Picture the way most slab yards work. You pull into a lot, walk through a yard baking in the California sun, slide heavy slabs in and out of A-frames while a forklift moves past, squinting at stone in conditions that make it nearly impossible to see what you’re actually buying.
Now picture the opposite.
That’s The Slab Studio.
“We are an indoor boutique slab showroom that caters to supporting the trades,” says Josiah Lilly, founder of The Slab Studio and one of the most experienced stone and tile professionals in Southern California. “I wanted to create an environment that was completely unique — one that was really focused on the beauty of the material.”
The Slab Studio is the only showroom of its kind in Southern California: a curated, temperature-controlled, beautifully lit indoor space in Santa Ana where trade professionals can shop for premium natural stone slabs the way they deserve to — calmly, carefully, and with an espresso in hand.
The Moment That Started It All: A Visit to Antolini in Italy
The idea for The Slab Studio was born on a trip to Italy for a tile and stone trade show. While there, Josiah visited the indoor showroom of Antolini — one of Italy’s most celebrated natural stone companies — and had a moment of clarity he hasn’t stopped thinking about since.
“I found myself staring at slabs I would not normally have stared at. And I realized it was because of the environment. You’re drinking a glass of wine. You’re walking around this indoor space with nice lighting and music playing. And I thought — why does no one do this? You’re spending $10,000 on a marble slab. Why wouldn’t you have an environment where you can actually see it, feel it, and understand the beauty you’re capturing?”
That question became The Slab Studio. Josiah returned to California and built what he had seen in Italy — adapted for Orange County’s trade community and elevated with his own standards for quality, service, and relationship.
What Does ‘Trade Only’ Actually Mean at The Slab Studio?
This is one of the most common questions The Slab Studio receives — and the answer matters, especially for interior designers and fabricators who have been burned by slab yards that claim to protect the trade and then quietly sell around them.
Here’s how it works at The Slab Studio:
The showroom is open to everyone. Any homeowner, any client, anyone curious about natural stone is welcome to walk through, browse the collection, and spend as much time as they’d like looking at materials. They can even put a slab on hold.
But the purchase itself — the actual transaction — goes through a trade professional. That means a designer, a fabricator, a general contractor, a tile store, or an architect.
If a homeowner falls in love with a piece of Calacatta marble, The Slab Studio works with them to find out who is fabricating their kitchen or managing their project — then connects with that professional to complete the sale. The homeowner gets the material they want. The trade professional protects their margin. Everyone wins.
“I don’t want your clients. I’m never going to try to cannibalize your business by taking them. Just from a business perspective — why would I want one of your clients when I could have a hundred of your projects? It doesn’t make sense.”
Why The Slab Studio Was Built to Protect the Trade
The trade protection model at The Slab Studio isn’t just a policy — it’s the entire reason the business exists.
In his decades running Epic Ceramic & Stone and Famosa Tile, Josiah had seen the same scenario play out too many times. A fabricator spends weeks with a client, finding and specifying the perfect slabs, earning the relationship — only to have the slab yard quietly sell the same material to the client directly at the same price. Cutting the professional out entirely.
“There has to be some profit in there in order to sustain your business,” Josiah says. “A source has to exist that supports the trade. So I became that source.”
When The Slab Studio first opened, some in the trade were skeptical. Everyone says they’ll protect you. No one ever does. Josiah’s response was simple: give us one shot. Prove us wrong.
“And then I proved that I was exactly as good as my word and would do exactly what I said I was going to do. Now some of those tile stores have become our very best clients — because we’ve proved to them, over and over again, that we are here to give their clients a great experience and to protect them.”
What’s in the Showroom: Premium Slabs from Italy, Brazil, and Portugal
The Slab Studio carries an intentionally curated selection of natural stone slabs — not the biggest inventory in Southern California, but the best.
Primary materials include marble, quartzite, limestone, dolomite, onyx, and a selection of semi-precious slabs. Every piece is sourced from premium origins — primarily Italy, Brazil, and Portugal — and selected to meet the quality metrics Josiah has developed over 35 years in the stone and tile industry.
“You can find a Calacatta marble that retails for seventy-five dollars a square foot or one that retails for one hundred and seventy-five,” he explains. “Usually the difference is that one is unbalanced — the veining is inconsistent, there are pits, the color is off on one side. It’s like a diamond: two stones of the same species can be completely different quality and price points. We only bring in the top quality.”
