Last week the new terrazzo collection officially launched. An exciting time! Much anticipation and work led up to this point starting a couple years ago when my curiosity with terrazzo first began. Initially the plan was just to do the tables using terrazzo tiles but I struggled to find good sources. I considered using regular glazed tile but with stores closed due to covid there was no way to get my hands on the material before buying. I’m pretty picky when it comes to tile.  I was reluctant to let the idea go so I decided to try and make terrazzo myself. In the end it opened up more opportunities to use the medium in new and unexpected ways. 

With my recent experiments using epoxy being quite costly, I decided to go the concrete route for the base. Thanks to Modernbuilds for his video on making white concrete, I was able to adapt his recipe to my needs. Research in to colorant led me to Colour Rare Canada, a dry pigment useful for a variety of applications such as natural paints, bath products, makeup and concrete of all things. In the end white sand proved to be the most difficult to find. Silica sand is most readily available for golf courses and from aggregate suppliers but there’s major health problems if it’s ever ingested. Knowing I’d be grinding it down this seemed quite likely to happen and a really bad option. Eventually, I found a white granite sand sold for children’s sand tables of all things, which removed all risk.

The real thrill came with grinding. Although the messiest and loudest part, I was always a little excited/nervous to see how the coloured aggregate would present when exposed.  There’s certainly a lot of options when it comes to what size of stones or glass to use. Including what colours to combine and how compact to place them. Finishing with diamond polishing pads, the surface became super smooth to the touch. So satisfying. 🙂

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As with many of my projects, the idea for the tables was birthed out of a need in my home. I wanted a matching set of plant tables so I could display a large statement plant on one and a collection of smaller plants on the other. They also needed a top that could handle the water spills that usually happen – hence the terrazzo idea.   I was super lucky to find an amazing sealer at my local supplier. They said it would be invisible to the eye and were they ever right! It’s a milky substance, easy to paint on and it gives the terrazzo a beautiful silky feel. I tested the “waterproof-ness” by leaving a glass in a puddle of water on the tabletop for several hours. The water held in bead form the entire time. It clearly wasn’t going anywhere. They also serve well as side tables or drink tables for the same reason that spills won’t damage the tops. Say goodbye to coasters…

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And yes, I needed a big clock in my house so…..terrazzo clock! In an effort to keep it as light as possible, I poured the terrazzo quite thin at just 1/2″ and fully supported the back with a beautiful light wood. My first attempt used metal numbers that were set right in to the terrazzo and ground down level with the rock. While this was pretty awesome, keeping the numbers level was a little more challenging so I made a second with the numbers attached after grinding. They both look great. I love the hexagonal shape. A random geeky shop fact for you, a hexagon is easy made using 30 degree cuts. 🙂

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And last but not least, the terrazzo medley. I’m not really sure where the inspiration for this first came. I liked the idea that I could make any shape that I wanted which made me curious to experiment with curves. The online clock shop also had these adorable little clocks that really needed me to come up with a use for them. And I wanted to combine several complimentary terrazzo colours together in one project and test out brass as an accent. So lots of fun things together and… the medley was born. I thought it might make my mantel happy as well. The jars I had displayed there were starting to bore me, haha.

And that’s it folks, the story behind the terrazzo collection! Thanks for coming along, I welcome your ideas and suggestions on these pieces in the comments below.  Things are already in the works for the next product launch in September so keep your eyes peeled for hints and snippets in my stories. You never know what might pop out next 🙂

Love always – Suzanne