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CHAPTER MEETING RECAP

3 days ago
jamie-keel

Earth Day Edition

In April, the Chapter celebrated Earth Day with a full day of sustainability-inspired events and activities starting with the Ciot Galleria Tour in Brooklyn, followed by an evening cocktail party at the Dacor showroom in the A&D building. See our recap of the festivities below.

Ciot Galleria Tour

It was a beautiful day to celebrate the NKBA Manhattan-NYC Chapter Earth Day and trek to Brooklyn via a luxury bus, compliments of CIOT, our field trip sponsor. We arrived at the 35,000 sq ft Ciot Galleria and Showroom, where walls of windows and black-and-white banners stretched along the facade announcing the variety of products that awaited us inside—Marble, Ceramic, Mosaic, Quartzite, Hardwood, Terrazzo, Granite, Concrete, Sintered Stone, and Porcelain. The dynamic lobby included a floating sculpture, and the stunning floor piqued interest too, as Ciot’s David Bryant explains the process to Diana Mosher. Photo by JoAnn Genova.

In the center of the main warehouse was a collage of stone cubes, rough cuts from the earth, polished smooth and strong enough for sitting and standing, as attendees demonstrated. Group photo by Katia Grekhova.

Designers JoAnn Genova, Maureen Klein, and Diana Mosher loved how the plants softened the cool touch and textures of the giant slabs of nature’s earth, while Danielle Chery and Lindsay Friedman checked out a set of slabs, all cut from the same base stone.

Photo by Katia Grekhova.

After a delicious lunch provided by Ciot, we were treated to a wonderful CEU presentation by

 Alison L. Mullins, from Virginia, on behalf of the Natural Stone Institute. She gave us insights into the environmental benefits of natural stone and its role in achieving green building certifications like LEED. Alison caused us to chuckle when she reminded us of the days of big hair and Aquanet and how those aerosols were banned. She also suggested we Google sustainability charts for low embodied carbon (emissions associated with the processes to produce materials and construct, maintain, and deconstruct buildings over their whole life cycles) to see how different materials compare and can help designers and specifiers make informed decisions.

Photo by Katia Grekhova.

 
 

Throughout the galleria were interesting artworks made from various materials, and some panels on display were refigured with playful inserts or naturally reminiscent of beautiful, thought-provoking landscapes.

Taken by the center green panel, left, designer JoAnn Genova said–

“I could envision using it in a spacious master bath, a natural piece of artwork. Maybe near a soaking tub, how luxurious and relaxing that would be with low-level lighting and a glass of wine in hand. Natural stone takes you into nature.” 

A few members of the Ciot team: Indira Dopson, sales representative; Kay Nolan, vice president; Julie Ann Mendez, product specialist; Kamshat Sarybayeva, sales support; and Katia Grekhova, showroom sales representative. Photo by Abeer Almesbahi, Ciot sample coordinator.

Thanks to everyone at Ciot who made the event so remarkable, as attendees said–

"A fabulous trip!" 

"Staff so knowledgeable and friendly." 

"Presentation full of valuable information."

"Excellent speaker and very nice."

"Can’t wait to see all that Ciot did on the Waldorf Astoria restoration."

 

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