A collection of sandstone tables, stools, lamps and trays created after observing the operations of a local, family-owned quarry and resulting from an exploration into alternative outcomes for discarded material.

Design Team

Alex Sizemore and Hank Beyer

Loraine County, Ohio contains some of the most homogeneous and permeable beds of sandstone in the world. During the summer of 2017, we spent time investigating and observing the operations of a family-owned quarry along the stone formation running from Erie to Adams County. All processes, from quarrying to cutting, occur on the same piece of land.

Free from faults, mineral impurities and variegation, the finest stone is reserved for cutting petroleum test cores. Ninety-three percent of this strain of stone is pure silica and weighs one hundred and forty pounds per cubic foot. These cores measure four to six inches across and two to four feet long. In a laboratory setting, crude or refined oil mixed with brine is forced from one end of the sandstone core to the other; this process is known as "core flooding". Flow rate and pressure changes revealed by these tests provide valuable data used to optimize oil extraction processes. No known synthetic material can replace the sandstone used in these experiments.

After becoming familiar with the quarry, their production methods and various machining procedures, our interest shifted toward the excess of offcuts. In addition to the rough faces cut from larger stones and the negative spaces created while drilling, entire cores are often neglected after a cross-cut reveals an oxidized iron vein.

This collection of tables, stools, lamps and trays is the result of an exploration into alternative outcomes for discarded material.

To learn more about the designers and their work, visit Alex's website or Hank's website.