Custom Marble and Design

Bruce Bennett, owner of Custom Marble and Design, began his stoneworking career as a sculptor in 1978, designing and fabricating original furniture from stone and wood.

Bruce’s connection to the historic Candora Marble building in South Knoxville began when he visited the old marble company to purchase stone for a fireplace hearth. At the time, an architect was selecting Tennessee marble for the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Bruce recalled being captivated by the rejected pieces of marble, which were being sold as scrap for $15 a ton. He left with a ton of marble.

In 1992, Bruce moved his work to Candora Marble. Custom Marble and Design’s techniques were rooted in the older craft tradition of marble work, with stone shaped and finished by hand.

In 1994, the business expanded into the fabrication and installation of stone countertops, fireplaces, flooring, and other architectural elements while continuing to create sculpture, custom artistic work, and garden designs.

Projects by Custom Marble and Design included the Old Gray Cemetery sesquicentennial project; Alex Haley Park; a triptych and altar for Blessed Sacrament Church; Olympic Gold Medal benches at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the DeBusk mansion in Knoxville, designed by Sparkman and Associates and Jane Rose; The Children’s Table at UT Gardens; the Volunteer Landing Riverfront Project in downtown Knoxville, designed by Haden Reid of Allen & Hoshall Architects; work for Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee; and an engraved marble boulder for Kimberly-Clark, donated to Knoxville’s Haley Heritage Park and designed by Stuart Butcher of McCarty Holsaple McCarty.

While most of Custom Marble and Design’s projects were located in East Tennessee, its work extended across the United States and beyond.