For our co-owner Craig Howard, material selection starts long before a client sees a sample board. In a recent conversation with Camilla Ingall on the Unfolded podcast, Craig walked through what he actually looks for when sourcing surface materials for Artisan Exterior, and why so much of it still comes down to being in a room with the stone, not scrolling a catalogue. 


Global Sourcing, Local Warehousing 

One throughline of the conversation was how Artisan Exterior balances the two: sourcing stone and glass mosaics from quarries and manufacturers overseas, including our long-standing relationship with Spanish tile maker Hisbalit. While holding local stock across our NSW, ACT and QLD studios, “to keep projects moving.” It's the difference between a beautiful material and a buildable one: sourcing counts for little if a client's project stalls waiting on a container. 


Why Touching a Material Still Matters 

“Seeing, touching, and walking on materials in a bricks-and-mortar studio” - no amount of photography replaces it, Craig says. Colour reproduces reasonably well on a screen; texture, weight and how a stone actually feels underfoot don't. 

That's exactly why every Artisan Exterior studio is built as a place to handle the range, not just view it. 

Texture, Tone and How Water Changes Everything 

Materials around a pool behave differently once water is introduced. Tone shifts, texture reads differently wet versus dry, and the interplay between the water's colour and the tile's finish becomes part of the design itself. It's a consideration Craig raised specifically around pool tile selection, and one worth asking about before committing to a finish sight-unseen. 


Subtle Changes, Transformative Results 

“Subtle changes in light, scale and application can transform a surface entirely.”  The same stone, laid at a different scale or under different light, can read as an entirely different material, which is why Craig's advice to designers is consistent: sample it, see it in context, and don't assume a finish will behave the same in your project as it did in someone else's. 


Where can I Listen to the Full Episode? 

The full conversation with Camilla Ingall is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. 


Why Does Artisan Exterior Recommend Seeing Materials in Person? 

Because texture, weight and how a stone feels underfoot don't translate through photography the way colour does. Every Artisan Exterior studio is set up for hands-on sampling.