There were a lot of products at the Surface Design Show this week that had been inspired by natural stone and wood. Some of them actually were natural stone or wood. Others were porcelain.

The exhibition in the Business Design Centre, Islington, London, from 7-9 February included a 'Stone Gallery' where Stone Federation and six of its members formed a 'knowledge hub' of stone. Those in the hub were Amarestone, CED, Lovell, New Image Stone, Stamford Stone Company and consultant Robert Merry (trading as Stone Consultants) who writes the Merry Month column in Natural Stone Specialist magazine. The Stone Library, another Stone Federation member, is also permananetly housed in the Business Design Centre.

It is not a huge exhibition, but it is comfortable and conveniently placed for the design community that lives and works in Islington and neighbouring Clerkenwell. And because a fair number of designers live in the area as well as working there, the exhibition stays open until 9pm on the first two days of its three-day run. Matt Robb, manning the Stone Federation stand, said he was surprised how many top-notch designers came in during the evenings.