My life as a stonemason
+year 1 of Lucetti Masonry

This is page dedicated to my life as a stonemason and how I got here.

If you haven't realised by now, I and me refer to Riccardo Lucetti the owner of Lucetti Masonry.

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My Career started back in 2011 as an apprentice, I started to work with the local council repairing and rebuilding old stone bridges in the lake district. 

Doing this I worked with and learned from some fantastic stonemasons. During my time with the council I also studied at York college one of, if not the best college to learn the craft and art of stone masonry. 

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Then it started, my travelling around to the best stonemasons I could to learn from. From the small town of Workington in the sleepy west Cumbrian hills, to work in the big city of Leeds. This wouldn't be a time I would look back fondly over however, there were some positives that I wouldn't be able to see for myself for a few years.

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Mental fortitude, resilience and determination are all things that come to mind when I think back to my time in Yorkshrie. Pressure from management led to stress, which led to spending time in hospital with heart problems at the ripe old age of 20. 

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We can start to see why I wasn't overly fond of my time in Yorkshire.

It did however lead to me ultimately become the man and stonemason I am today. The stonemasons I worked with in Yorkshire are still good friends to this today. At this point I would like to make a special mention of Bob who has recently passed, a good man and stonemason to boot. Thank you for everything. 

 

Malley who still calls me regularly after his retirement taught me in the ways of stone restoration. A top stonemason dedicated to his craft, he always continued to help me inspite of ongoing issues at work. However looking back now everything that happened to me during those times, which I won't go into here, made me stronger as a person and has only served to help me through out the rest of my career. 

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After 12 months I moved on again. This time to the leafy suburbs of Chesire. Here I had taken on the role of the 'in-house stonemason' for a landscaping company. This was one of my most enjoyable roles I had in my career, building stone walls for luxury houses in gardens the size of public parks. As the saying goes, all good things come to end and here is where I discovered how I need to plan and to be 2 or 3 steps ahead of where I'm presently working. As a youth its very easy to focus on only where you are but if you don't have a plan for whats next, either on that job or life in general you may find yourself a bit lost. That's where I was after my time in Chesire, what was next, do I even want to carry on?

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Time to refresh my brain and re-discover what I wanted to do with my life. Where better to do that for a young Anglo/Italian than with his Nonna. (an Italian grandma for the uninformed) So off to Carlisle I went, I was fed (a lot), I was housed and generally afforded the time to get my head back together. After 6 month I knew what I wanted. Stone masonry was calling back to me, the itch to be in place where I felt strong enough to start a business to follow in my nonno's footsteps was stronger than ever. 

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However, I knew I wasn't experienced enough at this point and I also knew my next step had to be the right one. 

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Off to Staffordshire I went. Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Stoke-On-Trent and Cheadle where all placed I looked at living, eventually settling in Cheadle for a few years before meeting a girl, getting married and starting a family in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. 

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Prior to that though I spent 6 years working for a stonemason in Staffordshire, meeting and learning from probably some of the best stonemasons I've met. Dedicated I worked hard and became the stonemason I am today. 

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Finally I was there, the place I always wanted to be. Good enough, experienced enough, strong enough to start my own stone masonry company. With bated breath I have taken the step. 

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As of writing a year  in to this journey, I have met many wonderful stonemasons and have had some fantastic clients. Its not been without its challenges, but anything worth having isn't easy.

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So to everyone that has helped me on this journey so far thank you. 

To all my past, present and future clients, thank you for your kind reviews, tips and your business. I will continue to strive to provide top quality service and top quality craftsmanship. 

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Looking forward to the next 12 months to update you all on the progress of Lucetti Masonry 

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Yours truely,

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Riccardo Lucetti