We have long had a desire to expand our product range. Lava stone tiles and Terracotta tiles have been high on the wish list, but i.a. COVID-19 put a bit of a brake on development. It was almost impossible to meet with our Italian manufacturer and discuss colours, expressions and sizes – instead it turned into quite a few emails back and forth, but that way we could do all the preparatory exercises.
From here we started receiving tile samples so that we could continue working with the colors under other conditions.
A family-run business
Our manufacturer, a family-run business located just south of Naples, specializes in handmade tiles. We first met them at a tile fair in Italy almost 3 years ago. We immediately saw that their expression on both the Lava and Terracotta tiles was quite special.
Luckily for us, the family-run business got an Italian customer agent attached to us. This meant that we got a kind of intermediary who could help the process through a little faster. Normally, it might not exactly be an intermediary that you want, but it has turned out to be a really good idea. Communication has become much easier and faster – something that Italians are perhaps not exactly known for.
Lava tiles
The tiles are cut from the lava stone and are then colored and glazed and finally fired twice in the kiln. Lava is extremely hardy and the tiles can be used on floors and walls. What characterizes lava tiles is the expression in the glazing – small cracks and beautiful colours.
The tiles can be made in a number of different sizes. We have samples in 10 x 10 cm and 5 x 30 cm in our showroom.
Terracotta tiles
The tiles are made of clay, which can have different colours. Next, they are colored and glazed and finally fired in the oven.
It is an old technique that has been used in many places in the world. Terracotta doesn’t have the same strength as Lava Tiles, but that doesn’t change how beautiful they are. We have samples in 10 x 10 cm and 5 x 30 cm in the showroom, but can be produced in several different shapes and surfaces.
The characteristic of both tiles is that they are handmade, so no two tiles are 100% alike. They vary in color and this means that there is the finest play in the tiles. As the tiles are not machine-made, there may be various unevenness in the edges as well as a minor difference in height, which helps to give them the fine handmade look.
If you are interested in other types of tiles, you can conveniently take a look at our range of bathroom tiles . We have both wall tiles and floor tiles in many different materials, colors and patterns, including the popular Moroccan tiles from Marrakech Design.
The best greetings,
Peter, Bjørke and David