Antiqued Delft Tile, Francois 1er and PAVÉ

17th Century Antiqued Delft Tile - The Bees

A lot has been happening to PAVÉ over the past year.  As I had written before, we moved.  This move was imposed upon us by us for the conditions of the building were unsafe from those one hundred years ago.  Fast forward to now...in a light filled, high ceiling, well-ventilated 14,000 sq ft facility with a 1200 sq ft attached showroom (open by appointment only beginning Spring 2015) - our creativity went into over drive.  We are working on a new division of Pavé that will be called Historic Decorative Tile.  I have been busy painting new series for our Antiqued Delft Tile which you will see in this blog, and as well as our Monet Collection - I will be painting in grays, blues and ochers our Montmartre, Carriage House, and Maison de Tunisie Collection as well as adding a new collection called On the Road to Florence.  These tiles will be hand decorated with my original paintings onto our beautiful hand made porcelain glazed crackled bisque tile.

As everything takes time...I wanted to post some of my new Delft Tile Series.  This first one is called Les Villageois for I have this need to turn everything into something French...being a former high school French teacher et al...

17th Century Antiqued Delft Tile - Wheat Fields

Our new division, Historic Decorative Tile will have it's own website - which I am also designing.  What drives my days (probably not yours...) is watching documentaries like last night with François on Voila TV.  It was a show on Chambord - the Château of François 1er (no relation).  We visited Chambord a couple of summers ago although to me, it seemed like yesterday, while taking in as much as possible via TV, the utter beauty of this place.  As I sit there mesmerized by the inlays and carvings in tile, wood and stone, I quietly sift through our Pavé Collections in my mind, present ones and those to come, thinking which ones could make an honest go at being accepted in a place like Chambord.  I was happy to announce to my husband that I could see a few of our collections there - a sweet dream that made me wonder if Francois 1er would agree.  Of course, my Francois does...but I don't know if that counts.

17th Century Antiqued Delft Tile - Fisherman's Wife

Yes...it is true.  We are that nerdy.  Or we are that authentic.  I prefer the latter.  So as my days are filled with creating, painting and running Isabelle to and fro - camp and play dates until school starts up again - my time is limited and thus, a bit slow going in terms of revealing new collections and new websites.  However, my daughter will always be my first jewel...so Pavé must sit patiently until her time comes.  Which it will...

More to come...
A bientôt!
Emmi Micallef

17th Century Antiqued Delft Tile - Blacksmith

17th Century Antiqued Delft Tile -  Grape Stomping

Mixing European Materials with Industrial Chic - the 21st Century Aesthetic?

Perhaps some of you took notice...or not...but we did officially change our company name from Pavé Tile and Stone, Inc. to Pavé, Tile, Wood and Stone, Inc.  As a new cornerstone of our Collections, our Provence Ancienne French oak floors help to continue toward what our goal has always been...to tastefully bring to the American market an authentic European aesthetic.

With soooo much on the market - with so many styles and tastes  - it can be hard to decipher what really should go together in a home.  I believe there is an adage with many American tastes...more is more.  The more colors, materials and textures - blending Italian ornate with American colonial etc...it can make one disoriented to say the least. However, I do see a back lash to that - with kitchens done in white on white on white with that added gray.  It is beautiful...but safe...and it's what every  Jone's is doing lately.

In Europe, not always true - but at times true - the adage could go...less is more.  This means perhaps one flooring material running throughout the home - not overly done - less swirls and moldings and trim and stone sizes etc...yet with a beautiful decorative and a pop of color.  As a company - we have our feet in old world Europe - but selling to the American market.  It is my hope that Mr. Jone's will begin to have free will and design not like his neighbor Mr. Smith.

We do take risks at Pavé...with more to come...but any one of our products is designed to nearly go with any one of our other products.  Close your eyes and point - and soon your home could  be tastefully done - perhaps even artfully done...risking what Mrs. Jone's could say...but really...do we care?

If I did, I would not be doing Pavé at all...but importing white tile and white stone from China.  In the end...for there is that...we leave a design legacy for future generations.  There is a design legacy in France, in Italy, in Morocco...but what is it in America?  We are of the people who can meld and recreate - like mixing old world Europe with modern cool...now that I love and I term it frankly the 21st century aesthetic.  There is nothing like the sleekness of cool metal next to old wood and terra cotta tile....It's also called Industrial and you can find some wonderful examples on Houzz under that style rubric.

Understanding there are enough companies creating contemporary everything - I would like to think of Pavé as adding a small bit  to this design puzzle...as in a Willy Wonka like flourish....bringing forth authentic Europe materials - edited so as not to become too sweet or giddy...and beg homeowners. designers and architects to pair it with justice...keeping it vintage or mixing it up...just mix it up authentically.

