What people ask about the basins

It does. I make the basins from hard types of stone and seal the surfaces with a professional product that stops water soaking into the stone. Once cured it is food-safe. The protection lasts several years.

Any type of stone that is hard and dense enough. Those don’t absorb water. The most common are granite, gneiss and migmatite, a mixed rock, but I also come across gabbro, diorite and diabase. The list is an example, not a limit: what matters is how hard and dense the stone is, not what it is called. A single stone often contains several minerals.

Because the shape comes from the stone, not from a mould. Every boulder is a different size and shape. The colour and pattern only show once the basin has been hollowed out and roughly ground. Two basins made from the same type of stone can look very different: the same name doesn’t mean the same shade or pattern.

It does, and that is the whole point. Veins and differences in shade belong to the stone; they aren’t flaws. What usually delights people most is the pattern revealed inside the stone.

Mostly I make basins. The same stone also becomes mortars, bowls and bird baths for the garden. I have made lamps from natural stone, too. There are photos of these on the Other work page. Feel free to ask and I’ll tell you whether what you have in mind can be done.

It can. If there is a suitable boulder in your garden or on the shore at your cottage, it can become an indoor basin or, say, a bird bath for the garden. Send me a few photos of the stone and I’ll tell you straight whether it can be worked.

A ready-made basin ships within three days of your order. Custom work takes 2–4 weeks from when a suitable stone has been found. Finding the stone is the slowest stage of the work and can’t be scheduled in advance.

Send an email or call. There is no online shop, because every basin is one of a kind. For custom work, payment is split in two: half before the work starts and half before delivery. We agree on the payment method at the same time.

The basins are sent by post. They are heavy, so the delivery method and price always depend on the address: tell me where the basin is going and I’ll work out the delivery and its price. You can also collect the basin by arrangement.

The size of the stone and how long the hollowing takes. A small basin takes a couple of days, a larger one can take more than a week. You know the price before the work begins.

For safety reasons I don’t take visitors at the workshop: hollowing sends stone dust into the air and sharp fragments of stone flying. I’m happy to send more photos and exact measurements of a basin, and collection can be arranged separately.

You will. For custom work I send photos as the work goes on and let you know where things stand, and I send a photo of the finished basin before it is posted. The real shade and pattern of the stone only become clear during grinding: they belong to the material and can’t be promised in advance. That is worth knowing before you order, because a confirmed custom order is binding.