Scale Shell Gold by Realonda.

Fish-Scale Fandango

Tile exhibitions always provide an opportunity to discover emerging trends, whether new formats, surface reliefs, 3D forms, novel textures or fresh colours.  At Cevisama 2018 one particular type of tile really caught my attention and this was the interlocking fish-scale tile.

Scale Shell Gold by Realonda.
Scale Shell Gold with Diamond Timber Oak Chevron and Diamond Calacata Chevron by Realonda.
Scale Slate Black and Coda Grey by Realonda.
Scale Slate Black and Coda Grey by Realonda.

They were not a ubiquitous shape, and most factories had no fish-scale designs on show at all.  Neither were they new, as the main protagonists also featured many of these designs at Cersaie 2017

Scale Shell White and Diamond Timber Oak Chevron by Realonda.
Scale Shell White and Diamond Timber Oak Chevron by Realonda.

But what was impressive was their sheer prominence on certain stands.  Natucer springs to mind, but no other manufacturer worked this quirky, but surprisingly versatile, form better than Realonda.

Scale Garden and Diamond Timber Olive Chevron by Realonda.
Scale Garden and Diamond Timber Olive Chevron by Realonda.

Not only were large sections of the Realonda stand’s interior given over to contrasting fish-scale displays, but diminishing panels of this iconic shape also clad large areas of the stand’s exterior.

Fish-scale tiles at Cevisama
Fish-scale tiles at Cevisama

Realonda had many different fish-scale designs on show.  Scale Shell offered neutral faces with fans of raised ridges.  Scale Slate added a new twist to slate-effect tiles, while Scale Concrete worked the industrial look in an entirely new direction, with a soft palette of different greys.  Pale greens and blues, with some darker highlight tones, were to the fore in Scale Garden.

The Realonda stand at Cevisama.
The Realonda stand at Cevisama.

Metallics got a look in in Scale Shell Gold; while dramatic dark hues featured in Scale Shell Anthracite and stone-effects in the three options in Scale Stone.   Other mainstream design trends in square and rectangular tiles were also referenced in Scale Cotto, Scale Mud, Scale Statuario and Scale White.  There were even plain and patterned combinations in Scale Boho, Scale Gloss and Scale Zellige.

The Realonda stand at Cevisama.
The Realonda stand at Cevisama.

The format is, nominally, 307 by 307mm: with each tile featuring nine scales in three bands of three.  It may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is certainly a format that can may and powerful and distinctive statement in a crowded exhibition.

Realonda

A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, February 2018.

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