A Bientôt!
Emmi Micallef
Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc.

Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc. is Expanding!

As of March 2014, Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc. has moved to a larger manufacturing facility. 

With the success of our pre-finished vintage French oak floors as well as our exclusive terra cotta floor and wall  decorative tile collections - we have moved to a larger facility.  This new facility will allow us to increase production of all our products and add new collections to our repertoire of artisanal tile wall and floor collections.  In the pipeline of new collections to come will be a Montmartre Wall Tile Collection that exudes 14th-16th Century France ( yes...certainly for the masses ), On the Road to Florence that will be a 21st century take on a 17th Century Italian Renaissance Aesthetic....it's coming out beautifully...I might add...a  subway tile that is glorious and so Pavé with a vintage Japanese twist and finally for the love of Delft...I am adding new paintings to our 17th Century Antique Delft Collection.  

Oh it's been a long road...and the art part of Pavé has had to step aside to the nuts and bolts of moving Pavé....but soon we will be back in our groove creating art on tile!

For a sneak peak to the new designs of Pavé's Delft Tile, here are two decorative paintings that I did which will be among the 14 new designs we are adding to this collection:

Never have we followed the same path of other tile companies...if one thing can be said, François and I continue to beat to our own drum...we follow our own cobblestone path...a trail leading to classic aesthetics that cross time and place - that can become new again that once seemed too old....well....old would not be the word....vintage is more like it....

A bientôt, 

Emmi Micallef

Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc.

Maison de Tunisie Vintage Terra Cotta Tile Collection

There is something appealing when one stumbles across authenticity.  I can remember when François and I first started Pavé and we were showing at Coverings.  Men with their little black cameras taking pictures of our products just to return from where they came across the sea, to copy all our hard work and originality.  I say to those men with this collection - good luck.

Pavé's Maison de Tunisie Vintage Wall Tile Collection takes 10 steps to achieve what we believe, a comparable tile to a real antique.  Ten steps.  Yes...we are crazy.  But we would never create something we did not believe in ourselves.  So ten steps later and two years later, we are have arrived to this point of authenticity.

Authenticity of what?  We certainly did not recreate the wheel...these Tunisian, Moresque designs have been done and redone for over 3000 years!  But...how flattering to recreate these same motifs for over 3000 years...why not Pavé?  Pavé is picky.  We will not create a new collection that does not exude who we are authentically.  François's father being a professor for a time in Tunisia, he and his siblings lived in Carthage, Tunisia.  He grew up among the Jasmin and palm trees, ate dates from the trees in their family's gardens and learned Arabic, writing the letters carefully with ink and plume.  Here is in fact a picture of François (on the right, standing up) with his younger brother Emmanuel and sister Anne in their gardens.

But I digress.  Whether one is French, Tunisian or American, there is something about these Moresque motifs that appeal to all our senses.  Sometimes I ponder this.  Why these designs?  I, as well as François, like "chunky" designs, designs one can grab and hold with the eye.  I am not pleased with over ornate motifs...they in fact make me dizzy.

Why 10 steps?  The first few is simply making hand made European terra cotta tile - high fired and glorious, a quality without compare.  From there, in our studios we do 8 more steps...and voilà!  We have 19 different motifs that come in 8 different colors.  This is where I step in...the American francophone.  As a former French high school teacher, lived in France, married a French guy and our daughter's first language is French - I am still very much American.  I get us.  I know, without generalizing...but in general, most American decors welcome pattern...but not too much.  Most American decors like color...but not too much!  A touch, a splash.  Thank goodness beige has been replaced probably by white - or by gray - but with an added zing, maybe paired with apricot or chartreuse.  So in this collection, we were very aware of color.  The colors still must seem authentic to Tunisia but translated ever so slightly for the American color palette.

Texture.  Of course through a computer screen - you could not possibly know the surface texture of this collection.  I will define it for you.  It's like a patina glass.  The decorative seems to be floating just underneath vintage glass with a slight crackle.  And yes, crackle is overdone in the tile market - but this tile called for it.  Period.  The crackle is done elegantly and adds to the authenticity of this collection.

Another fun part of creating an authentic Tunisian terra cotta tile collection is in the names.  I love naming my designs and colors.  I fully believe a name for a certain motif and a name for a certain color is a necessity when trying to translate how I feel and view about our products.  For me, our collections must speak to my soul or I will not have a passion for them.  I have names like Femme Berber and Tunisian Wedding to Souk and Place Victoire.  I have colors like oxblood, sky and sea mist.  I envision myself in this country and using the right word - my mind almost believes I am there.  I feel an openness - a big clear sky, a dark marine sea, a sea mist raised by winds, the sand beneath my feet, café one drinks that is rich and bitter...

