Ever wondered what happens to the offcuts of the marble that’s used in kitchens and bathrooms? Probably the largest known excess quantity was used to build the village of Laas in South Tyrol, Italy; a so-called ‘white village’ made from surplus stone dug from the towering mountains above, where even the pavements are carved from offcuts. But perhaps the most famous offcut of all belongs to Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece, ‘David’. The stone, which had been rejected by other artists due to perceived imperfections in the marble’s grain and sat discarded for twenty-five years, was eagerly accepted and carved by the young artist. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, there’s a whole industry creating objets from stone offcuts and small pieces of marble, each of which could be considered a work of art in its own right. Durable, yet soft. Light, yet heavy. Raw stone and yet smooth. For while marble is more frequently associated with solidity and strength, it’s only with time that these qualities form. In fact, when the material is first quarried, it’s soft and malleable, characteristics adored by craftspeople and sculptors who can work at it in any way they wish.

For the experienced stonemasons carving our new marble accessories collection, Malborough, which includes fluted bowls and elegant cake stands, the process begins by hand-sketching the design onto the small blocks sourced from marble mines in Rajasthan, India. They then begin to carefully chip away the excess marble with a chisel and hammer. Refinement is a meticulous process requiring multiple stages, starting with rasps and files to ensure symmetry, and finishing with a polishing buffer to accentuate the stone’s natural luminosity.

The resulting series of sculptural, decorative pieces in the new Malborough collection includes charcuterie and cheese platters, pretty serving bowls, and ornamental accessories like bookends and napkin rings. Each piece is carved from marble dappled with soft brown and grey veins for an objet with an impressive artistic heritage that at once feels tactile and strong, delicate and opulent.