I quit my safe architecture job with 3 kids and no real plan.
At the time, that felt equal parts brave and stupid.

What kept bothering me was the materials.

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I was designing spaces I cared about, but specifying products full of stuff I could barely name, knowing a lot of it would be ripped out and sent to landfill a few years later.

So I started messing around in the spare room of our rental.
A few 3D printers. A lot of failed ideas. A lot of doubt.

Later, I took over an old woodwork shop at Wesley Intermediate. The kids used it in the day. I used it at night. I’d watch mates move ahead in big firms while I was there at 1am trying to make something work that did not exist yet.

Then the first real order came in. Plastic bags into panels for Torpedo7 Newmarket.

That was the first moment I thought, maybe this idea has a chance.
Not long after, we raised money and built our first factory.

Then a tornado ripped the roof off.

I really thought that might be the end of us. But it became one of the reasons we survived.

Friends, churches, customers, and our wider community turned up and helped us rebuild. That kind of support stays with you.

Today Cleanstone is being used by architects and designers across Aotearoa, and I still carry those early years with me.

That’s why we do this. To give people a better material choice.
One that backs good design without creating so much waste.

If you’re working on a project this year, I reckon it’s worth asking:
What happens to this material in 5 years?

And is there a better option?
Jump on cleanstone.criticaldesign.nz and I'll send you a teaser tile.

What would you have done in my shoes?

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