Page 14 - Demo

14|September 2019
Slippery rock Gazette
What’s Next?
with resins and pigments. Simply put, all the ingredient are mixed together and heavily pressed and baked. The end result is a non- porous, durable product that can be used everywhere quartz can be used, and even a few places quartz should not be used, like outdoor kitchen countertops.
Like any surface, paper coun- tertops have their pros and cons. Some of the pros include:
Eco-Friendly– the resins used
are non-petroleum based, and a
large amount of the paper/card-
board is consumer recycled. Above: Richlight color spectrum. Below: Richlight Slate
Clean – the end product is non-porous, so bacteria and stains should not be an issue on these types of tops. If by chance it does stain, stains can be removed by sanding or in some cases, pulled out by using plain yogurt as a poultice.
Flexible – paper countertops are more than just kitchen counter- tops. They can be used anywhere you would think about using gran- ite including tub surrounds, table- tops and outdoor kitchens.
Consumer Friendly – if nicked or scratched, the homeowner can simply sand out imperfections.
Please turn to page 15
Iwon’t lie – I am a natural stone person. My kitchen is limestone. My master bath is onyx. I have granite and marble furniture tops, shelves and window sills. I do have one room that has a quartz windowsill and that’s because it was the perfect color to accent the décor of the room. However, just because I am a natural stone person, that doesn’t mean I don’t get or under- stand what quartz is all about or what kind of role it plays in the stone market.
Unfortunately, though, the quartz market is a bit unstable right now. We all know about the tariffs and other fees that have been imposed on some of the products and some of the man- ufacturers. Factories are closing or relocating. To make matters worse, some relocated factories may have to relocate again as more tariffs and fees are being considered against other countries as well. Demand isn’t dropping, but supply is. Prices are getting higher, and sometimes color and
Sharon Koehler
Artistic Stone Design
quality are iffy. What’s worse for your customers is that a color or even a brand you were selling last month may not even be available this month.
As always when something fal- ters, there is something waiting in the wings to take its place. What will try to rise up? Personally, I hope the pendulum swings back to natural stone, but there are some other products out there that could make their presence known. We all know about solid surface (like Corian and Hi Macs), stain- less steel, concrete, tile, wood and laminate.
What’s left? Paper countertops, for one. Paper composite counter- tops are real. You may recognize the names of two manufacturers: Paperstone and Richlite (both manufactured in the U.S.). There are others.
Paper composite countertops are paper (largely recycled paper) and/or wood fibers combined