European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 10, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Focus a worker varnishes the final product. By Diana Valdez staff writer White powder covers everything inc. Floors the Walls the people. It lies an Inch thick in some places even More in others. The powder puffs up softly from underfoot As workers pass by. Near the machines that grind he soft Stone the powder is heaped in piles As High As 3 feel. There s a heavy dust in the air that looks like fog London fog. And even though Large ventilators try to push the dust out of the 30-by-90-foot room it s hard to see from one end to the other. The workers Are covered with the Fine dust. The creases in their unprotected faces and hands Are full and detailed with the powder. Their faces and clothes a e splotches in White. Their hair sticking out from under hats looks prematurely Gray. The dust invades untouched areas so quickly that one employee pm Trio Irarra uses in air Blower every 10 minutes to Clear his eyeglasses. Welcome to the san Jose Ala Hasler factory in Contr Wingo Spain. There Are five of these buildings with 50 employees hurriedly cutting grinding and carving the translucent Stone that looks like Marble. There s no sue h thing As a school to train the workers How to do their jobs. Mom Trade secrets Are passed Down from father to son. An Artisan May Start by pushing a wheelbarrow and gradually work his Way up. Lacarra who s been with the factory 15 years makes the popular plates and roses. The intricate detail that goes into the plates and makes them collector s items takes Lacarra four to five hours to Complete. His two Brothers Simon and Tomas also work at the factory. The sons followed in the footsteps of their retired father Julian. Outside the building that contains Lacarra s work area huge boulders Are piled ready for the transformation. More than 24 tons of Alabaster is brought to the factory every Day. The soft Stone comes from an area Between Zarago a and Teruel along the Ebro River. The boulders which measure about 5 feet across Are sliced into manageable pieces before they re moved into one of the five buildings. It s not like working with Clay or holds. Most the pieces Are made from a solid piece of Rock said  Galdon pay a manager at the factory. The Blades on the machines  carve the pieces Are sharpened every 15 minutes. It s surprising that the employees Don t use masks inside the dust filled buildings. But pay explained that the workers become used to the dust and lie said the Carbon particles arc probably More beneficial to their health than harmful. After the carving the pieces Are cleaned twice with air guns. They have to be perfectly cleaned so the varnish will hold said . Coloured varnish is next. After two Coats of varnish the design is put on. Then the piece is varnished once again. Between each coat the pieces Are placed in a Kiln set at 68 degrees fahrenheit. If it s too hot the varnish will Bubble up and crack pay said. The finished product is inspected before the official Seal is attached and the piece is packed for shipment. The company Sells its wares at a variety of stores harrods in London Badawe in Berlin and Montgomery Ward in the states. We Send a representative out to these stores to see if it s the kind of place to sell our merchandise in said pay. Although there Are other factories in the area pay said the san lose factory deals with Large orders and the others sell locally. To sell everywhere he said. We know what people like in different countries. France likes the columns. Japan likes the mirrors and lamps. America likes  october 10, ims stripes