Slate expectations

Meet the family business that’s successfully slated many Houston hotspots

Texans love a local family business success story, even one not entirely homegrown. Forty-four years ago, father-and-son duo Clive and Stuart Rae arrived from South Africa and soon began selling slate roofing tiles to Houston home builders out of their humble shop on West 34th Street. Fresh from that initial success, Thorntree Slate launched their own line of slate flooring and the rest, as they say, is history.

Thorntree may not be a household name, even if they’re, quite literally, in your household. For 20 years and over 60 projects, Thorntree has supplied local real estate developer the Hanover Company with all of their stone surfaces — indoor and out. This includes the new and always bustling Autry Park development.

Additional projects include a number of Houston highlights: The Post Oak Hotel, Georgia James Steakhouse, MF Lobster & Ceviche, the Ismaili Center, The Laura Hotel, and the very new social club Park House.

At a meeting at Thorntree’s Jersey Village headquarters, Stuart Rae tells CultureMap that the mixed-use development along Buffalo Bayou has been a major undertaking.“Autry Park alone (which is thirteen acres), every restaurant, every wall, every unit and amenity…we did 80 units [of product] just for streets. We did that.”

Rae prides himself in that all of the porcelain tile for Thorntree is made with the finest Italian clays, but manufactured right here in America — Clarksville, Tennessee, to be exact.

“They have a huge operation. Twenty-four hours a day—it’s owned by Italians, but it’s run by Americans,” Rae says. “It’s been a great addition. All the Hanover projects, it’s all made in Tennessee. We save a huge carbon footprint [that way]. We can deliver [Italian porcelain] anywhere in the country from a central location and not from Italy. It makes our customer service impeccable — we can fly and be on site for anything.”

The Raes and their incredible line of stones are also on high display at all of the Berg Hospitality restaurants, including the newly launched Turner’s Cut. When asked how Thorntree was able to build that relationship, Rae laughs and really leans into his South African accent to say, “We just lucked upon it!”

“They [the Houston Design Center, where Thorntree keeps a secondary showroom] let us do a park setting outside our showroom. Luckily, one designer found us—she’s involved with [Ben] Berg. All of his projects are our materials.” Rae adds that the designer in question is Berg’s longtime designer Gail McCleese (formerly with Gensler), who helms her design firm Sensitori

“She works exclusively for Berg. We just lucked out that they [Berg Hospitality] decided to embark upon this big growth program, so we have all of our materials on all of their projects,” Rae says.

A major award

Access to these collaborative relationships primed Thorntree for what is an honor for the company and for Houston as well. This year Thorntree earned the award for number one distributor of Italian tile in North America by the distinguished Confindustria Ceramica (the association of Italian ceramics). Eight members of the Thorntree team traveled to Atlanta to accept the award during “Coverings,” the most notable stone exhibition in North America.

“[Winning the award] was so unbeknownst to us. They get to vote on who they believe is the best distributor every year and who really flies the Italian flag and stays true to them [Italy],” Rae says. “Number one distributor for porcelain in 2024, and it’s only once every 10 years that a company can receive this. We are just so proud of being in business for 44 years…48 people. We try to keep it under 50 people — it’s really an accomplishment for such a small company.”

Showcasing Texas designers

Thorntree, with all of their success and accolades, decided that it made sense to create a way to support local design communities within their markets — enter the mosaic competition.

With Houston as their home base, plus a burgeoning showroom in the Dallas Design District and a presence in Austin, Thorntree opened their first competition to those three markets. Reaching out to architecture and design firms, Rae said, “Use these stones and see if you can come up with a design for Houston, Dallas, and Austin.”

Rae continues, “It actually ended up being fantastic! Our team put together a power point presentation showing the 14-step process going into the [porcelain] products. It was just so much fun! We just thought that if we could just get some real designs for these markets and some creative thought, we could really make something.”

Thorntree mosaic competition winners Behold the winning designs.Courtesy of Thorntree

The competition was a success. So many firms participated that it will, according to Rae, “definitely become an annual thing. First place winners get $1,000.00 and second place gets $500.00 in each market.”

As a designer myself, and knowing that winning mosaics will be displayed and produced if purchased, I had to ask—“Do the designers get royalties?”

While these designs are very new and have yet to be purchased by anyone, Rae came through with the answer that I’m sure everyone deems appropriate: “I’d love to pay someone royalties and use these designs.” There we have it!

Without further ado, here are the winners of the Texas design triangle’s Thorntree mosaic design competition:

Houston:

First Place: Marysia Kosacka & Jeff Horning-Rottet Studios
Second Place: Diana Moreno-AV Interiors

Austin:

First Place: Ashlee Owens-(Owens has since parted ways with her affiliated firm)
Second Place: Kate Enriquez-Studio ELES

Dallas:

First Place: Blaire Reed-IA Interior Architects
Second Place: Madelyn Crowl-Boka Powell

Congratulations to all of the deserving winners. We cannot wait to see what the competition produces next.