Every slab at The Slab Studio is book-matched — meaning slabs are purchased and stored in sequential order from the same block, so clients who need multiple pieces can select material that will mirror and flow correctly across their space.
The selection is always current. The Slab Studio brings in materials that are both trending and timeless — never chasing volume, always prioritizing the materials that create the most special environments.
The Shopping Experience: How a Visit to The Slab Studio Works
Walking into The Slab Studio, you’ll find one slab from each material on display in the climate-controlled showroom. The rest — entire sequential runs — are organized in the warehouse behind it.
When a designer or fabricator comes in for a specific project, the team starts by understanding exactly what they need: the application, the size, the vein direction, the movement level the client prefers. Then they pull the relevant slabs from the warehouse — side by side — so the professional can see exactly how the pieces will look together in the actual installation.
For clients who want to preview materials before visiting in person, everything is photographed and available on an iPad in the showroom. Because all slabs are purchased sequentially, what you see on the showroom floor is an accurate representation of what’s available in the warehouse.
Espresso is always on. Bottled still water is always available. So is the time and expertise of a team that genuinely loves this material and wants to help you find exactly the right one.
Price Protection Explained: What It Means and Why It Matters
Price protection is the foundation of The Slab Studio’s trade model — and it’s the thing Josiah is most emphatic about delivering.
At The Slab Studio, retail pricing and trade pricing are separate and maintained with integrity. A trade professional’s pricing reflects their relationship, their volume, and the trust they’ve built — and that pricing is never shared with their clients or undercut by the yard.
“The trade makes their living off of that spread,” Josiah explains. “That profit margin is what sustains their business. We protect it. Always. Because we want our partners to stay alive and stay in business — and when they thrive, so do we.”
This commitment extends beyond pricing. The Slab Studio has held materials for extended periods for clients working through long construction timelines. When trade partners have had slabs damaged on a job, The Slab Studio has replaced them at cost — not because there was a contract requiring it, but because that’s what partners do.
“It’s all about the relationships we’re building. I just ask for the opportunity to earn your business and prove to you that I’m a man of my word — and that we will deliver exactly as we promised.”
Meet the Team Leading Day-to-Day at The Slab Studio
The Slab Studio’s day-to-day is led by Jill Kummer, Sales Director and one of the most knowledgeable stone professionals in Southern California.
Jill brings 27 years of industry experience to every client interaction — a depth of knowledge that translates directly into better recommendations, fewer mistakes, and a shopping experience that feels collaborative rather than transactional. She has been with The Slab Studio for five years and has built some of the deepest and most loyal relationships in the showroom’s history.
“Jill loves to go above and beyond for her clients,” Josiah says. “She wants to make sure that their experience with her and with the materials they purchase exceeds their expectations. Every time.”
Alongside Jill, Vanessa — Josiah’s business partner across The Slab Studio as well as Famosa — brings an additional layer of leadership and deep industry relationships to the team. Her background in high-end stone and tile sales is woven into the DNA of how the showroom operates.
Rounding out the team is Marlon, the showroom’s outside sales professional. In his first months on the team, Marlon has brought an energy and ambition to trade outreach that reflects the standard Josiah holds across all three of his businesses. With four years of industry experience and a relentless drive to build relationships, he is quickly becoming a trusted resource for designers and fabricators throughout Southern California.
The Vision: A Slab Experience Unlike Anything in Southern California
The Slab Studio has been open for eight years, and Josiah says the learning curve has been steep — and valuable. Every year, the team gets better at anticipating what trade professionals need, how to serve them faster, and how to create a shopping experience that’s worth making the trip for.
What’s next for The Slab Studio stays mostly under wraps — there’s something in the works that Josiah describes only as innovative, and which is currently in the process of being patented. More on that as it becomes public later this year.
What doesn’t change: the commitment to the trade. To quality. To integrity. To being the slab resource that Southern California’s designers, fabricators, and tile professionals can rely on — completely, every time.
| The Slab Studio is Southern California’s premier indoor, trade-only slab showroom, located in Santa Ana, California. If you are a designer, fabricator, contractor, architect, or tile professional and would like to experience the collection, visit theslabstudio.com or follow @the_slabstudio. |
Meta description: The Slab Studio in Santa Ana is Southern California’s only indoor, trade-only boutique slab showroom. Here’s what it is, who it serves, and why the region’s top designers, fabricators, and tile stores keep coming back.
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