Set in Stone

The tiles, backsplashes, and countertops for sale at the new Fossil Interiors showroom on Wooster Street give new meaning to the word “antique”: They’re prehistoric.Quarried from the Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming, the pale limestone blocks are peppered with the fossilized remains of plants and animals from the Eocene Epoch – dating back more than 50 million years – and are as magnificently preserved as any museum specimen.“Everyone’s first reaction is disbelief,” said Doug Miller, who along with Tom Lindgren and Greg Lako is a co-owner of Fossil Interiors and its parent company, Green River Stone. “They look at the tiles and just can’t believe that they are real.” Indeed, while the fossils most people handle in science class are small, beetle-shaped trilobites, the Green River stones showcase a veritable catalog of tropical flora and fauna. Great sea turtles paddle across smooth expanses of stone; palm fronds are suspended mid-sway in golden tiles, and schools of spiny fish float against a blue shale background, in pursuit of smaller prey. The Green River fossil formation was discovered more than 100 years ago and has long been celebrated by amateur and professional geologists and paleontologists alike. It was that reputation that led Mr. Miller to the site more than 20 years ago. “I was just a rock hound living in Utah at the time,” he said. “But it was with Greg and Tom that I realized we could do something really exciting by presenting the fossils on a larger scale.” Armed with that idea, the partners purchased a 13-acre parcel of quarry and set to work training staffers to excavate each stratum of stone by hand, to reveal the submerged fossil remnants.Though Fossil Interiors has been selling their products via the Internet, through kitchen and bath suppliers, and at trade shows for the past five years, the new Wooster Street showroom is the company’s first shop dedicated solely to the line. The store is hung ceiling high with massive hand-cut panels, lining the walls like cave paintings. In the back of the showroom, a small counter displays a sampling of 6-by-6-inch tiles dotted with miniature fish, which are popular as accent pieces in kitchens and bathrooms. Prices range from $10 for a 6-by-6-inch tile to $10,000 for a 35-by-44-inch fish panel to $75,000 for a 78-by-61-inch giant palm mural.In addition to the pre-cut pieces, Fossil Interiors also lets customers order sized-to-fit countertops, vanity covers, backsplashes, and tiles, allowing for a choice of fossil formations and background hue that varies according to the stratum from which the stone is cut. Custom orders now account for 30% of the company’s business, and with the expansion into the New York market, Mr. Miller expects that figure to grow.“People respond to touch,” Mr. Miller said, “and you simply can’t get a tactile sense for fossils in a museum where you’re constantly told not to touch.” By giving fossils a place in ordinary homes, Mr. Miller and his partners hope to promote prehistoric art that is as functional as it is beautiful. Topped with a penetrating silicon sealant, the countertops and tiles give off a luminous sheen and are meant to last another 50 million years.In a stone market dominated by commercial giants who quarry in massive volumes, Fossil Interiors is a rare business dedicated to fine, individual craftsmanship and respect for nature. “We try to use every piece of stone we quarry,” Mr. Miller said, “because every one is precious. There’s a real story in them. It’s history.”Fossil Interiors, 51 Wooster St., 212-219-2656.

Set in Stone

Set in Stone

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