For those not in “the trade,” it’s important to note that Thorntree is also open to the public and that their Houston headquarters is actually open on Saturdays from 9-1. While it’s unusual for a high design operation to be open on a Saturday, Rae definitely keeps it real with his reasoning—“people work!”

Photo by Brian Kennedy

See Thorntree's products at Turner's Cut.

thorntree slate post oak hotel home-design

Marburger Farm updated

Round Top's 43-acre antique show unveils renovations for spring 2026

Courtesy of Marburger Farm

Visit Marburger Farm March 24-28.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus believed that the only constant in life is change. Since 1997, the Marburger Farm Antique Show, which typically closes out both the spring and fall editions of the Round Top Antiques & Design Show, has largely remained unchanged. As enthusiastic Marburger tailgaters listen for that opening triangle to ring, everyone has their well-established and particular beeline-paths prepared in advance. But this year, change is a’comin’.

When the fall show closed last October, Marburger began a huge renovation project that included the full restoration of its historic buildings, including the original Marburger Farmhouse, Legler House, Coufal House, Zieger House, Silver Dollar Saloon, Gulf Warehouse, Dance Hall, Bingo Hall, Blacksmith Shop, and the General Store. Notably, the restoration has made it possible to add heating and air conditioning to these structures.

New additions debuting this spring include The Canteen, which is a large food pavilion overlooking the previously-underutilized pond; The Parlor, a design showcase space; a live music stage; enhanced pathways; and a communal green space designed for gathering and celebration. Over the summer, the addition of two large climate-controlled sheds and updated seating and lounge areas throughout the grounds will complete the project.

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“This is a much more intentional undertaking to really breathe life into those buildings,” Marburger CEO John Sughrue tells CultureMap. “It’s going to be very obvious — when on the property — what we’ve done. The vision for what we’re doing was establishing a greater sense of place, and a greater sense of community.”

While fans may worry that these improvements may impact the charming and rustic aesthetic that shoppers have come to expect at Marburger, the overall experience should remain the same. Once randomly strewn across the 43-acre property, the historic structures have been gathered together around a newly-hardscaped central square. New green spaces are intended to evoke a sense of nostalgia, the layout inspired by the Texas Courthouse Square. At one end, the western-facing pavilion will overlook the pond and rolling hills, and adjacent to that, the familiar 90,000-square-feet of tented shopping remain unchanged.

“One thing that is apparent about Marburger is that people have a real sense of connection with it, a sense of history, and take a personal interest in it,” says Sughrue. “You’ll see that in the level of craftsmanship, the placemaking, and how we have, in essence, redeveloped the existing historical buildings.”

One of the things Sughrue is enthusiastic about is the ability to participate in the winter show, as well as inviting exhibitors who left for climate-controlled venues to return home to Marburger. Improved facilities for their local and beloved food and beverage vendors make for expanded offerings and shorter lines — a notion sure to please even the most staunch Marburger purists.

“We are trying very much to maintain the Texas heritage of Marburger,” Sughrue says. “I consider us guardians or stewards of the brand. I consider Marburger a brand like Blue Bell Ice Cream or the State Fair of Texas. There is something very much rooted in the land, very much rooted in how generations now have engaged with Marburger and in Round Top. We are trying to hold tight to being a heritage brand, while positioning for the future — that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Sughrue is all too aware of some of the sentiments that were shared five years ago when Marburger was purchased by “these Dallas guys” [real estate development firm Brook Partners]. In the last four years, they have listened to vendors and guests alike to learn how they can improve the show experience for their core audience: top exhibitors, designers, architects, and vendors. While he finds the relatively-recent glitterati element in Round Top to be amusing, it’s not something he’s interested in attracting or catering to specifically. So, everyone can let out a sigh of relief on that concern.

“These are designers who come into Round Top, and to Marburger in particular, and they are very important to our success. We attract some of the best exhibitors in the country, if not the world,” explains Sughrue. “Day one they meet with designers who have flown in from all over the country. Our focus is being a resource to those designers and architects — that’s what’s driving our business. We are not a lifestyle offering, and we are not trying to be all things to all people.”

At the end of the day, Sughrue’s overall goal is connecting the best exhibitors to the best buyers. “Everything else that happens in Round Top is just noise.” He loves the generational aspect of Marburger, oftentimes noticing three generations shopping together in the tents.

“Y’all make a tough crowd, I’ll tell you that,” Sughrue says with a laugh. “I think we are going to get more of it right than wrong, and what we get wrong — we are going to listen very hard to people — we are going to make that right. I promise you that. Marburger captivates me. It just devours all of my time and attention, but how lucky am I?! All these issues surround purpose-driven lives, and we get to work on Marburger to bring a community of people together to celebrate design, antiques, Texas. It’s like the American Dream is alive and well on the Round Top fields during Marburger. It’s just an incredible collection of people.”

Visit the refreshed Marburger Farms from Tuesday, March 24 to Saturday, March 28. Purchase tickets at marburgerfarm.com.

Courtesy of Marburger Farm

Visit Marburger Farm March 24-28.

marburger farm round top shopping