A Giveaway! Beautiful Hand Painted Tile with Italian Olive Design!

Would you like us to send you this tile for free?
This gorgeous 4" x 4" accent tile is from our Italian Sketchbook Collection. Just for fun, I've decided to give this tile away - the exact tile shown in this photo! I'll randomly pick a winner at 5pm PST August 9, 2011, so you have until then to enter.

Here's what you need to do to be eligible:

1. Join our Mailing List (just click here.) 
2.  Leave a comment on this post.

Et voila! Watch this space for the winner.

About  The Italian Sketchbook Collection:
The tiles of our Italian Sketchbook Collection are decorated with a wax resist technique which gives a beautiful fluid surface to the glaze.

The motifs on the tiles of our Italian Sketchbook evolved from Bronwyn's notes, photos, and sketchbooks made when she lived in Florence. The goal was to create designs that were whimsical but not cutesy, simple line drawings that would evoke memories of Italian afternoons.

The whimsical scenes and objects are emblematic of the Tuscan landscape and kitchen. We love the simplicity of the lines combined with the complexity of the glazed surface.

These tiles would be wonderful in a kitchen back splash, but they also make great stand-alone pieces, hung on the wall, set on an easel, or used as a coaster.

To see the collection and purchase, click here.

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Large Handmade Tile with Japanese Motifs of Flying Cranes, Plum Blossoms, and Moon

 

New from our Japanese inspired Kyoto Series, this large 8.5" x 12" ceramic plaque can be installed as the focal point in a back splash or shower. It also makes a beautiful stand-alone art piece either displayed on an easel on your mantel, or hung on the wall (we can fit it with a picture hanger at your request.)

Cranes symbolize long life, and a pair of cranes in flight represent long, happy, successful marriage, so this plaque would make a wonderful wedding or anniversary gift. (Actually we have already sold several as wedding gifts! If you mention it at the time of your order, we can inscribe the back of the plaque with the couple's name and wedding date or a special message.)

Each piece is hand pressed from our original hand carved mould. After an initial firing, I carefully rub the piece with a deep burnt-umber underglaze to bring out the intricate detail (look at the tiny carved plum blossoms!) and to create an aged appearance. I then finish each piece with a matte-satin verdigris green glaze which resembles aged copper or lichen covered stone. 

This plaque is priced at $108. If you order one today, we will ship within 15 business days. You can use the button below, or drop me an e-mail if you have any questions or would like the personal touch on your order!

Hand Made Subway Tile with Turquoise Crackle Glaze

 

This is our most popular glaze. You can see why, right? It's rich and jewel-like and the subtle colour variations run from sea green to deep mineral turquoise. It has the distinctly unromantic name of Nepheline Turquoise, named for one of the glaze components.  But it's watery surface and vivid stained-glass depth make it an absolute pleasure to live with day to day in your home. This glaze works especially well on our hand made subway tiles.

Our subway tiles are unique. The usual method for creating hand made subways is to roll out a big sheet of clay on a slab roller, then cut each piece from the slab, either by hand, or with a template. This creates a nice tile with crisp edges and a uniformly flat surface. But what people love about our subways is their sensuous rounded edges and their very tactile softly varied surface texture - all this in a uniformly sized and shaped tile. Our secret is hand made plaster molds. Each tile is pressed by hand into a hand made mold. We have about ten different molds just for this plain subway piece, so each piece is a little bit different in surface character from the next. 

These are the most unique and sensual (can you say that about a tile? we can!) hand made subways on the market. You'll see what we mean if you hold one in your hand. 

If you are planning a project, we'd be happy to send you a sample, just click the button below.

Tile Back Splash in White and Navy Blue, Modern Handmade Tiles

These beautiful tiles are from our Hacienda Collection, in the Sky colourway. I love the freshness of this colourway, especially in this modern kitchen with lots of stainless steel.

The white field tiles really show what is special about our handmade tiles; even with a plain white 4" tile, there is so much lovely creamy variation in the colour and surface texture - just so much more beautiful than a flat, uniform commercial tile, don't you think?

Call us today to talk about  your kitchen backsplash ideas! (250) 335-3149

Luxe Travertine Stone Shower Features Our Turquoise Crackle Glaze Disc Tile

Today we are featuring the 4 inch turquoise glazed accent tile from our Hacienda Collection, Ocean Colourway.

The simple disc motif on this tile has a strong graphic impact and a modern feel, while the softly blended edges and the gorgeous variation in texture and colour give the tile a tactile, sensual, and handmade feel.

Three of our favorite glazes are meticulously hand-painted on to each piece, in different combinations.

Our glossy, transparent Turquoise Crackle Glaze with its gorgeous sea-green variations is placed next to our Turquoise Matt glaze, which is satiny to the touch and definitely reminiscent of the mineral turquoise. Our Matt Green is thinly applied so the buff stoneware body of the tile can peep through.

This is a very versatile piece.

We've even seen it used as a field tile, with a large number of discs grouped together over a cooktop creating a daring, modern backsplash installation.

