An Interview with Cosentino - Part 2
Blog Tour Milan with Modenus was a fascinating experience, thanks to our many sponsors. One of them was Cosentino, a family owned company that produces and distributes innovative surfaces for architecture and design. Some of their quartz brands include Silestone, Dekton, Eco by Cosentino, and Sensa by Cosentino. We spent a day at Salone Internazionale de Mobile, the furniture fair held annually in Milan along with EuroCucina, the International Kitchen Furniture Exhibition. There we met with the Cosentino team. I was delighted to interview a representative of their company, Lorenzo Marquez!
Lorenzo Marquez also made my "Men of Italy" blog - check it out HERE!
Kandrac & Kole: What is your position at Cosentino and how long have you worked for the company? Where are you based?Lorenzo: Vice President of Marketing for Cosentino North America, based in Houston, TX but traveling all over the United States.Kandrac & Kole: In Milan, we were introduced to Dekton. How many years of research and development went into this product before it was introduced to the market place? Where did the inspirations for the design come from?Lorenzo: Bringing Dekton to the market has been a process of over seven years between R&D, expanding our manufacturing capacity and product development. We are very fortunate to have the vision of our leader, Paco Cosentino, behind our product assortment and creative process. I remember hearing conversations about Dekton over seven years ago and we’re very happy to say that it is now available in the market. It helps us bridge over design and installation barriers that we’ve had in the past. Its inspiration and design comes from listening to our customers and the needs they have. We know there is a great deal of opportunity to have unique and creative designs that meet the needs of today’s residential and commercial projects and that is what Dekton is. From indoors to outdoors, vertical to horizontal installation, our color palette supports the needs and requests of today’s top designers worldwide!Dekton outdoor applicationKandrac & Kole: Where is Dekton primarily being used? Where is it most popular?Lorenzo: Today we are focused mainly on countertop projects since that is where our core business is but mainly for outdoor kitchens. Dekton’s UV resistance properties and color offering makes it an ideal surface to use outside. It’s being well received all over the United States, especially in states with climates that are more suitable for outdoor activities like FL and CA.
Kandrac & Kole: Silestone has been around for quite some time and we have used it in many of our projects. What are some of the more popular quartz products?Lorenzo: Our Silestone Nebula Code and Ocean Series have had great success in the market since we launched them last Fall. They provide an extremely exotic and powerful color hue that is very unique to our brand. In addition to that, the Suede finish has been very popular amongst designers in the U.S. It offers the benefits of Silestone in a matte finish that is easy on the eyes and soft to the touch. We recently just finished installing Helix, from the Nebula Code Series, in the Suede finish at the Kips Bay Show House in NYC and it is a traffic stopper. It absolutely looks terrific! We worked with designer Matthew Quinn from Atlanta and his vision made our product look 10,000 times better than it did. As part of the kitchen, he designed the island with two custom-made Silestone corner sinks that look phenomenal. Makes me think about re-doing my kitchen. Wait, maybe not J
photo credit Matthew Quinn
Nebula Code Stacked Image
Atlantis- Silestone Ocean Series
Kandrac & Kole: What do you like most about working for Cosentino?Lorenzo: Absolutely everything. I know it may sound like the “right answer” to give but I absolutely love being part of this company; this family. I love the people I work with, the products we sell, the way we inspire design, everything! I’m very privileged to have this opportunity and I’m thankful for it every day. There is not one day where I come in and repeat anything I had ever done, so that is very exciting. Every day comes with new opportunities, new faces, new challenges and I love that. I simply have a lot of fun!Kandrac & Kole: Important question: What is your favorite Italian dessert - Canoli, Gelato or Tiramisu?Lorenzo: My favorite question and hardest to answer…depends on the mood and company J
Thank you Lorenzo for sharing your knowledge with us and to all of our sponsors of Blog Tour Milan!
Photo credit - Cosentino
