Ridgewood New Jersey, April, 2007 - Advent Design luxury stone baths, Cascadiam fountains, sinks and vanities could be defined as the consequence of 300 million years of stone melting and cooling in the earth together with hundreds of man-hours needed to carve it. Or they might just as accurately be described as the result of founder David Luster's 25-year search for extraordinary hand-carved, stone products for the luxury home and resort spa.

Much of Luster's quarter century in the mainstream stone and ceramic industry has been spent sourcing products throughout the world from South America, Europe and Asia. "Along the way" he says, "I realized the need for pieces that were outside the ordinary and began a search for exquisite stone and the artisans who could carve it into magnificent pieces of functional art for the home and spa." The search took him to the interior of Brazil to the Peruvian Andes, the Italian Alps to Turkey and India, and as far east as Malaysia.

Even as Luster found the world's best artisans and put them together with the superb examples of marble, travertine, granite, basalt and limestone that he sourced, he knew the journey wasn't over. "The nature of the business is that you can never stand still," explains Luster.

Luster enthuses. "Often we create pieces that are customized to each client and to each piece of stone."

Advent Design continuously communicates with architects and designers serving the luxury community to understand its markets. Part of the firm's mission is to remain unique and offer items rarely, if ever, seen in the marketplace for a discerning clientele that demands unparalleled service and exclusivity.
 
"One of the toughest challenges is finding just the right piece of stone," explains Luster. "To custom carve a stone bath, we have the stone mined from a quarry, and with a sold block weighing five-to-six-tons we begin the process of cutting and carving. Only after we have invested heavily can we see the true colors of the block of stone as it is transformed into a bath. In fact, there are times when we have completed a significant portion of carving and must abandon the block of stone altogether and start again."

Advent stone sinks are created from select pieces of stone to ensure the highest quality finished product possible. The stone materials have been mined from numerous parts of the world, then meticulously carved and refined to perfection. The surface finishes are either honed, which results in a non-reflective smooth matte finish- typical of sinks carved from travertine and limestone, or polished-which reveals a shiny reflective finish. The polished finish is typical of sinks carved from marble and travertine, stones that have been crystallized (melted and re-cooled). The sink models are inspired by a combination of creative designs that fit the natural variation of color in a particular stone.

"In this luxury end of the market," says Luster, "I can't stress enough how important it is to constantly develop and nurture great sources. I often go personally to select blocks of stone and I've been known to travel for a long weekend to Europe or South America to check the progress and details of a stone piece before it is completed and shipped, just to be sure it's perfect for our demanding clientele."