Set in Stone – Worldstone Solutions
Sydney-based Worldstone Solutions offers an exclusive and premium range of natural stone – the majority of it sourced from Italy – to the Australian architecture and design market.
As its name suggests, Worldstone Solutions supplies premium stone from around the globe to designers and architects working in high-end residential and commercial spaces. However, the company goes above and beyond to create its carefully curated inventory, which is displayed to beautiful effect in its meticulously designed showroom in Sydney’s Rosebery. “The core idea behind Worldstone is to offer clients access to stone product solutions from across the world not based on what we held as inventory but rather on what we could source and supply through our extensive knowledge and our networks,” says the company’s director, Paul Nahon.
Those networks have been years in the making and ensure that Worldstone Solutions has access to a selection of the globe’s finest stone. “Creating a relationship with a quarry takes many years, and it is strengthened through regular contact over time,” says Paul. “Our supplier relationships are integral to our success.”
Also key to the company’s pre-eminent position in the market is a commitment to the best in personal service. Paul is passionate about sharing the team’s knowledge and experience with clients to “create a deeper understanding and appreciation of what we offer. Our team walk clients through every step of the process – from planning, selection and implementation – to ensure they receive the perfect stone for their project.”
Worldstone’s product inventory is not only meticulously curated but it’s extensive – natural stone slabs in quartzite, marble, onyx, granite, travertine and limestone, terrazzo slabs and stone, natural stone tiles, porcelain and mosaics. Paul is seeing increasing demand for natural stone products that offer superior performance in terms of durability and low maintenance, coinciding with the effective ban on engineered stone from 1 July. “The individual properties of every batch of natural stone provide variation and uniqueness that are not found in engineered products.”
While Worldstone sources some stone from China and Brazil, the majority comes from Italy, which, for Paul, remains the gold standard. “Italy is the leading producer of stone and the leading innovator in terms of stone-production technology,” he says. “And we have solid relationships with all of the main producers, giving us priority access to stone processed in Italy.”
Besides Worldstone’s large collection of natural stone, it also has a strong partnership with Italian company Agglotech, one of the world’s leading producers of manufactured terrazzo slabs. “We find that manufactured terrazzo has a lot of advantages, including a near-perfect consistency from batch to batch, relatively low cost and, because it’s produced using an aggregate of marble that is typically a by-product from slab-quarrying activity, it’s a good way to make use of a resource that otherwise would go to landfill.”
The company’s considered range can be viewed at its light-filled showroom and gallery in Rosebery, in inner-city Sydney. “It has always been part of our vision to offer our clients a premium experience to view slabs in a gallery located within the inner city,” says Paul. It is another reason why Worldstone remains an industry leader in stone.
