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Industry Spotlight
The British Are Coming!
BY JIM
PETERSON
PRESIDENT, CONCRETENETWORK.COM
The
Decorative Concrete Industry is also drawing in the French,
Italians, and Canadians, along with Painters, Interior Designers,
Architects, Ceramist, Structural Engineers, and Chemists.
Cross-pollination is one of my favorite
concepts to think about. (Isn't it odd that one could have
so much time on their hands!) It's when an idea or a product
from one industry is taken and used in an entirely new way
by a person from outside that industry. The person from outside
the industry sees the idea or product from a totally different
perspective - and also has his or her own set of unique talents
to add to the process. This is why I believe we a. just in
the first inning of the decorative concrete explosion we are
witnessing.
Why is cross-pollination happening?
I believe cross pollination is
happening because the concrete industry is currently unleashing
an amazing slew of new product innovations such as texturing
tools, micro-toppings, concrete profiling chemicals, polishing
equipment, molten metals for concrete, acid stains, water
based stains, polymers, dyes and other colorants, stamps,
sandblast stencils, form linen, special saws and decorative
concrete cutting apparatus. This gives others from outside
the concrete industry the tools, ideas, and the inspiration
to get involved in the industry. While concrete experience
definitely speeds the learning curve- many of the above applications
require you work on the concrete, not in the concrete. Thus
those outside the industry are seeing a major opportunity.
I recently observed Bob Harris of L.M.
Scofield and  Tom
Ralston of Tom Ralston Concrete create a gorgeous design on
slab at the Spring 2002 Decorative Concrete Council event
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They did a lot of amazing things
with stains, an angle grinder, eye droppers, tape, and Miracle
Grow (yes, Miracle Grow), but they didn't pour any concrete
(of course they did have input on which admixtures should
be in the mix and which should not be, and how the slab to
be treated should be finished).
So
who are these people?
Jean-Pierre Berthy is a popular designer and painter of murals
and faux-marble concrete finishes in San Francisco.  In
the '60s, Berthy studied at an art school in France. The school's
curriculum centered on learning fro.
some of history's most highly regarded painters. "In
France, you learn how to copy artwork from the big painters
like Cezanne and Monet," said Berthy in a recent PaintPRO
article. "We would take our canvas to the art museum
and copy the masters. We learned the technique, and I was
very good at copying. This helped lead to painting murals."
When acclaimed Italian artist Marco
Lucioni came to the United States 14 years ago, he didn't
want to start from scratch to rebuild his reputation as a
painter and sculptor.  Instead,
he incorporated his artistry into decorative concrete - a
move that has thrilled homeowners throughout the Seattle area.
Lucioni, who lived in Italy for 45 years, in Greece for 10
years, and in France for a couple of years, displayed his
work in about 50 shows throughout Europe. When his first wife
became homesick, he came to the United States with her.
He started doing decorative work for
Italian restaurants, making a lot of faux columns reminiscent
of the old country, which ultimately inspired him to give
the real stuff a whirl.
"I knew the medium already,"
Lucioni said. "I taught myself how to use concrete; I
read books, I asked around. I like to use my Italian artistic
background and culture and combine it with the technology
to make everything."
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