Hand carved slate signs by

Martin Cook  

Hand carved slate signs at Kata Rocks, Phuket

I was approached last year by Richard Pope to design and hand carve slate signs to be installed at Kata Rocks, Phuket.  We were given a deadline for installation of 5th December.  We pulled out all the stops!  The slate hand carved ‘Enjoy Life’ poem is 2.5m high which created the challenge of finding high quality, flawless, slate 2.5m tall .  We naturally made it happen!  My son Matthew and I worked very long hours to draw and hand carve the ‘Enjoy Life’ poem and also the company logo for ‘Kata Rocks’

I was asked to produce these signs for a high end holiday complex.   Kata Rocks won the Worldwide prestigious award for ‘Apartment of  the Year’  so a very high standard of craftsmanship was needed to match the overall standards achieved at Kata Rocks.  Working under pressure and producing a very high quality of work is something my studio takes great pride in.

Arranging the shipping of the slate to Bangkok and then on to Phuket was a tense experience.  After long hours, painstaking work and producing beautiful hand carvings it was very hard to hand them over to be shipped half way around the World…..Would they arrive on time?  Would they arrive in one piece?  The answer to both of these questions was YES!

We unpacked the hand carved slate signs with baited breath….they were perfect, just as they had left my studio.  The next tense moment was installing such large pieces in roasting temperatures and dealing with over helpful people who did’nt speak any English. Despite that they were installed in time and looked amazing.  They make a real statement at the entrance of such a fantastic development.  We are very proud of the finished pieces.

Hand carved slate signs by Martin Cook for Kata Rocks, Phuket

Hand carved slate signs by Martin Cook. Kata Rocks, Phuket, Thailand

Hand carved slate signs being installed. Enjoy Life by Martin Cook