As Caesarstone unveils its first ever Porcelain Collection, we talk to VP marketing UK & EMEA Jonathan Stanley and chief designer Mor Krisher to hear all about the new range – and what's in it for retailers.
Q: Tell us about the new collection – what does it consist of?
A: Mor Krisher – The new Caesarstone Porcelain Collection is a suite of 23 colours in what is a brand-new material for the brand. Having pioneered the quartz industry 35 years ago, we are now entering an entirely new category, making us the first company globally to offer a premium range of quartz and porcelain surfaces under one brand. This collection is the culmination of more than thirty years’ experience designing and manufacturing surfaces, and two years of fairly intensive work to bring this inaugural collection to market. Stylistically, it continues with familiar design collections; We’ve added beautiful nature-inspired designs to our Supernatural Collection, designs inspired by light and dark marble motifs as well as granites and travertines. To our Metropolitan Collection we’ve added more industrial concretes and cement-like designs with tactile finishes to really embody the urban trend.
We wanted to deliver the Caesarstone signature style, albeit in a different way with a different material that uses different technology to create. Porcelain gives us a new tool and expands our playground. We are using its benefits to create designs, of natural stones and other materials. It’s a combination of details and structures, that makes the designs very realistic and natural.
Q: This is a new departure for Caesarstone – why have you launched the new porcelain collection in the UK? And why now?
A: Jonathan Stanley – Caesarstone are the quartz surface pioneers and we began creating these in 1987. Since then we have been designing and manufacturing beautiful surfaces that not only meet consumer desire aesthetically, but also provide them with durable and hard-wearing products for the busiest room in the home. Porcelain and Quartz are the two fastest growing worktop categories, principally because of design possibilities of both materials, combined with their beneficial technical properties. Therefore it made sense for us to expand our offering into Porcelain surfaces. We have taken over 35 years of surface expertise and channelled it into a beautiful new Porcelain Collection that sits in parallel with our existing Quartz designs.
Q: In what ways do Caesarstone porcelain surfaces differ from other porcelain worktops in the market?
A: Mor Krisher – We think that the Caesarstone brand makes the difference, insofar as the product quality and design; elements that we are well known for. We spend a considerable amount of time, using our significant experience, on choosing the right designs, placing emphasis on how we combine precise colours, shades and finishes to create something unique in the market. Our goal is to deliver the best kitchen tops to those who care. And what we’ve found globally, is that many people do care.
We’re the worktop experts, having pioneered quartz back in the 1980’s. We took all of that surface knowledge and expertise and applied it to Caesarstone Porcelain. We pay particular attention to the quality of the products we produce, ensuring they are long-lasting and durable and perfectly suited to the kitchen environment.
Q: Is there a particular aesthetic theme running through the collection?
A: Mor Krisher – I think there is a very specific Caesarstone design language that runs through all our products. It comes from our deliberately broad spectrum of inspirations and is filtered through our own lens, which in turn is shaped by the team’s collective ideas, experience, and environment. Caesarstone surfaces have an organic quality and a subtlety and timelessness that I think is entirely ours.
This is the direction of travel with consumers, really what they want for their homes; a visual and tactile connection to the outside world. This theme is of visible in our Porcelain range through the nature inspired designs, but it also comes through in the textures. The aesthetics are just as important as the quality of the natural raw materials and the passion and diligence that goes into the manufacturing process.
Q: What plans do you have for the collection going forward? Is it something you're going to develop?
A: Mor Krisher – The more we explore porcelain and expand our manufacturing capabilities, the more ways we are finding to express our creativity and craft. Making beautiful and unique Caesarstone designs is what we’re aiming to do. It is an ongoing process, and we are already looking at quartz and porcelain collections for 2023, 2024 and beyond. Ensuring a quality of material and design is paramount as well as creating products that are instantly recognisable as Caesarstone.
Q: What support will you be offering retailers in terms of displays etc?
A: Jonathan Stanley – Full-size displays can be very powerful when used with the right retail partner, and we are already installing porcelain surfaces in key kitchen studios across the UK, with many more conversations taking place. Some of these retailers are already working with other similar products but there are many that we are in discussions with that haven’t necessarily worked with porcelain surfaces before but that are interested having heard the fabricator feedback from the extensive market testing carried out in the first half of the year.
