Jun. 28, 2012
Earthstone Tile Works is a Fireclay Tile dealer located in Philadelphia, PA. Owned and operated by a Tiffany and Jason Ferraro, Earthstone is a unique tile showroom that focuses on delivering exceptional customer service while maintaining a carefully curated set of tile options for their customers. Along with Fireclay Tile, they show other great tile brands like Lilywork that focus on US manufactured tile products. Earthstone began selling Fireclay Tile over a year ago, and so far their sales withour products have increased 5x in 2012 over 2011. Tiffany's favorite Fireclay products are our Specialty Shapes and Crush Recycled Glass Tile, both of which you can see more of in our catalog.
Tiffany and Jason are a 3rd generation tile family, and they can assist cusotmers with both tile selection and installation. To quote their website:
Earthstone Tile Works is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based tile sales and installation company. Drawing on three generations of knowledge and experience, we combine longstanding methods with the latest advances in the tile industry to create custom tile installations built to last generations. We pride ourselves in quality workmanship and attention to detail, and have experience working with a wide range of tiles and applications.
The showroom is small, but well curated!
Tiffany with her daughter Sylvie
If you are in the Philadelphia area and want a unique experience, we definitely recommend checking out what Tiffany has to offfer. We know of many very very happy customers that are thrilled with their experience at Earthstone.
To visit Earthstone or find a dealer near you please visit our dealer locator.
Jun. 24, 2012
If you read the previous post, you may believe that you have a good understanding about Jason and his role at Fireclay. Before transferring to Aromas, Jason worked in the glass factory in San Jose. A partial list of his daily tasks were: managing raw materials & pigments, putting the glass tiles through the kiln and he also artistically assembling Crush tiles for customers.
Jason assembles the Crush colors within a 12"x12" template.
For many, purple is not a "go to" color, but check out the mix below. Jason put this mix together with an outline template, but chose the position of each tile.
Colors incude: Gloss and Matte of: 2x2s & 1x1s of Heather (light purple), Acai (dark purple), and Cotton (white).
Not only does Jason have a passion for sustainability, but also an artistic flair!
Jun. 20, 2012
Fireclay Tile is excited to announce a new position at our Aromas factory to help our company. While we are a leader in utilizing recycled materials in our products, we feel we have room to grow in our overall manufacturing operation in becoming a recognized leader in sustainable manufacturing. Jason Paskus, who previously ran our Crush Recycled Glass factory, has taken on this new roll. We interviewed Jason to learn a bit more about him and his goals in this new role:
Tell us a bit about you and your interest in sustainability and sustainable manufacturing?
My passion for sustainability began in the early 21 century, while I was working as a carpenter for a small family owned construction company. We where known to be a very skilled group of guys that catered to the higher end of the building industry, residential and commercial. Unfortunetly, high end construction normally means larger projects, more square footage, more materials and in turn more waste. I worked on these job sites and watched the 20 yard dumpsters roll in and out almost daily filled with whatever we could jam in them.
During those years, the construction industry was booming and we were not the only outfit that was producing a ridiculous amount of construction and demolition waste. I started "dumpster diving" in our dumpsters for any kind of useable material. Whether it was wood or metal scrap, left over wires or pretty much anything that either had a bit of value to it or could be re-used. The idea behind this not being to start a personal collect of "garbage", but if I could gather enough of one type of material, I could either sell it in bulk or build up enough of a type of material so that it made sense to re-use them.
So I started selling the metals to scrap yards to be re-melted in to new metal. I used wood framing members, called "cut offs" for blocking for cabinet installation and other odds and ends around the job site, and the list goes on and on. My boss at the time, started to look at what was going on and realized that if the entire crew paid attention to the waste generated and what was done with it, we could save a quite a bit of money in materials. We also saw that we could devert lots of landfill waste if we sorted out all of our waste materials and utilized some of the new recycling programs that the area dump had recently implemented, such as wood/concrete recycling, sheetrock recycling and so on. So I built some basic boxes out of scrap wood that all the different materials could be sorted into. Then, created the pick up and drop off schedule and put the system too work at the job site.
