Fireclay Tile has been fortunate over the years to be specified in over 100 high traffic grocery stores and many restaurants and food prep areas. In 2010, we have produced tile for already two grocery stores with several more being worked on, as well as numerous restaurants. Grocery stores include Whole Foods Markets (San Jose, Fairview, Huntington Beach), Metropolitan Market (Seattle), New Frontiers (San Luis Obispo), and New Leaf Market (Capitola).

Debris Series Recycled Tile in the seafood section of United Supermarkets, Texas.

Designers and architects on these projects specifiedFireclay Tile for many reasons including:
 

Color: At Fireclay we offer over 230 standard colors available on a variety of clay bodies. Our Debris Series Recycled Tile is by far the most preferred, not just due to the high recycled content, but also because of price and size availability (as small as 1x1 and up to 12x12 with everything in between). This range of colors, as well as the ability to specify a custom color or tweak and existing shade, allows grocery stores to truly showcase their brand and create an eye-catching environment worthy of their beautiful meats and seafood.
 

Durability and Longevity: Simply, our tile is the highest quality, most durable ceramic tile on the market.
 

Price: Our tile is handmade to reflect “Old World” styles, yet our ceramics technology is advanced and scalable, allowing us to provide pricing that fits company budgets. We will never be as cheap as Dal Tile, but because of the flexibility, customer service, customization, and responsiveness the price quickly becomes affordable, and in the long run due to our high quality and durability, the investment produces far more positive return due to increased customer purchasing. Without naming customers, we have had stores leave us to specify a less highly regarded product in a store, only to come back and admit their mistake and tell us how the lower quality tile actually produced a drop in sales.

Debris Series Recycled Tile featured in Whole Foods - Custom Pizza Oven -Portland, OR

Ease of Maintenance: Tile is a preferred wall and surface covering because it lasts forever (just ask the Romans) and it is so easy to maintain. It cleans well, allows for no bacterial growth, and will stay beautiful for years.
 

Enhanced Product Presentation: The beauty and flexibility of Fireclay Tile enhances the look of grocery stores and restaurants. Ceramic tile is very familiar to customers, and that comfort and ease translates into more sales for stores. With the ability to diversify color selection to really make a statement, different sections of stores can be further enhanced and the customer can better associate surroundings with taste palletes.
 

Code: Universal building code requires certain materials for food prep areas. Ceramic tile is an easy fit and satisfies food code in any of these environments. Furthermore, with reduced regulation around color index requirements, grocery stores can do so much more with tile to enhance their surroundings. When compared other materials that meet code, the design flexibility weighs heavily in favor of tile.

Debris Series Recycled Tile featured in Whole Foods - seafood section with custom mural. -Portland, OR

As you can see, we think highly of our product, and if you don’t believe us just check out our notable installations. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us and ask for more information.

Fireclay Tile has stunning reddish orange selections to add real pop to your next project.

                             Vitrail Series in Tangerine                                                    Debris Series in Coral

        Crush 100% Recycled Glass Tile in Habanero

Stunning Designs by Urban Archaeology

We love when our exclusive Fireclay Tile dealers come up with their own creative ways of displaying tile designs. Today, we received some photos from one of our favorite showrooms, Urban Archaeology. Without further delay...

Debris Series Paseo in Chartreuse

Debris Series Ogee in Sapphire

Debris Series Hexagon in White Matte

Debris Series Ogee Drop in Tomato Red

Debris Series Star and Cross in Pine Grove Matte

It's also worth noting how exceptional Urban Archaeology is as company. For those who do not know, there are four showrooms across the country. Two in Manhattan, one in Chicago, and one in Bridgehampton. I had the pleasure of meeting with the company's co-owner, Judith Stockman, last November and taking a tour of her Franklin St. location in Manhattan. Unbeknown to me and all my friends in New York, Urban Archaeology is actually a manufacturer,and they are literally the last manufacturer located in southern Manhattan. They are known for their architectural productions of amazing features such as lighting and hardware.

The Urban Archaeology factory and hardware being made on site

Virginia and Judith (Founder), Final Lighting Fixture Ready for Sale

Thank you to the team at Urban Archaeology for all that you do to keep local manufacturing alive, and of course for doing such a wonderful job showing Fireclay Tile. We love your entire tile selection and encourage those in New York City to check them out for all your interiors needs.

Fireclay Tile's Toilet Recycling Inspires Other Manufacturers

Last October we announced a new post-consumer porcelain recycling effort in collaboration with the Zanker Road Landfill and Recology of San Francisco. It was covered by NPR's Morning Edition, and for awhile it was the talk of the town.

Earlier this month as we were scanning through the latest edition of Architectural Products and caught a glimpse of our new Crush Recycled Glass Tile, we were thrilled to see a blurb about Crossville and a new effort they have with Toto to recycle pre-consumer toilet manufacturing defects. Check it out here:

We love this about our industry and about the role that Fireclay Tile plays. Though we are a midget next to Crossville and probably the size of an ant next to Toto, here we are, a small tile manufacturer, inspiring the largest companies to think differently about their waste stream.

