Mikhal Zambon, artScape: Las Vegas

Zambon (her name is pronounced Michael Zam-BONE) racked up these high-end credits during her 11 years as a designer for arCon, a Las Vegas company that is no longer in business. It was unusual for a concrete company to hire a designer, let alone a designer who at the time knew nothing about concrete, but it turned out to be a fruitful move for everyone involved.

Mikhal Zambon (third from left) with husband and co-owner Mike Anderson (fourth from left), business partner Cheryl Hart (fourth from the right), and the crew of artScape: Las Vegas.

The artistry of arCon's floors rose to new heights as Zambon, unburdened by preconceptions of what you can and can't do with concrete, discovered that any pattern she could devise, no matter how complex, could be saw-cut or sandblasted into a floor. Zambon fell in love with the medium and found in it a profitable niche for her artistic talent.

In college, Zambon started out as an architecture student, but soon gravitated toward design, studying interior design, graphic design and even apparel design. Uncertain of which field she wanted to pursue, she took a break from the books to gain some real-world experience — a decision that led her to a field of design she hadn't anticipated: concrete.

This twist of fate seems less surprising when you consider that her Italian-immigrant grandfather ran a terrazzo, tile and marble flooring shop in Houston. While Zambon wasn't exactly born with kneeboards on, she certainly has decorative flooring in her blood.

In 2001, Zambon and her husband, Mike Anderson (who served as vice president of construction and general manager at arCon for five years), struck out on their own. Their company, artScape: Las Vegas, continues in the tradition of arCon, but on a smaller scale, concentrating on upscale residential and commercial jobs.

Listen in as she shares her experience with Concrete Decor magazine.

Where do the designs for your floors come from?
Everywhere and nowhere. I collect things that I find interesting in a four-inch thick binder: everything from area-rug patterns, color composition, border patterns, textile design and stained-glass designs. You never know what is going to inspire you or your client.

I saw an abstract geometric design on one of your floors that looks like it was inspired by the modernist painter Piet Mondrian, and I saw a bathroom that looked like it was inspired by the Flintstones, which raises the question: Who has influenced your work?

You obviously haven't seen any of my Jetson's-inspired work! Anyway, that's why I keep my scrapbook of patterns and designs — you just don't know what will inspire your next project. I like the simplistic lines of Mondrian, Mies van der Rohe and Corbusier, and got that exposure thanks to the architecture and graphics background. I love the detail in Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass panels. He is one of my favorite architects. Frank made concrete a respectable material inside a structure as well as out. He would love to see where it's going today.

How do you do those incredible woven patterns? Is that sort of a signature look of yours?
It may have become a signature, but it started out as just an idea I liked. I love creating trompe l'oeil “area rugs,” and the first woven border I came across that inspired those was actually a recessed ceiling detail I found in a set of plans for Treasure Island.

Since then I've been obsessive about finding border details and patterns, which I horde in my book. I guess my signature, if you could call it that, is to create things in concrete or toppings that you can't get in any other medium.

We all know stained concrete is not a cheap alternative to carpet. Far from it. When your competition is wood, stone, tile or terrazzo, you need to be able to give clients something they might not be able to get anywhere else.