Stone Federation Great Britain’s Quarry Forum gives its opinion on issues relating to the stone industry from the point of view of companies that extract dimensional stone from opencast and underground quarries and mines.

If you hadn’t got the hint yet, we’re quite passionate about British Stone. But then again, as the Stone Federation Quarry Forum, we might legitimately be accused of having somewhat of a vested interest in raising the profile of Britain’s indigenous stones.

But in the 2016 materials market there is plenty of choice of materials from all over the world, giving architects, designers and clients any number of options to choose from. So how do we ensure that British stone holds its own in such a fiercely competitive market? 

First of all we have to be active. Very active, in fact. We are active in promoting the wide range of choice British Stone provides, using online and offline methods. One example of an initiative with both these elements is the ‘Welcome to British Stones’ campaign.

Launched in 2013, this campaign focusses on dispelling the myth that British stone lacks variety of colour and texture.

The online element is an interactive map-based tool on the Stone Federation website that allows architects, designers, specifiers and clients to search for stone produced by Federation members local to their project.

More than 80 indigenous stones quarried by Federation member firms are listed. They include limestones, granites, slates and sandstones. To date, the website tool remains one of the most popular pages on the Federation’s website and is the link that receives the highest click rate from social media posts.

Indeed, one architect recently commented that: “The British stone sourcing tool is one of the best specifying resources I have come across in my career as an architect.”

While the online ‘Welcome to British Stones’ tool is available all year round, there are certain events where the Quarry Forum takes the stones from the virtual world to the physical.

The British stones sample boards have appeared at a number of leading trade shows, including The Natural Stone Show and EcoBuild.

The board contains samples of the same stones that are listed on the website tool, but have the added advantage of allowing architects, designers and clients to get hands on with the materials.

Many visitors to the exhibitions are surprised at the wide range of indigenous stone available and will often request a number of samples for upcoming projects as a result of what they have seen on the boards.

The display boards have an accompanying guide book that lists the geological name, quarry location and applications of each of the stones. This reference guide has been given to thousands of architects, designers, developers, local authorities and clients over the past few years. We also ensure that all stones displayed have their CE Certificates available on request, providing show visitors with a great example of best practice when it comes to selecting natural stone.

The 2017 Natural Stone Show in London will be the next big outing for the British Stone Sample Boards, so if you’re visiting, make sure you pop by the Stone Federation stand and take a look. You might be surprised at just how much choice British stone has to offer.