As October settles in and the light turns golden, we find ourselves drawn to the materials that make a home feel warm. This month, we're studying three makers who bring that warmth to stone, metal, and clay. Kreoo carves Italian stone into quiet sculpture. Ashley Norton turns a simple handle into something worth reaching for. McIntyre Tile glazes clay by hand, just as it has since 1972. Each is part of a larger collection we've curated for homes where every finish tells a story.

Marble, reconsidered. Kreoo's bath collection is proof that stone still has new things to say. Five decades of Italian craft, distilled into a single pursuit: how far can marble go?

Kreoo emerged in 2010, carrying five decades of Italian stoneworking heritage from Decormarmi into an entirely new register. The result is marble treated less as material and more as subject, unpredictable and worth pushing past its own limits. Set against wood, Murano glass, and metal, Kreoo's bath pieces read as compositions first and fixtures second. Every commission is developed stone by stone with the specifier, an act of collaboration rather than selection. Kreoo offers something rare, material honesty, executed at the highest level of craft.

Since 1987, Ashley Norton has approached hardware as architecture in miniature. Founded on European engineering principles and brought to American doors, the company has spent nearly four decades refining the details some never think to notice: the weight of a lever, the precision of a latch, the way a knob

feels against the hand.

That devotion shows in every material choice. Each piece is forged from solid brass or sand cast in bronze by third generation artisans.The collection spans door hardware, cabinet pulls, and bath accessories, in styles from timeless traditional to clean contemporary. Finishes range from polished nickel and satin brass to deep, earthy bronzes. Living finishes like Unlacquered Brass and Dark Bronze slowly develop a patina, becoming richer and more personal with each passing year.

Since 1972, McIntyre Tile has been making tile by hand in Healdsburg, California, in the heart of wine country. The company was founded by a group of ceramicists who loved artisanal pottery and set out to bring that studio craft to architectural surfaces. Their first stoneware collection quickly won over San Francisco's architects and designers with its warm, earthy character. More than fifty years later, that

devotion to the handmade still defines every piece that leaves their studio.

Each McIntyre tile is made to order and finished by hand, subtle shifts in color and sheen from piece to piece are part of the design, giving each installation depth and movement that make each application unique. Their metallic glazes are layered to catch the light with their own tone and shimmer. Their textured surfaces bring a sculptural quality to any wall: a translucent glaze reveals every detail of the relief, while an opaque one softens it into something quieter. With hand painted decoratives, carved relief accents, mosaics, glazed thin brick, and custom colors, sizes, and trims, a vision rarely has to be compromised.

Gluten Free Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Notes: If your flour does not contain xanthan gum add 1/8 teaspoon to keep the cake from being crumbly.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°, grease a 9" cake pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine your apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice, toss together and set aside
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, xanthan gum (if you're using) baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate large bowl mix together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs and vanilla to your butter mixture and beat until smooth.
6. Add in your dry ingredients and mix.
7. Scrape two - thirds of your batter in with your apples and coat all apples in the batter.
8. Transfer the remaining batter into your greased cake pan and spread evenly.
9. Layer the apple batter mixture in the cake pan spreading evenly.
10. Cover your cake pan lightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Remove the foil and bake another 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.
12. Let the cake cool and run a spatula along the edge to release cake. Transfer to a plate and serve as desired.