mondrian, on a multi- tiered domed pizza oven and shawarma rotisserie enclosure, at a Mount Hotham ski-lodge, that includes small squares, rectangles and trapezoidal tiles of almost all varieties of stone known to modern geology…but I digress. Read more – by Dr Dripstone

For centuries stone has been used as a robust building material that has numerous applications in public buildings and private residences. By now we are all familiar with use of stone on benchtops and facades, in banks and hotel lobbies, and as external paving around pools and entertainment areas. Today’s leading designers and adventurous stonemasons and landscapers are busily creating new concepts in stone. Read more…