More often, our clients use this piece as an accent in a field of 4" buff or turquoise tiles.

In a recent shower installation, shown above and below, the turquoise glazed tile sets off the varied natural grey of travertine beautifully.

We like this tile as an accent in a kitchen backsplash. It's a good pairing with stainless steel, but would also work with distressed buff-to-cream old farmhouse style millwork. We love that versatility.

How would you use this tile?

Do you love that luxe double shower with travertine and handmade tile? If you like the work that you see here on our site, please share it with your community, using the share buttons below. We appreciate it!


Regards,

P.S. E-mail us to purchase the turquoise accent tiles shown in this post!

How to Choose the Right Color Tile for Your Kitchen Backsplash

Choosing color for your home is a challenging, and sometimes anxiety-inducing task, especially when the choice involves a long term commitment to a permanent surface like tile. Our clients often ask us to help them find just the right glaze color for their kitchen tile backsplash, and we have developed some strategies to help you make a color decision you know you'll be happy with. I'm going to focus just on the kitchen backsplash in this post - next week we'll take a look at the special colour considerations for bathroom tile.

Let's look at some of the most common questions homeowners have about kitchen tile color choices:

When should I decide on my kitchen tile glaze colour?

In any kitchen build or renovation project, there are a multitude of surfaces to consider. A good general rule is to choose your most permanent surfaces first, then base your other color/surface choices on those primary surfaces. In a kitchen, you'll generally want to consider floors and cabinetry first, then countertops and tile, and finally walls and fabrics.

There are always exceptions of course - we had a client who based her whole kitchen on a fabric swatch she adored, and another who chose all of his surfaces based on the shades in our Kyoto Collection Plum Blossom Tile (that was flattering!)

It is most likely that you will be choosing your millwork and flooring, and then beginning to think about your counters and backsplashes.

How can I make sure my tiles match the rest of the kitchen? 

We encourage our clients not to think in terms of matching, but rather to take a more sophisticated approach to color, and think in terms of harmonizing or complementing. The colours of a handmade ceramic glaze are complex and varied, with lots of potential for creating beautiful color harmonies with other surfaces. But where do you start?

Bear with me while I take you back to my first year of art studies, and introduce you to the color wheel. Colors can relate happily to each other in two different ways, as complementary (opposite on the wheel) or as analogous (side by side on the wheel). Either relationship produces a harmonious effect, and either relationship can be used as a jumping off point for bringing tile color into your kitchen.

I can hear you saying "Yikes! Are you saying I should combine red cabinets with green tiles? Or orange with yellow?"

Yes! Remember each primary and secondary hue on the wheel represents a whole family of colors, including the most gentle and subtle. So, red cabinets with green tiles? Absolutely. Here is a beautiful example:

 As you can see, the cherry cabinetry works beautifully with the lichen green tile (red and green complements!) The variation in the wood grain and in the underglazed ceramic surface bring another level of harmony to this stunning combination.

Now, here is an example of analogous colour. The yellow, orange, brown, and buff colours in the woodwork,  stone and tiles (from our Firenze Collection) harmonize without having to "match." This example also shows the versatility of earth tones or neutrals, which reside at the center of the color wheel and go with everything!  That means you don't have to sweat matching an exact colour in your granite or stone countertops - just relax and trust the harmonies of these beautiful natural surfaces.

How can I be sure I've chosen the right color?

Now that you know when and how to choose your kitchen tile color, you just need to decide. Here are my tips for being sure you have the right glaze color for you.

• Order samples, and look at them in your new space, at every time of day, and under all the kinds of light they will be seen in.
• Take your time! Look at the samples in your kitchen, and look again.
• Trust your own instincts. It's nice to hear your friends opinions, but remember they won't be living in your kitchen!
• Go with what makes your heart sing. The kitchen is the heart of the home. Chances are, you will be spending many hours here, for years to come. Choose something that is going to bring you joy.

Do you have any insights or experiences you'd like to share about choosing color for your home? Leave a comment, we'd love to hear your story.

Need to buy a sample to check glaze color? Visit our new on-line tile shop.

Next week we'll look at tile color in the bathroom.

Cherry Blossom Liner Tile for a Backsplash or Shower Feature

Click here to purchase this cherry blossom tile.

This 8" x 2" cherry blossom liner tile is brand new, fresh out of the kiln this morning! It is always an exciting moment, when we get to see the very first finished, glazed piece of a newly created design. The translucent blue green glaze has a slight milkiness evocative of jade. The hints of white underglaze and buff clay peeking through bring to mind a piece of very old, gorgeously time-worn Chinese stoneware, like an antique ginger jar. The lively, roughly carved cherry blossoms have the vitality and movement of the Japanese woodblock prints that were their inspiration. I'm just thrilled to add this very versatile decorative piece to our line. A piece like this will work as an accent liner in showers, on backsplashes and tub surrounds, as a stand alone decorative piece in a field, or in an arrangement above a cooktop - just about anywhere. It has enough decorative impact on its own, but it will also combine well with pieces from our Kyoto and Hanabi Collections. Click here to purchase this cherry blossom tile!