A quick tour through Barry’s workshop
The workshop is a fascinating mix of colour as there are stones in various stages of preparation all over the place. Barry built the workshop by himself, creating storage for raw stone, cut stones, tumbled stones and more. Tools like saws, polishers and sonic baths line the sides. Water flows continuously to cool the stones while cutting.
Here you can see the raw stones stacked in plastic tubes. Pieces have already been cut from these stones, therefore the flat sides are visible.
These are cut slices from the stones in the previous picture. They will be further cut into the required shapes — round, square, oblong, or hexagonal tiles. Barry then polishes them until they have a beautiful sheen.
These little tiles can be used to make striking objects, such as this chess board made with inlaid Buddstone and Transvaal Jade.
And of course, the sliced stones become pendants of all shapes, colours, and patterns.
After polishing, the tiles shine beautifully. They are used in mosaics and table inlays.
Stacks and stacks of colourful polished tiles — each one unique.
The tumbling machine holds many barrels containing stones in different stages of polishing. Offcuts and uncut stones spend weeks rotating in progressively finer grits until they emerge with a smooth sheen.
And finally, the most important element in this entire creative process — Barry Venter himself, cornered in his workshop.