Stucco Italiano » Katharine Houpt

Why you should care about indoor air quality

Katharine Houpt — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:48:03 +0000

Wondering why we stress Venetian plaster’s green qualities (non-VOC, naturally mold-resistant)?

People are becoming more and more concerned about indoor air quality. Homes plagued with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) or mold can negatively impact the health of the occupants. According to Green By Design, “an estimated 15% of the U.S. population — millions of people — are chronically ill from their homes, and indoor air quality is a major factor.”

If you are using Venetian plaster, you might want to check out some info on indoor air quality around the web:

The EPA’s guide to indoor air quality

Wikipedia on indoor air quality

Treehugger on causes and testing of poor indoor air quality

Build It Green explains that “A common source of indoor air pollution is the offgassing of chemicals found in many building materials…”

There’s even an Indoor Air Quality Association…

Have you noticed a difference between working with non-toxic Venetian plasters versus acrylic finishes? Tell us about it in the comments…

Black Tadelakt exterior in Vancouver

Katharine Houpt — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:59:35 +0000

Aaron and Kay Lynn paid a visit to some of our best customers and our Vancouver distributor, PacWest, up in Canada this week.

Steve Manby of Authentic Plaster FX posted on his blog about Aaron checking out his black Tadelakt exterior.

Hopefully he’ll send us more pics soon!

Aaron and Stucco Italiano Venetian plaster featured on Fauxology blog

Katharine Houpt — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:39:54 +0000

The lovely and talented Regina Garay of Garay Artisans posted a nice feature on Stucco Italiano including an interview with Aaron. He discusses what first sparked his interest in Venetian plaster as well as some of the more popular lime-based products.

Regina is quite prolific and her blog, Fauxology, is always a great read. One of the most articulate and balanced resources we know of. Definitely subscribe if you’re in the biz. Check her out on twitter too.

Thanks Regina for all you hard work!

Featured Venetian Plasterer: Jenn Williamson

Katharine Houpt — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:42:13 +0000

Jenn Williamson is a Stucco Italiano Certified Installer up in the Vancouver, BC area, and a very talented finisher with many years of experience in all phases of decorative plastering, painting, and design. She sent us some pics of her recent projects. We’re impressed. Jenn (AKA Ispirato Design) uses a variety of finishes, making the most of the unique qualities of each material. Truly beautiful work. See for yourself…

Jenn used Marmorino Carrara on these pillars (click on them to enlarge)…

And these are from her Intonachino project a few months ago…

And last but not least, and exquisite application of Marmorino Classic…

Like what you see? Contact Jenn.

Are you a Stucco Italiano installer that would like to be featured here? Contact Katharine and send some photos.

Lars on Tadelakt: “the finest of lime plasters”

Katharine Houpt — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:36:25 +0000

Lars Hansen wrote a nice post about Tadelakt. Great little summary of the history, look, and feel of one of the most popular wall finishing materials.

Speaking of Lars, if you’re in Colorado this weekend be sure to check out his Handcrafted Finishes booth at the Four Corners Green Living Expo at the Durango fairgrounds (For those of you who live in Telluride, please come down, it is only a two hour drive).

Check out Lars’ personal Stucco Italiano applicator profile…

…and Lars’ website.

Plastering Professional Profiles

Katharine Houpt — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:44:11 +0000

We are proud to feature personal profiles for our talented installers.

Click on the names below to see photos and learn more about our Stucco Italiano applicators. Also see our Stucco Italiano Installer Map for a full list of plastering professionals.

Arizona:

Rob Fail

California:

Chase Connery

Johann Fitzgerald

Colorado:

Lars Hansen / Hansen Handcrafted Finishes

Illinois:

Amy Remmert

Massachusetts:

Fabio Bardini

Nevada:

Lesley and Mark Sexton

Oregon:

Phillip Jones/PMJ Plastering Services

Texas:

Washington:

Vancouver, B.C. Canada:

Darrell Morrison/Decorative Painting & Plastering Concepts

Randy Orr/Distinct Interiors

Steve Manby/Authentic Plaster Fx and Alltex Plaster and Stucco

Jenn Williamson/Ispirato Design

Grant Johnson/MudMan

***ATTENTION STUCCO ITALIANO INSTALLERS*** Don’t have a profile yet? E-mail us your name, location, phone #, e-mail address, website, a short biography, and a couple photos of you and/or your finishes to get your personal installer page!