Not only where we able to use every last drop of materials ordered for a specific job, but we were able to carry over materials to other jobs and save money there as well. The material that did go to the landfill, was recycled back into raw form by the municipality. The team had a great sense of accomplishment and the word spread fast. I was asked to create similar systems for other job sites around the area. After helping set up about 3 other systems, the initiative kind of just took its own shape and before I knew it, most contractors in town started recycling their waste in the same manner. A friend of mine around the same time started a word-of-mouth, cash only, used materials shop out of his barn. Selling everything from used doors and windows, too the kitchen sink. All scoured from the local demolition/construction projects.
As my construction career continued, I paid much more attention to not only waste in general but the types of materials that myself and my co-workers were working with on different job sites. I began to work exclusively with construction companies that took a more sustainable approach to building. In 2006 a twist of fate took me out of the construction industry and put me back into school where I dove head first into a ciriculum filled with all things sustainable. From solar energy design classes to entire building envelope analysis and everything in-between. I focused my studies on sustainable building materials as well as waste management, which in my opinion go hand in hand.
Tell us about this new position and what your role is?
Here at Fireclay, I have had the great opportunity of taking part in the development of our beautiful "Crush" line of tile which speaks to my passion directly. Not only is the product made from waste, but the company who makes it (Fireclay) has a great reputation for being a sustainable factory that produces beautiful products from other peoples waste. So originally joining the team was a "no brainer" for me.
As my I entrenched myself in the position. It became very clear to me that sustainable manufacturing went much further than just making a product out of recycled materials. It speaks to an entire culture of sustainability and efficiency that must be carried by every employee like a badge of honor during their work day. I am going to help Fireclay reach some lofty goals as far as efficiency and sustainability are concerned. As well as creating the first written safety program for Fireclay Tile. Even though Fireclay has a stellar safety record over the many years of operation, it is essential that all companies have a set of safety standards and protocol that will help carry that record far into the future.
What are three key areas in which you hope to focus in this new role?
Key areas that I intended to focus on are in the relm of safety, energy usage, waste generation and management as well as material and manufacturing efficiency.
These tasks have been taken on by some of the larger manufacturing companies in the world but not so much by mid-level companies. These mid-level companies sometimes make the mistake of thinking that sustainability means more dollars spent with more work and regulations. Fireclay Tile and I are firm believers that sustainability will not only result in higher profits, but also a more efficient factory that enables each employee to work not necessarily harder, but better. Again, with an end result of not only more profit but also a higher level of satisfaction in the work place that can be shared by everyone at the company. Knowing that we are doing our part to contribute to a healthy planet that is full of beautiful recycled tile.
If you had one HUGE goal that you would like to see accomplished during your first year, what would it be?
I would love to be able to announce in one years time that all of the waste that Fireclay generates, is being recycled back into our production system for all of our products. Also, eliminating stocking trips to The Boneyard!!!
What do you think other companies could learn from what we are doing today at Fireclay Tile?
I think that when Fireclay Tile is successful in achieving these goals, it will provide an example to other U.S. manufacturers that sustainability can be reached by any company of any size. At the same time, showing companies that complex systems of manufacturing can also be manipulated into sustainable ones. Based on the idea that it starts with raw materials and carries through-out the entire manufacturing process and manufacturing team. Also showing that sustainability is more than just a "green" sticker on a label, or an idea that a salesperson sells to a client. But rather, a culture that radiates from the company so bright that clients can not help but be inspired.
Any predictions for this year's NFL season? Will the Redskins go undefeated?
Unfortunately for Eric...(Redskins fan), his team will not go undefeated but will find themselves in a familiar place by seasons end....looking up from the bottom at the Super Bowl champion New York Giants!!! I do however have high hopes for the 49ers this year...I think Harbaugh will do good things with the team this year.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share with our readers?
This mission of sustainability that Fireclay is undertaking is only going to be achievable if we have full support and engagement from the entire company. It starts and ends with the efforts of every single person. Thats the great thing about it!! We are in charge of our own future! And the future of a great company that we all love! I hope that you all share the same excitement that I have in looking forward too not only the challenge that is ahead of us, but the results that will follow.
Thanks for all your help and dedication ahead of time!
Jason Paskus
Jun. 15, 2012
The catalog is here! The catalog is here!
