business & professional

Aisles Of Tiles

Concerned about
your Memory?

Funky new surface now exclusively
available at Ciot.

Sign up for a half hour

session and our expert staff
will help you:

Evaluate your memory

Vetrazzo, created from empty beer, wine and vodka bottles, makes a
statement on kitchen surfaces.

Jackie Headapohi
Managing Editor

W

hat can you get from
empty beer, wine and
vodka bottles? Besides
one doozy of a hangover, you could
get Vetrazzo, an original recycled glass
surface now exclusively available at
Ciot, a provider of marble, stone and
ceramic slabs and tiles.
On Nov. 10, Bennie
Spielmann, owner
of the Ciot store on
Coolidge Highway
in Troy, threw a
party for vendors,
designers and other
customers to cel-
ebrate becoming the
Benny
exclusive
Michigan
Spielmann
distributor of this
cool new product
made from recycled materials.
Spielmann, who moved here from
Israel in 1999 to earn a master's
degree in architecture at Lawrence
Technological University, ended up
opening a small tile and stone busi-
ness after an initial foray into the
world of architecture. That's when he
became a customer of Montreal-based
Ciot, which currently has seven show-
rooms in the U.S.
"I had the opportunity to become a
partner to Ciot in 2008 and open the
first U.S. location," Spielmann said.
Ciot Group owner Joe Panzera was
in town from Montreal to attend the
party. "The Michigan showroom isn't
the biggest?' he said. "But it certainly is
one of the nicest."

That may be an understatement.
The building did win a "Best of Troy"
award in 2008 from the Troy Chamber
of Commerce. Walking into the ele-
gant, opulent and spacious showroom,
you're almost overwhelmed by the
choices of glass, marble, granite, slate
and onyx slabs and tiles from all over
the world on display.
Don't be too quick to think that Ciot
is beyond your budget, however. "We
cater to a range of budgets and styles:'
Spielmann said. "Some of our tiles are
less expensive than you'd find in the
Home Depot across the street?'
Trendy Vetrazzo isn't one of those
less expensive tiles. "It's made one slab
at a time [in Tate, Ga.], and it never
goes through a machine," Panzera
said."That slow production adds to
its cost?'
It is affordable, however, for coun-
tertops, bars and bathroom vanities.
"It's a really fun product:' said
designer Jill Schumacher of Rariden,
Schumacher Mio Interior Design in
Birmingham, who was enjoying the
festivities. "It's great for a kid's play-
room or a funky laundry room:'
Schumacher often shops at Ciot for
her residential clients. "They have a
great selection of natural stone and
well-priced porcelains," she added.
Spielmann, who lives with wife
Katie and children Noam, 5, and Talia,
3, in Huntington Woods, was having
the time of his life schmoozing with
guests.
"People can't sell their homes in
this economy, so they renovate,' he
said. "Business has been getting better
every year?' [A

Determine if the Memory
Club is right for you

Wednesday, November 30
10 am to 2:30 pm

JVS
29699 Southfield Road
Southfield, MI 48076

RSVP to Ronnie Berman at
(248) 233-4247 by November 29.

e

rjtEMORV CLUB

A program ofJVS and Jewish Senior Life

Dorothy & Peter Brown Jewish Comm un ity
ADULT DAY CA RE
RE

Realizin

WE'RE PART OF THE TEAM

November 24 - 2011

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