The American company Heritage Tile has a passion for tile that extends beyond aesthetics and function. The company’s wonderful portfolio demonstrates great appreciation of, care for, the craft and dedication to preserving historic tile designs.
Little wonder then that Heritage Tile jumped at the chance to replicate the French Art Deco tiles from Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home. This was achieved using traditional casting methods and authentic reproduction techniques.
The inspiration behind this project was a photograph of the historic tiles in Ernest Hemingway’s Florida bathroom. Heritage Tile simply could not resist recreating such beautiful and historic tiles, especially since Hemingway’s boyhood home is just a stone’s throw away from the company’s Oak Park office.
The original tiles were imported by Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, when she renovated their Florida house where they lived for many years. The tiles served as durable flooring, while also providing a work of art in the room.
Heritage Tile’s goal was to stay true to the original tilework. This started with line drawings of the three tile designs in the photo, which expert craftsman then made into a wire frame mould using the traditional techniques. The tiles were then made using a pigmented cement mixture ensuring the through-body colour of the original tile.
Heritage Tile offers a portfolio of historic and traditional tile collections from the USA and abroad. These tile collections are produced to the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship, each created using traditional manufacturing methods. The company works directly with tile makers to hand-pick and deliver exclusive collections; each of which is extensively researched and manufactured to authentic specifications.
Subway Ceramics celebrates over a century of traditional American tile. Ceramic trim pieces, unique subway tile sizes and elegant glazes each recreate a specific time and place, from the New York City subways and Paris Metro, to the post-war Atomic age.
Japanese Tile is a carefully curated collection of tiles produced in the Gifu region, where the tradition of tile making dates back to the 7th century. Each range in the collection exudes a uniquely Japanese aesthetic though texture, pattern or colour. Tiles range from unglazed porcelain mosaics in traditional Japanese patterns to textured glazed wall tiles.
The Batchelder Tile collection reproduces the original stoneware pavers produced by the Batchelder-Wilson Tile Company of Pasadena at the turn of the 20th century. The warm and inviting aesthetic of these unglazed pavers embodies the American Arts & Crafts tradition.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, May 2017.