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Recognising the industry’s Emerging Talent at the Natural Stone Show

Join us at The Natural Stone Show 2023 as we launch our Emerging Talent Awards to acknowledge the top ten individuals who have made a positive contribution to the industry.

The Awards are about recognising and rewarding the achievements of those at the beginning of their career in the sector – as well as shining the spotlight on the organisations that are helping develop and foster the future of the industry.

Whether in training or apprenticeship, sustainability or innovation, design or manufacturing, each nominated Emerging Talent will have demonstrated the ambition and success required to progress their career.

The chosen winners will be presented with their award, along with a voucher to the value of £250, at the 2023 Natural Stone Show, June 6-8 at ExCeL, London. In addition each winner will be featured in the Natural Stone Specialist magazine and on www.stonespecialist.com

Natural Stone Show Emerging Talent Award

About the Awards

The awards are open to those under the age of 40 and working for firms operating in the UK’s stone industry. These include, but are not limited to Stonemasons, Building Professionals (Architects, Interior Designers etc), Wholesalers / Importers, Fabricators, Conservators, Retailers, CNC Machinery & Tool Specialists and many others.

Judging Criteria

Once nominations have been received a shortlist will then be created from which an expert panel of judges will decide the winners.

The judges will take into account:

  • the nominee’s achievements in the workplace or role
  • the challenges faced and overcome
  • their attitude and commitment to self-improvement 
  • the overall quality of submissions 

Meet the winners!

We've been delighted by the overwhelming response to the Awards, receiving nominations from across the industry, with submissions reflecting the contribution of a wide range of entrants.

Let's meet the winners!

View the Emerging Talent Awards winners >

Emerging Talent Awards: meet the new stars of the stone industry

The Awards are part of Industry Day at the Natural Stone Show on Wednesday 7 June 2023.

Join us as an expert panel debates how the next generation is tackling the skills gap and driving sustainability and digitalisation
 

The session panellists:

Sean Collins 
education and training contributor

Sean Collins

Sean started work in the stone industry in 1987 and served his apprenticeship at the much respected London masons J Bysouth Ltd working on many prestigious buildings, including Windsor Castle and The Houses of Parliament. In 1994 he joined Boden and Ward Ltd and in 1999 became Managing Director of Boden and Ward Stonemasons Ltd. Sean is a technical Advisor judge for the Natural Stone Awards run by the Stone Federation Great Britain as well as being a judge for the UK Masonry Skills Challenge and the Apprentice of the Year Competitions. He has also been awarded the prestigious Master Craftsmen Certificate by the Worshipful Company of Masons, London. 

 

Stefan Mordue
digital transformation specialist

Stefan Mordue

Stefan is a multi-award winning chartered Architect, Consultant, Construction Project Manager and published author. He currently works as Senior Digital Consultant for Cohesive, specialising in Information Management, BIM Delivery and Digital Asset Management, helping clients solve complex problems.Stefan is a founding member of the CIC BIM 2050 group and is co-author of a number of publications including ‘Building Information Modelling for Dummies’ (Wiley), as well as the award winning ‘BIM for Construction Health and Safety’ (RIBA Publications).

 

Chloe Newmann
sustainability expert

Chloe Newmann

Chloe is a Senior Structural Engineer who gained an honours degree at the University of Western Australia, and subsequently completed a vacation work programme with Structerre Consulting Engineers in Perth. She has a passion for architecture, and has successfully combined this with her technical design skills on a number of complex projects. Chloe currently works at Webb Yates Engineers and is a member of their Planeteers, a climate action focused taskforce who meet regularly to work towards bringing the built environment in line with planetary limits. 

Chris Kelsey 
industry representative and president of Stone Federation Great Britain

Chris Kelsey

Chris started work in 1980 as a Trainee Draughtsman at Shackletons of York, working on design and installation projects throughout the UK in marble, granite and stone. He spent the next 40 years working for well-respected companies in the natural stone sector including Doncaster & Sons Masonry, De Lank Granite, Pisani, J Rotherham Masonry, Miller Druck International Stone, Natural Stone Sales and, now, The Marble & Granite Centre.During his career, Chris’s work has ranged from project manager on the marble and inlay package of the largest mosque in Kuala Lumpur to the design, manufacture and installation of high-end residential and commercial projects throughout the UK.

Alongside his experience with natural stone interiors and exteriors, Chris has also managed the quarrying of British stones, including Mandale Fossil limestone from Derbyshire, raising its profile among architects.

  • I've seen how techniques and machinery have advanced in the stone trade, making life easier, more efficient and saving money on a project
    Show Visitor
  • The Natural Stone Show has been really exciting for us, we’ve met a lot of great people and had a lot of traffic on the stand, it has been a great setting for our official launch.
    Kelly Johnson
    Cambria
  • You can find everything!
    Show Visitor
  • The real highlight of the show has been seeing so many people come to see the new colours that we've introduced...we've pulled in incredible crowds with the new range.
    Simon Boocock
    CR Laurence of Europe

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