Short Presentation for Dom.

Hi Dom I thought the easiest way to show a good cross-section of my work without clogging your in-box was to do a little on-line presentation.

Initial enquiries  have shown black granite to be drastically more expensive than I was expecting (£4000 for a piece of the size we’re after)

I am waiting to hear back from a company that deals with china.

I have reviewed the picture you sent me and seeing the detailed carving more clearly I am very confident to say that I can make a copy with even better fish.

I have deliberately made this presentation almost exclusively from pieces in slate.

All of these pieces are now years old and in excellent condition and hope to dispel your worries about it as a suitable material.

To put it in context  it used for the roofs of houses and there is even a trade in second hand roof slates, when houses are demolished the slates are saved and sold on for other houses.

It is and always has been used as stone for headstones and as such expected to last 100 years plus.

Most people concern comes from the worry of it splitting and I can say with the confidence of 10 years experience that that is a matter of quality and selection.

At the quarry I deal with in North Wales they are still bringing new stone to the mills for the production of roof slate. This is of the very highest quality and it is from this seam I would get a piece for you.

I would without hesitation give it 10 year guarantee, and with an agreed maintenance program to be carried out, then a lifetime guarantee.

There is the further advantages of  using  and supporting a British Based Industry and  the environmental impact of transport.

There is also the fact that I can go in person and make the selection myself.

The piece below was one of  12 installed in Porthcawl in a public park and paid for by the council. The piece was installed four years ago now, is still in perfect condition and had already been part of a quarry building for 80 years. Its strength is incredible, due its laminate nature, at 12 foot long and a mere 8 inches thick you could happily drive a car over it.

Even with cutting all these holes through and shaping the edges, the piece below is quite intact with no signs of any problems.

This one, as you can see, is not slate. I just wanted to show how well I can capture animals and scenes from nature.

I leave you with all that to ponder (I’ll get back to you with the price of a Chinese piece) and hope to chat it all over with you next week on the phone.

All the best Matthew.