working with marble

 i found this piece of marble a year or two ago in London Bridge just seconds before it was going to be smashed up and thrown in a skip. it was a section of cladding from the exterior of a bank in the city c.1930s until it was demolished in the 1970s. this piece was salvaged by an architect and stored in a damp basement ever since. i've been staring at it for a long time wondering if it would ever be used again but now the right project has come up and its time for the marble to shine again.
with thanks to my cousin Christopher, the marble was cut on a machine that is almost bigger than my studio...

the marble was chipped, stained, scratched and had metal cladding wires attached but i thought it was still worth saving. i'm only making some simple cabinet surfaces to start with but with Christopher's help & advice its been a lot of fun to work with something other than wood and its definitely the oldest material i have ever worked with...

 below: the rear of the piece still has part of the original job order note stenciled on it (London)

 below: the piece on the left is after i have sanded the surface down to a flat matt finish and slightly beveled the edge, its come up a lot cleaner and whiter than i ever thought it would. the piece on the right that is still chipped and stained, i am always amazed at what can be found inside something that is deemed as scrap or rubbish...

i will be showing the finished marble surfaces at a preview of my new designs at the next MidCentury Modern show in Dulwich, hope to see you there