We might add that a big difference is that Fireclay is using post-consumer waste vs the pre-consumer waste that Crossville is obtaining from Toto, but regardless it is a step in the right direction.

Here is a look at the toilets direct from the landfill we are using.

Recently Fireclay has started recycling other scrap materials that we were previously unable to, such as bisque fired seconds from all our ceramic lines, allowing us to replace a grog ingredient that we now never have to again purchase or ship. Another great example of how environmental initiatives not only help the planet, but also help the bottom line!

Last week we had the honor of attending the opening launch party for Ciao Bella Gelato's remodeled Ferry Building location in San Francisco, CA. In the Spring Ciao Bella solicited Fireclay Tile for the backsplash tile, focusing on Fireclay's huge range of bright, vibrant colors. This is what they came up with!

We are so thrilled with how it turned out! Using a combination of 36 colors from our Debris Series Recycled Tile line (and 3 colors from our Vitrail Series), Ciao Bella designed a backsplash that emulated its brand perfectly, highlighting bright, beautiful colors, just likes its delicious gelato.

You can read more about why Ciao Bella chose Fireclay in this great blog post here.

To check out some Fireclay Tile for your own backsplash, consider ordering some samples!

Fireclay Tile was honored to be highlighted in the July 27, 2011 "Workplace of the Day" section of the Wall Street Journal. Basically, the WSJ looks for different types of businesses with the goal of featuring the interior spaces so folks can see what it's like to be in the workplace for a day. Check out what it's like at Fireclay each and every day!

We are so excited to announce a wonderful collaboration between Fireclay Tile and New Avenue Homes, a Northern California start-up that finances and builds backyard cottages and second units. A fantastic new concept being led by Kevin Casey, when New Avenue went to look for surfacing material partners for its kitchens and bathrooms,we were so happy they found their way to Fireclay Tile.

The idea behind New Avenue Homes is that home renovations and additions are expensive. At the same time, many homeowners have unused land and would like to create additional living space, either for friends, family, or perhaps additional rental income. Though the idea of modular homes has been tried numerous times with so far little success due to the financial costs and scale, New Avenue’s model of modular cottage homes makes perfect sense, both financially and aesthetically.

Kevin and the team at New Avenue Homes have made a smart decision to focus on environmentally friendly cottages, with everything from power, to sewage, to building materials. They chose Fireclay’s Debris Series Recycled Tile and our new Crush 100% Recycled Glass Tile for both their beauty and sustainability, and for their first two homes Fireclay’s Design Specialist, Amie, came up with an eye-catching mix of ceramic and glass tile colors that carried through New Avenue’s desire for a natural looking surface.

Crush in 3x6 Freesia (16) in Matte and Gloss with Debris Series Bamboo Matte 4x4

“I chose Fireclay Tiles for several reasons. They are beautiful, high quality tiles that have a fantastic natural look. Fireclay Tile is also a domestic company focused on sustainable manufacturing through great recycled product lines and low environmental impact processes. As a company their values matched the values New Avenue Home stands behind and very simply their tiles are stunning.”

– Kevin Casey, Founder New Avenue Homes

Today, New Avenue unveils The Home of Innovation - The central home for the Pacific Coast Builders Conference. The home is sponsored by GE, New Avenue, Southern California Edison, Apple and many others, and it is located inside the Moscone convention center.  This home is open for three days - Wed June 22 through Friday June 24. To register for your free pass go to www.pcbc.com/go/freepassand at check out, use discount code newavenue.

Inside the Moscone Center you will also find the San Jose Clean Energy Showcase Eco House - A model of sustainability and energy efficiency. This modular home is located in front of the main entrance to Moscone Center on Howard Street (at 3rd Street and Howard in San Francisco). This home is open for four days – Wed June 22 through Saturday June 25. Tours are open to the public, with no registration required.

Also be sure to check out Kevin Warnock's blog highlighting the cool journey of these modular homes from San Jose to San Francisco.

About New Avenue Homes:

New Avenue makes it possible for every homeowner to turn their house into two homes so they can share their lives with family and friends or earn additional income. Backyard cottages and second units are one of the the most sustainable, convenient and enjoyable ways to live. For a free consultation or to learn more visit their website: www.newavenuehomes.com or email them at: info@newavenuehomes.com

Many of you already know that Fireclay TIle has recently been trolling the Bay Area for recycled porcelain to add to our Debris Series Recycled Tile. Sunset Magazine learned of this initiative and decided to highlgiht us in the backpage of the March issue. Beyond being an absolutely beautiful magazine, we were thrilled they wanted to feature us and the Zanker Road Landfill, pictured above where we get most of our recycled porcelain.

To read more about our porceliain recycling effort click here.