Hospitality Design - March/April 2016 - 50

Q&A

with

mitch brean

director of design and product
development, carlsbad
Briefly describe a product/innovation you
have introduced to the industry.
The first Stone Yard project was a reproduction
of an antique wellhead from Italy that became a
table base, which remains a Stone Yard classic
to this day. Many of Stone Yard classics are from
original antique reproductions. Over the years,
I have become a skilled reproduction craftsman
as a result. By 1990 we invented and introduced
Fiberstone, becoming the first to pioneer a
lightweight, chip-resistant medium for the
hospitality industry. Our long term outcome has
been continuous inspiration and invention that
has no limits. Besides Stone Yard's rich history of
antique replication using state-of-the-art materials
and methods, we have recently added more
contemporary and modern designs.

Where does your company stand on
sustainability?

Sustainability has become a major concern for our
commercial clients, especially in recent years. One
detail that most fail to account for is the expected
lifespan of items exposed to the public, especially
in exterior applications. Even the most sustainable
planter or bench needs to be replaced every few
years due to rot or rust if it is not made using
resilient materials such as GFRC or Fiberstone.
Our planters are manufactured in-house, with
extreme detail being paid to the formulation and
quality of materials, resulting in benches, tables
& planters that will last a lifetime. The clients we
work with are generally more interested in design
& quality but the sustainability of permanently
installed site amenities is also an important part
of it.

What is your company's philosophy
toward customization?

I have always been fascinated with the texture
of rocks and fossils. Growing up, I started
collecting them along my travels. This impulse
was additionally fueled by an infatuation with
architectural detail and design which, in turn,
became inspirational. It may be a texture, color,
element of a building that motivates me to create
a custom design. This design could end up being a
new texture for a planter collection or an element
of a mantel such as a leg or shelf, or it could be
a color that influences a new finish or finish
technique.
It is very common for clients to come to us

050

March/April 2016 hospitalitydesign.com

with custom needs. These are sometimes custom
sizes of existing designs, alterations of existing
designs or even entirely new concepts. Bespoke
color & texture can also be done to make sure
our cast stone coordinates the rest of your space.
Architects & Designers spend so much time
making sure designs are perfect, the least we can
do is provide customizable flexibility.

How would you describe your business in
one sentence?
Sophisticated. Exclusive. Discriminating.
Innovative. Exquisite-Our line has a
signature look!

How did you come to start Stone Yard?

Hit by the travel bug after graduating from high
school, I cycled abroad for six weeks. I quickly
learned that travel would provide inspiration and
design ideas to replicate not only rare antiquities;
it also presented new design elements that served
as fodder for innovation. Traveling to more than
50 countries over the years - from Spain to Italy,
France to Egypt, Argentina to Chile and a host
of others - the intrinsic love of art combined with
early unofficial summer apprenticeships in my
father's aerospace company, I learned precision
pattern and mold-making, which was the impetus
that birthed Stone Yard Inc. in 1985.

How different does your company look
today than it did 5 years ago?

One of the biggest changes is our recent partnering
with a local artificial plant manufacturer, Ecovara.
Recent global droughts saw an increased demand
to reduce watering and fertilizing both indoors and
outdoors. After photographing a couple of high
end projects using real-to-life artificial plants, we
inquired who was making/mounting them and
found it was a local manufacturer just down the
road.
Technological advancements in weather
and sunproofing plastics means that artificial
cactus, hedges, bamboo & more can be made
to last years and years in even the heaviest
exposure applications. Whereas other Cast Stone
manufacturers only offer site amenities and
planters oriented for live plants, we can ALSO
offer premium replica plants and arrangements
already mounted in planters when delivered.
No mess, no maintenance, and it helps reduce
pollution and water runoff.
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - March/April 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - March/April 2016
