In the Pyrenees, get to know Xavier Marquié, marble craftsman La Maison des Cailloux

La Maison des Cailloux embodies a timeless passion for Pyrenean marble, and especially Sarrancolin marble, which Xavier Marquié brings to life with exacting standards and sensitivity. With its mastery of craftsmanship, respect for local heritage and desire to share, the workshop is a natural fit with the world ofesprit parc national.

We are located in Lannemezan, in the Pyrenean Piedmont. The company is located here because it works mainly with Pyrenean marble, which is found in the heart of the chain, like the National Park. These quarries have been in operation since the time of Louis XIV. There were as many as 140 marble quarries, and today we are the last representatives of this great epic of marble quarrying.

I'm originally from Sarancolin, the little village in the Aure valley where this magnificent Sarancolin marble quarry is located. In 1985, my father, who was mayor of the village, decided to reopen the quarries and restore their former glory. At the time, I was 20 years old and thought it was fantastic that my village was known the world over for its marble, so I decided to become a marble mason!

In 1995, I was able to take over the old Lannemezan marble works with the aim of developing these marbles. We use them mainly for building restoration and also for new projects, as there are many specifiers who are attached to this traditional construction.

The company's know-how is quite vast, and we have to know how to do everything, whether it's kitchen worktops, showers, shower trays, walls, paving, fountains or interior decoration. The most important thing for me is to preserve these skills. Whether it's the building part or the decoration part, it's a very specific marble-maker's job. I'm particularly keen to find people and train them so as to preserve this Pyrenean marble-making tradition. We have some modern tools for shaping the stones, but handwork and finishing are really very important.

I think we're getting closer to the spirit of the National Park insofar as our idea is to work with local materials. Our production is around 90% Pyrenean materials. I absolutely want to avoid importing materials from faraway countries. We have everything on site. Why go looking for it elsewhere? Let's keep it local! I think the National Park has this objective in mind. And it's in this sense that I'm closest to this philosophy.

The Esprit Parc Nationalapproach brings together people who are sensitive to local work and, in this case, to the Pyrenees. I believe that this is the way to raise the profile of a region. Today, we'd like to work more locally on certain projects, to be able to bring people here, to visit the National Park and the companies and craftsmen who work around this know-how, to show that we exist and that we're all working in the same direction.