Yes it is! We are so excited and proud to announce the arrival of our first-ever 96-page color catalog. The catalog introduces Fireclay’s new products, Glazed Thin Brick, Kelly LaPlante’s Runway Collection of speciality field tile and the new colors of our Express Series Quickship tile.
Table of Contents in new Fireclay catalog
A page with some Specialty Field
Of course, we didn’t forget our Debris, Vitrail, Crush, Claymonde and Cuerda Seca lines. There are beautiful photographs of all of the product lines including a couple showing the components that make our tile.
Page with "How It's Made" for Crush
The catalog also lists, with photographs, all of the trims and moldings available as well as photographs of most of our raised and relief decorative tiles.
Page with Moldings and Ropes
This resource book/catalog lists information regarding ordering, the dimensions of our moldings and ropes, glaze details (variation grades and crazing) and pieces per square foot. The catalog is available for purchase for $15 (including shipping) on-line or from the link below. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
http://www.fireclaytile.com/catalog
Get your Fireclay Tile catalog today!
Jun. 15, 2012
Fireclay Tile is thrilled to announce our partnership with Natural Tile Company (Norfolk, UK) to import and distribute Crush 100% Recycled Glass Tile throughout the UK.
Crush 100% Recycled Glass Tile - 8 Available Colors in UK in Gloss
Crush 100% Recycled Glass Tile - 8 Available Colors in UK in Matte
James Gage is the founder and owner of Natural Tile company, and today the product is available through 10 dealers throughout the UK. Natural Tile Company will be stocking Crush in 8 different colors in 3 sizes, and special orders will be available for other Crush colors and sizes. Of note is that Crush will be on display at the Southern Homebuilding and renovating show starting 30 June – 1 July. Come check out our newest Crush at www.naturaltilecompany.co.uk!
Crush Recycled Glass Tile sets itself apart from other recycled glass tiles because it is:
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Designed & Manufactured in the United States
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Sold in the UK through Natural Tile Company
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Recycled pre-consumer window and solar glass sourced from within 15 miles of Fireclay’s manufacturing facility
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Proprietary glass fusing technology paired with state-of-the-art kiln firing results in recycled glass tiles that take less than one-fourth the energy of traditional cast-glass tile
The full press release can be found here. To learn more about Natural Tile Company and its full line of products visit http://www.naturaltilecompany.co.uk.
Jun. 11, 2012
We are thrilled to introduce our Beta version of Crush-It, our online custom blend tool for Crush 100% Recycled Glass Tile!
Now, for the first time, you will be able to design custom blends of sustainable, USA manufactured recycled glass tile. Here is a screen shot of the tool:
The tool allows you to choose the following:
- Pattern: Choose from different 11 patterns!
- Colors: Choose from all our gloss and matte color options. You can select up to 6 colors, and interchange colors freely.
- Grout Color: Choose your grout color to complete your custom blend.
Crush-It is still in beta testing, and we'd love any and all feedback on your experience.
So, what are you waiting for...CRUSH-IT!
Jun. 1, 2012
Long-time Fireclay fans will often associate Fireclay pavers with Mexican Saltillo tiles, but did you know Fireclay makes their own pavers? See below!
From top to bottom: stair tread, stair tread corner, 12"x12" paver
These pavers are made with our Debris Series clay body and are 12”x12”. We recommend that the tiles are sealed before installation and every year after installation. The sealant makes it difficult for slippery moss to grow, tree droppings to stain and maintains the integrity of the tile surface. Fireclay or your tile installer can seal them prior to installation.
The path to the front door of the Fireclay San Jose showroom
The photo above was taken in front of our San Jose showroom. As you can see, it has a Fireclay spin. The 12”x12” tiles closest are Debris Series tiles with Cuerda Seca Corners. Past the Cuerda Seca Alcazares border, you’ll see the Star & Cross Debris tile used as pavers. The “awesome” (as Eric would say) characteristic of the Star & Cross pattern is that it is kiln-glazed so it never needs to be sealed AND it can be used indoors or outdoors. This pattern is an excellent choice for flooring with a continuous-look and multiple requirements. The Fireclay pavers do not age as dramatically as the Mexican Saltillo tile, so the look is more consistent from year to year. Next time you stop by, be sure to check out our pavers!
