Our Clay in Bray!

The Clay Plaster Company is excited to announce that our natural and beautiful American Clay plasters are currently being applied to the inside of Bray Cottages at Bray on Thames in Berkshire, UK. Thinking of taking a visit to the village of Bray? Click here to view a photo gallery of the lovely and charming cottages which are just steps away from the world-renowned Fat Duck and Waterside Inn Restaurants.

This particular project is using our Loma product as a base coat and a 50/50 blend of our smooth finish Porcelina and Loma for a top coat. One of the bonuses with these plasters is that you can blend them together in different ratios to change performance under the trowel and give even more finish possibilities. The American Clay line has also been tested and designed to be mixed with an exact amount of our UK local Lime putty which is also being used on the Bray project.

Anyway, there will be more info to come on this great project and some pic's so watch this space!

A Traditional Japanese Plaster approach.

 I (Ben) thought it might be nice to introduce a good friend of mine who we are hoping will be coming to the UK to teach some Traditional Japanese Plasterwork styles sometime this year.

Takao Kobayashi 

Principle Works: Restoration of Earthen Storehouse in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture; Restoration of Cultural Heritage Buildings & Extensive experience in everything from private homes to earthen storehouses and traditional Japanese cook stoves. 

Featured in numerous magazines: Comfort "Earth Plastering Book”, Comfort "Earth Plastering Power", CHIRUBINTO, and others.
Has also published articles in the monthly edition of Plastering Schoolhouse

I was fortunate enough to meet up with Kobayshi-san, Sakamoto-san and Kyle Holzhueter on a project at Harvest Haven farms out in Alberta, Canada last August (2011). On this particular project I was educating the class on the exterior application off Lime's, their applications in severe climates over a variety of substrates and the use of appropriate mixes and how to manipulate those mixes depending on site conditions, etc. Kobayshi-san was there to show us the application and processes behind some more decorative Traditional Japanese earthen plasters, one of those being Otsu. 

Otsu is a mix of lime and soil normally in the ratio of 3 parts soil to 1 part lime sometimes with the addition of fibre reinforcement like hemp. 

Due to the lime in the mix, this finish can be brought up to a high polish, and thats exactly how Kobayshi-san, Sakamoto-san and Kyle finished it. Another plaster  they showed the class was a seaweed lime plaster called Shikkui. A very durable traditional Japanese lime plaster with great tensile strength and bonding capabilities, that combines high calcium lime, seaweed extracts,natural plant fibres and in some cases some aggregates.

Kobayshi-san preparing the seaweed, while Sakamoto-san prepares the hemp fibres. Also, a little smile form little Noah and parents Mariko and Mark.

Kobayshi-san and Kyle applying clay plaster base coat.

Kobayshi-san meticulously finishing one of the Otsu plasters.

Kobayshi-san meticulously finishing the yellow Otsu plaster.

As I mentioned before we are hoping to get Kobayshi-san over to the UK sometime this year, we are also hoping to bring in an additional line of Japanese trowels, so watch this space. 




So some of you may be interested in this new book 'Terra Europae - Earthern architecture in the European Union' I came across whilst checking out the EBUK website. 
Essentially its a scientific publication showing exclusive maps and texts from different regions and countries of the EU, the outcome is a great overview of the state of the art Earthern architecture in Europe.

It covers seven regions in all and talks about historical heritage and contemporary architecture. There is also a comprehensive cartography of European earthern heritage. sounds like a good one to me...

American Clay's new website...

Some great news from across the pond, American Clay (AC) has launched their new website and I think you will agree it's a good one! Here is another video from AC founder Croft Elsaesser explaining a bit about their new website.

As American Clay is one of the great products we carry, we highly recommend that you take a moment to look through their new site and familiarize yourself with the latest they/we have to offer. For Architects and Designers there are sections on Submittals, LEED points and Specifications. For Applicators and Contractors there are sections on Product Information, Application and Technical information plus Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).

Another great thing about this new website is a full view colour pallet showing the original 43 standard colours with the addition of 11 new standard colours, plus 56 blended colours giving an outstanding spectrum of 110 colours for you to choose from. There is also a great opportunity to see the product up and on walls and ceilings by looking at the American Clay photo gallery. You can also see some of the great textures available with each one of the four clay types, by clicking on the plasters and textures icon.

For more information including where to by in the UK and applicators in your area call 'The Clay Plaster Company' at (0)7580 331 311. 

A very Happy Holiday to You and Yours from the Clay Plaster Co. Best wishes for 2012!

Every great product begins with a great idea. American Clay plasters are one of those products, and this video although short is a speech Croft Elsaesser (AC founder) gave recently, telling how he came to the idea to create these beautiful natural wall coverings.

One thing we at the Clay Plaster Company have noticed in the Green and Sustainable market place today, is that these materials and ideas are growing. People are realising not only the aesthetics of such products but more importantly the health benefits and the environmental impacts in there manufacture. We all know now how things are changing in our environment, and as we spend much of our time inside, why not make those spaces a little healthier and at the same time better for our planet. 

For those of you who are not aware EBUK (Earth Building UK) is hosting a conference on January 13th 2012, giving people the opportunity to speak and listen to some well respected people in the Sustainable Building community.

This is a unique opportunity to talk to people with skills, products and with research experience in this fast growing area.

Earth plaster is fast growing for many different reasons including its ability to be used on old and new buildings, its attractive and unique appearance, the fact that it is a great alternative to existing modern wall coverings like paint and to top it all off it has fantastic health benefits and is very sustainable.

'The Clay Plaster Company' will be showcasing some of our products there, and there will be plenty of information you can take away with you. We hope that you enjoy the show...

About EBUK

Who they are:

Earth Building U.K. was established to foster the conservation, understanding and development of building with earth in the United Kingdom.

It brings together builders, academics, researchers, architects, engineers, manufacturers and many more to work in areas of common interest at a national and local level. An inaugural conference on the 16th January 2009 in Bath formally established the organisation and they look forward to growing and developing over the coming years.

EBUK is bringing together builders, academics, researchers, architects, engineers, manufacturers and many more to work in areas of common interest at a national and local level.

Their aims are to:

• promote earth building in contemporary construction
• assist the recognition, understanding and significance of earth buildings
• foster traditional skills and promote new technologies
• network their membership to promote earth building locally, nationally and internationally
• research and develop technical understanding
• share experience and knowledge through a program of seminars and annual conferences.

They are a membership organisation run by a group of volunteers.

EBUK Conference