Elemental Surfaces Takes Florida Market By Storm

For Lilian Myers and Rick Parks, Elemental Surfaces is more than just a business. The two have parlayed their combined business background -- Parks successfully founded and sold three software companies; an entrepreneurial bent lured Myers away from a career at Microsoft to co-found a software company now owned by Siemens AG -- and used it to form their very successful cement surface design studio outside of Orlando, Florida.

"Our background helped us learn and understand how to create intangible products that answered the needs of business," explains Myers. "We were enthusiastic about translating that know-how to the very real objects that are a part of everyday lives and environments."

Because both also shared an interest in art and architecture, this business venture was a natural extension of things they had already been doing. Even while Parks was building his first company, he was developing a lakeside subdivision outside Branson, Missouri. And Myers had been undertaking her own major home remodels for a decade -- by herself.

But the two didn't just open up a shop without first conducting some major research. Myers applied her extensive experience in market research and business strategy to determine if there was truly a demand in Florida for such an alternative product as concrete.

"People have traditional tastes in Florida, and they like a refined and finished look," Myers says. "We used a basic business rule as a starting point -- that if there's no market, there's no business. A product must to fit needs of a market to be a success."

Her research indicated that kitchen designers and consumers were looking for new and interesting ways to make custom kitchens unique or one-of-a-kind. "Earthy," "organic," and "warm" were some of the product characteristics people were looking for that lead to naming the enterprise. Official operations of Elemental began in 2002, after many months of homework and tens of thousands of dollars spent on both the market issues and mix formulation to meet the market expectations they uncovered.

The traditional "Old World" looks being done in Florida's high-end kitchens led to the development of their premier product, Perfetto Stone™ featuring ornate edge treatments and a surface design reminiscent of sculpted stone. Each Perfetto Stone countertop is a commissioned work of art and unique to the client for whom it is made. Each is designed and hand-crafted as an architectural element for an individual environment using client or designer selections for form, finish, color, and other design elements. Interior designers particularly enjoy the benefits of the material and process, which provide them with a new canvas for delivering a complete "look" to a finished room. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to the look and feel has led to several line extensions currently in development.

Their Custom Works line includes pieces individually designed and produced to match the vision of designers and clients. Custom Works range from ultra-thin to super-thick, and starkly plain to boldly decorative. The pieces often feature highly structurally engineered, dimensional castings.

Industry dynamics led to the development of the company's Akcent™ product line. "Concrete is becoming a more acceptable surface material, due to the influence of years of perseverance of Buddy Rhodes and Fu-Tung Cheng," explains Myers. "There's a lot of dialogue about concrete these days. Folks here are saying they want it, and for the first time, they are seeking it out." The Akcent™ concrete counter line was created for those seeking sleek lines at a value price. Akcent surfaces are available in standard colors and edge profiles exclusively through design showrooms, making concrete affordable for people who love it.

Having three product lines and more on the way requires more room for design and manufacturing. That's why Elemental Surfaces is expanding their studio from 10,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet -- to accommodate both more people and a broader range of product operations.

Another way Elemental Surfaces is growing is by partnering with designers and others in the kitchen and bath industry. "Unique work gives you name recognition and reputation, but affordable, widely available products give you a broader position in the marketplace," Myers explains.

Myers says expansion was part of the plan from day one. To grow effectively, the plan called for dealers, partners, and influencers -- especially interior designers. "Designers drive new product adoption," she explains. "They have higher risk tolerance, especially when the look is in line with what they wish to achieve for their clients. You only have to talk to a granite guy about the new demand for honed or flamed stone to understand that subtle, natural, organic materials are where designers want to be. We talk to them and find out what we need to offer clients, we get (and need) direct feedback."

Kitchen and bath showrooms are also very important. Myers explains that it takes a long time to build a relationship with kitchen and bath partners. Both reputation and trust were fundamental requirements to getting there. "It took a long time to have a sufficient number of installations and customer experiences to motivate some of our partners to get on board. Once they heard customers and saw the design capabilities -- they were all over it," she says.

Their partner list is currently 10+, and Myers says they are constantly getting calls from all over the country from interested people wanting to become dealers/partners. Though their current partner network spans Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, Myers says she'd like to see more growth in the Southeast.

Word of mouth is sure to spread like wildfire as Elemental Surfaces' countertop and entertainment surfaces are featured in the 2003 Orlando Street of Dreams' homes. Participating designers and luxury custom homebuilders selected Elemental Surfaces to create one-of-a-kind functional artworks for
two of the six Street of Dreams' show homes.

The $2.5M estate-home by Ray Coudriet Builders, Inc. features a kitchen island with sculpted bamboo edge detail and an integrated drain board molded to look like a mat of bamboo sticks. In addition, there is a regulation size outdoor ping-pong table and a 27-foot summer kitchen bar top with a decorative edge created especially to reflect architectural elements on the home's facade. A $1M contemporary home by Castleworks, Inc. includes a multi-level kitchen counter surface and a "floating" island with iridescent glass tiles inlayed in a 3-inch edge profile, an indoor-outdoor wet bar with a matching concrete sink vessel, and a fire surround.

"These are things you simply can't do with other surface materials," explains Myers. "The look, feel and performance are extraordinary and translate to virtually limitless applications. We are honored to have been chosen to create one-of-a-kind functional artworks for these homes and are proud to play a role in this annual event."

And participation in the event is just another way Elemental Surfaces is rapidly becoming a household name -- and design element -- in Florida.

Elemental Surfaces, LLC
Lilian Myers
700 S. Hawthorne, Ste 108
Apopka, FL 32712
(407) 884-0814
(407) 650-3093 FAX