About 2Stone
2Stone Designer Concrete Inc. is a Calgary AB, Canada based design firm specializing in pre-cast GFRC (glass fiber reinforced cement). The creative powerhouse trifecta behind 2Stone is Justin Brown, Carly Slade, and Lise Brown.
2Stone is kept on its toes daily by the magical material that is concrete and the diverse projects that we use it for. Concrete design is still uncharted territory, a material with unmatched design ability. We have a child-like fascination for this “thing” that goes from powder and water to a sleek solid with a shine like glass.
The main man and principal owner behind 2Stone Designer Concrete is none other than Justin Brown. Spawn of Calgary Alberta, he grew up all over the globe in places such as Indonesia and Romania where he fed his love for shapes, lines in architecture, and a serious obsession with hot glue. 2Stone is the next generation of concrete wizards, fuelled by late nights and caffeine highs -making art work.
Justin began as the owner of a tiling company but after a few years of pushing squares he felt boxed in creatively. One day while trowelling in a concrete shower pan his contractor asked him if he had ever heard of concrete countertops. Justin was intrigued and looked into it that night. The seed was planted and 6 months later Justin had sold his tiling company and started up 2Stone Designer Concrete. Fresh from Buddy Rhodes training in SanFran and hungry for work Justin made his first vanity in his Mom’s garage (thankfully he concluded that the balcony of his condo was not a large enough work space). 2Stone is now a far cry from what it was then, crafting beautiful functional art ranging from furniture, vanities, water features, outdoor BBQs, fireplaces, custom tiles, and the list goes on.
Justin can be found the majority of his waking hours pacing the studio. Cackling to himself like a mad scientist while mixing up custom colors for a customer, and obsessing over every detail of his current project. To say Justin is anal would be an understatement…. I cannot count the number of times that I have had to explain to a hostess or barista why it is that Justin is kneeled down trying to get a better look at the underside of their countertop.
As I am writing this I can hear Justin somewhere in the studio behind me loudly mumbling something about bench proportions. One thing is for sure, this man lives for the smell of a fresh batch of concrete, the kickback of his spray gun, and the smile on a more than satisfied customers face.
Part-owner and shop manager Carly Slade is a mud slinger at heart.
She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2010 from
the Alberta College of Art and Design and runs home to her studio
every day after work to play with clay.
You can check out her work at www.CarlySlade.com
Part-owner and front-end-wizard Lise Brown
has a background in design and renos.
Armed with an eye for design details,
Lise is happiest when helping customers
design their dream space.