How It All Started
Stuart and his dad, Clive, set up shop in 1980, shortly after the Rae family arrived in Texas from South Africa (listen to Stuart’s accent). The first shop was a small office and adjoining warehouse on West 34th Street in Houston, TX. They primarily sold slate roof tiles to a small group of forward-thinking custom home builders but it didn’t take long for the father – son duo to begin calling on architects from an old relic known as the Houston Yellow Pages. Thorntree has grown exponentially over the last 46 years and continues to offer top tier products and customer service.




