If we’re not working at our desks, chances are we’re scouting the corners of the UAE, constantly discovering new places, new suppliers, and new ways of making the things that we make.

Our Fabrica team is big on harnessing and understanding the kind of materials we can source locally, taking advantage of this rich pool to create better, more interesting and more durable designs. Whether it’s the process of learning how to use what others don’t want to, turning waste into something valuable or replacing materials with ‘cleaner’ alternatives — every intention is rooted in a circular mindset. That’s the vision that sends us on regular 3 hour drives from Abu Dhabi, up into the northern parts of the UAE, to a rock quarry tucked into the side of the Hajar mountain range. A place full of random slabs of rock, giant saw blades that slice through granite and a lot of dust. Our latest trip unlocked surprising possibilities.

Every trip, no matter how many times we’ve done it, begins by touring the warehouse with quarry workers, absorbing the scale and energy of the site. Rusty monster saws cutting massive rocks with surgical precision, down to the size of 2 cm, the buzzing sounds filling the warehouse. In a cinematic touch, daylight was pooling in from every direction, wrapping the grungy and dusty atmosphere in a soft glow.

At every corner, we saw more boulders and machines lined up against the industrial backdrop. But our attention slowly shifted to the pile of discarded rocks kept outside.

Our curiosity peaked at the sight of this pile, wondering how we could take this waste home with us and find ways to use it. After collecting samples of rock bits and powder, we headed back to our Musaffah warehouse, where the real magic kicked in and a series of questions popped up:

How can we transform quarry waste into usable products?

What happens when we mix rock powder with other materials?

How far can we experiment with the physical properties of our sample?

What tools and techniques can we bring in while testing?

These questions led us down two paths of testing.

The first path involved mixing rock powder with Jesmonite — a smooth, white composite material with subtle black speckles, used to craft anything from cladding to coasters. We typically blend Jesmonite with desert sand, but that tended to wash out its natural color. Luckily, swapping in rock powder kept its original richness intact, an outcome we were super happy with.

A second testing route explores how our rock powder can be used to create a glaze mixture that’s low in silica (a compound heavily found in red clay and sand). We’re still iterating on the results and hoping to fire up the final mix soon to check out the finishing and consistency.

Moral of the story; eureka moments happen out there, in the middle of a quarry, on a drive out in the desert, where we get close to the source of our designs — handling the raw materials and witnessing the artisans, suppliers, and communities at work, deep in their element.

We’re still just scratching the surface of possibilities, but we’re excited to see and show what’s next.

Stay tuned for more hunts, finds and ideas across the UAE and most importantly the outcomes of this RaK Rocks trip.