Jackie Danicki

I had never so much as exchanged an email or spoken word with Paul Marlow before we met in Northern Ireland last weekend, despite the fact that his wife Siobhan and I have been going strong as close friends via email and telephone (and even snail mail) for many years. One of the things I was most struck by when we did meet was how passionate Paul is about marmorino. I’m glad to see that he’s now written about how he got into marmorino, and was totally unsurprised (though amused) to read him say this:

For years, my bedtime reading consisted of Millar’s “Plastering, Plain and Decorative” (although perhaps that’s an admission too far)…

When we got to Paul and Siobhan’s house, I could see the evidence of his marmorino enthusiasm all over the place. Once you’ve seen beautiful marmorino on a wall, you (meaning…I) find it difficult living in a house that doesn’t have every interior and exterior wall covered in the stuff. The range of colours of marmorino that can be achieved is just amazing, and the marmorino finishes that Paul and Siobhan can execute are brilliant. The stuff looks as solid as marble (Paul and Siobhan guarantee their marmorino for a minimum of ten years), but is only about 3 millimetres thick. It is, in short, simply breathtaking.

Now, if I was an architect, I’d want to work with a ’boutique’ marmorino firm like Paul and Siobhan’s. Their enthusiasm is utterly contagious. They are completely obsessed with the art, the techniques, the materials, the designs, and getting everything absolutely perfect. Rather than using computers to mix a fixed number of colours and offering a limited menu of finishes, they will knock themselves out to custom-mix any colour a client wants, and to get everything exactly right. In addition to their spirited approach to the work, you could not ask to meet two more personable, clever, decent people.

So I’m rather happy to see them using their blog to show architects and interior design buffs what marmorino is all about; it should get them talking to all the right people. (Hey, Brian Micklethwait - you and Paul should podcast. When Antoine told him that you go out taking pictures of buildings for the fun of it, Paul replied, “That’s what I do!”)

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