Passion for Natural Stone

Bob Barden
2008 President,
Building Stone Institute
Barden Stone Inc.
Memphis, Tenn.

I recently returned from the Building Stone Institute's (BSI) 2008 Annual Convention held at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. The designers did their utmost to simulate ancient Rome throughout that expansive property. Since the BSI 2007 Fall Study Tour included a thorough tour of the real architecture and design of Rome, Italy, Caesar's provided the perfect complement to link these two key BSI member events. In this issue, we focus on that same type of integration of concepts, ideas and products that translate into design success.

As many of my BSI colleagues enjoyed the sunshine of Las Vegas while bemoaning the cold that gripped many parts of the country, in our warmer climate areas an annual tradition was taking place — spring training. To paraphrase a popular old tune, "In the spring, a young man's fancy likely turns to..." baseball! Minnesota Twins fans will surely be interested in our article spotlighting their new ballpark.

As we put winter behind us, we decided to turn the focus of this issue inside out ‡ outdoors, that is. Those aleady dreaming of relaxing and/or entertaining in the coming months should enjoy our feature on outdoor living spaces. And readers who gravitate toward learning more about the successful integration of design and installation will appreciate Linda Erbele's and Gail Snyder's articles.

During our Annual Convention, the industry's leading quarry owners/operators, fabricators, dealers, importers, exporters, carvers, restorers, designers and installers gathered for extensive information sharing and networking. Throughout the various sessions, we were encouraged many times to approach our industry challenges with a fresh outlook, with zeal and vigor. As always, the convention served as an opportunity to network with key individuals in the stone business, to gain new insight, to explore a different perspective. Yes, I did come away renewed.

I hope that through this issue, we can spark your imagination and transfer to you some of the passion we feel about natural stone. No other material surpasses natural stone for its beauty, sustainability, practicality, functionality and elegance. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of utilizing natural stone, we invite you to visit our Web site at www.buildingstoneinstitute.org. Here you can learn more about our support of our members' efforts to continually increase the quality of service, quality of products and demand for natural stone. And, as always, should you have questions about our programs, products and services, or for technical expertise regarding any aspect of composition, application or installation of natural stone, please feel free to contact our office at 1-866-STONE13 (847-695-0170) and we will do our best to address your issues.

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