Happy New Year! I hope everyone was able to take some time to relax with family and friends during the holiday season. Because I know, at least for myself and our Stone World staff, the start of 2024 is going to be busy.

In a few weeks, we will be heading to Las Vegas, where we will probably run into many of you. Informa, the organizers of the International Surface Event (TISE): SURFACES | StonExpo | TileExpo, have been working tirelessly to develop new show features and improve upon existing ones. Both the Natural Stone Pavilion and Manufactured Surfaces Pavilion are expected to be main focal points of StonExpo. There will also be numerous educational sessions on and off the exhibit floor, as well as live demonstrations of machinery, tooling and other products.

Also, if you are at TISE, make sure to come by for our Stone World Fabricator of the Year Award presentation, which will be held by the Natural Stone Institute’s booth on the afternoon of Thursday, January 25th. We had several incredible candidates this year. We thank everyone who took the time to cast a vote.

You can learn more details about what to expect at TISE 2024 in the preview.

In a few weeks, we will also kick off the new season of the Stone Industry Education events that we organize each year with the Natural Stone Institute. We have a great lineup of host companies and speakers in nine cities across the U.S. You can find more information on the program and schedule here.

On the tile side, I will be on my way to Spain at the end of February to attend Cevisama in Valencia. I am always appreciative to Tile of Spain to invite me to be a part of their delegation.

In addition to getting to visit many different places and meet up with old industry friends and make new ones, attending all of these events provides us with the opportunity to learn about new products and trends, as well as to hear about issues affecting industry members. In turn, we share our findings with our audience through articles, podcasts and video interviews.

So stay tuned. We look forward to another year of covering the stone and tile industries and being the source of information for all industry members.