A Cumbrian quarrying company is helping to make a name for itself after exhibiting a unique curling stone-inspired creation made from slates that they quarry locally.

Burlington Stone, which is part of the Holker Group and has its largest quarry at Kirkby-in-Furness, was one of the exhibitors at The Surface Design show last week.

The show took place at the Business Design Centre, in Islington, from February 4 to 6 and saw 180 companies exhibiting.

Burlington Stone appeared as part of the Stone Federation of Great Britain’s Knowledge Hub, which was at the heart of the show and introduced architects and interior designers to a range of materials and expertise for their natural stone projects.

Rob Harris, southern area sales manager at Burlington Stone, wanted to ensure the company drew in the crowds, and so decided to create a unique “curling stone” made out of slate from each of the company’s four working quarries in the Lake District area of Cumbria.

While a true curling stone must be cut from Ailsa Craig granite, Burlington Stone’s creation mimicked the design and saw the four types of slate and stone bound together and then polished to create a stunning feature.

It took a approximately a week to create the curling stone that was then displayed at the show.

“It brought a lot of people to our plinth,” said Rob, “and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”

The opportunity to attend the show is really important to the company, and it was Rob’s fifth time exhibiting.

“It’s not open to the general public, it’s very much a trade and interior designer/architect-led show, so they recognise quality and work in the high end surface space,” he explained.

“It’s about raising awareness of Burlington Stone and by developing that awareness, those designers and architects will hopefully see the benefit in using our stone going forward.”