With sterling still relatively weak it is a good time to be selling British stone abroad, as Kirkstone Quarries near Ambleside in Cumbria have discovered.
Following a successful bid through a London-based design team, Kirkstone have secured a contract in Japan for the supply of their Brathay Blue Black slate for flooring, skirting and steps in a combination of both honed and flame textured finishes.
More than 300m2 of material will be consolidated with other European materials and shipped to the Far East this summer.
And as well as heading East, Kirkstone’s Cumbrian slate is also heading West to America, where Robert A M Stern Architects of New York have chosen Kirkstone’s Light Sea Green slate for the main flooring, stairways and wall base on a new extension to the Harvard Law School, Boston.
The slate was chosen following a visit to Kirkstone by the American team and now the British company are producing 1,800m2 of honed, 20mm thick slate for the project.