The Founding of Bella Dura

Robert Day had been working with the Limestone of the Yucatan when he sought to create a name reflective of it’s beauty and strength.  He then authored the brand name Bella Dura in 1989 to reflect in title the qualities of the Limestone of the Yucatan.  Bella Dura translates as beautiful and durable and we only produce beautiful and durable Natural Stone architectural appointments from the Limestone of the Yucatan for residential and commercial projects.  We are a forty plus year old company with its own quarrying and fabrication facility in the Yucatan of Mexico.

Our Specialty is the production of Custom Dimensional Natural Stone architectural appointments.  We produce all classic and custom columns, colonnades, arbors, pilasters, baluster systems, grand entryways, pediments, quoins, belt-courses, wall cladding, vaulting, coffered panels, and wainscoting; moldings and millwork for doors, windows, crown, base; sills, thresholds, corbels, keys, brackets, wall coping, caps, pool and spa copings, paving and flooring, staircases, fireplace mantels; lavatory sinks, tubs, showers; kitchen stove hoods, sinks, backsplashes and counters; pedestals, finials, tables, garden appointments, sculpture, signage, and more.

The Associates

Robert Day, CEO

Robert Day is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Economics and a J.D. in Law. In 1975 Robert moved his interests into producing and marketing building materials and founded the predecessor of Bella Dura.  In 1989 Robert created Bella Dura to reflect in title the Limestone of the Yucatan.  His interest in introducing the Limestone of the Yucatan into the U.S. building market was inspired by the beauty, strength, and heritage of dimensional stone production in the region.  He eventually forged a partnership with Sr. May, a graduate of Technological Institute of Mérida and notably the most revered stone craftsman of the region.  From there they worked together to create the factory that has grown from very modest beginnings to the present capacity that has served a large and growing portfolio of notable architectural projects in the U. S. and abroad.

Mary Kay Davis, Principal

Mary Kay Davis is a graduate of Kansas State University with a B.F.A. and Louisiana State University with a M.F.A. in Ceramics.  With a keen interest in industry and the arts, she produced prototypes and bas-relief tile design for the precursor to Bella Dura and produced murals plus designed and produced full room architectural bas-relief installations.  Her fully dimensional works from the fine art series that she developed have been exhibited nationally and are held in private collections.  From one of her series, Ozymandias was acquired for the permanent collection of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. 

She is an artist with the Art in American Embassies Program.  In 2004 she founded Architectural Creations for Natural Stone Design to compliment Bella Dura and to provide the service of stone design for living and work environments.

The Union of Bella Dura Architectural Stone and Architectural Creations provides the full service of designing and building with the Limestone of the Yucatan.   Mr. Day is a forty-year expert in the Natural Stone Industry and the creative vision and illustration skills of Ms. Davis facilitates the client with the visual development of their properties.  With our services including professional affiliations with licensed architects, builders, contractors, and designers, we can serve our clients with the resources to build their dreams.  

Our Artisans

Our celebrated Craftsmen own a long heritage of working the Limestone of the Yucatan, and we quarry the stone and hand carve and/or machine tool to specified design at our factory. Generations of Yucatan stone carvers result in our excellence in craftsmanship. Testimonial to this heritage are the celebrated UNESCO archaeological sites throughout the region forward to the contemporary use of stone in regional architecture.