This is just a sampling of the Maison de Tunisie Vintage Terra Cotta Tile Collection. If you would like to view the entire collection as well as all the names, colors and motifs, please click here.

So much is going on at Pavé...I have been quiet for awhile...but it's simply because François and I have been creating.  Next up is a collection close to my heart, The Montmartre European Terra Cotta Flooring Collection.  I added more designs and glaze colors.  I will be in my studio photographing the lovely boards François has made for me.  Look for that soon in the next blog and on our site.  And something so exciting will be On The Road to Florence Wall Collection - Florentine elegance and color inspired from the 16th century with my little American twist.

We hope you enjoy our hard work and authenticity!  Kudos to François,  for without his incredible hard work and meticulousness, Pavé would just be pretty designs on pieces of paper.  It is he who has tamed hand made European terra cotta tile. Period.

A bientot,
Emmi Micallef
Pavé Tile & Stone, Inc.

Farmhouse Provençal European Terra Cotta Tile Flooring - The Yellows

Perhaps you are as obsessed as François and I when it comes to hand made European terra cotta tile...or perhaps not.  But if you were...you would understand why these 3 simple photographs I will show you in this blog are the achievements of our lifetime.  (Not really - that would be our  7 year old daughter.)

However, If  I could take you behind the scenes - the back story on how we finally achieved this feat - well...it would take 13 years.  The number of years we yearned, pleaded, tested and screamed for this clay.  And suddenly...we finally got it.  Alas...you would like to know how we achieved this remarkable achievement because, the reality is that Mother Earth does not like to produce yellow clay too often, but we cannot tell you :)

What we can tell you is that the photographs I have taken are just the beginning.  Waiting for this stock is like waiting on a shipment of truffles.   When the stock arrives - and a few boards are made - I will show you the beauty of this clay.  As hand made terra cotta tile connoisseurs - François and I are oh so picky.  We want the perfect texture, the satin patina, just the right aging for the edges not to be too this or that...and the colors...these are wheats and they are straws.  Colors that are warm and neutral - something designers have been craving.

 

The Farmhouse Provencal Terra Cotta Tile Collection will be more than a collection reminiscent of the warm days in Provence - it will speak of the warmth of everyday living - the cleanness when mixed with whites - the modern edge when mixed with grays.  It will hold a room hostage in beauty - it will be elegant, subtle, old and already story-filled. 

We will stock in two classic Provencal shapes and sizes - the 8" x 14" x 3/4" parefeuille and the 7" tomette.

Sadly, I don't have anything more to add.  But in the months to come - you can be sure I will be humming to Charles Trent as I photograph this tile properly.  This is just a hint of what's to come.

A Bientôt!

Emmi Micallef

Pavé Tile & Stone, Inc.

Villa Raffinato Italian Glazed Wall Tile

Although it's been a while since I last wrote, this does not mean François and I are not creating at Pavé.  In fact, this Winter we have been working overtime in developing new tile lines and improving on the ones we have already produced.  This brings me to Villa Raffinato Italian Glazed Wall Tile Collection.

By the name, one would think this is a tile that we simply import from Italy.  But that is only half true.  We do import this tile from Italy - hand made and fired following centuries old techniques.  It arrives as a bisque - where François and I marvel at what we can create with such a blank canvas.  That is how we feel about each of our terra cotta tiles from various European countries.  Whether it be from France, Italy, Spain and soon Portugal...each clay brings to us a flurry of ideas - and apprehensions.  What works on one clay from one specific region in Europe will simply not work on another.  The testing and developing of glazes to work with the various compositions of each clay is mind-boggling. 

This comes to mind another thought.  Home building, home decor, home renovation etc. is a highly competitive business.  There are so many companies out there competing for the buyer who will purchase and install their product.  It's at a point where the buyer at times begins to take for granted what is presented before them.  They can quickly compare tiles, prices, ETA's...but Francois and I know that they are not comparing apples to apples.  Comparing a mass produced relief tile with similar colors to say, one of our art tiles - hand made, unqiue and well-crafted can bring us to our knees.  Unfortunately, there are those who do not care about the authenticity and talent behind the tile.  There are those who cannot even understand the beauty of what they are looking at.  The deluge of tile - that replicates itself - meaning copies of copies that companies yet copy - make the buyer believe this is all there is.  This is what is suppose to be in their homes.  And when they see something different - to some - different is not mainstream - and have no courage to put something not mainstream in their kitchens.  How many Blanco Carrara marble kitchens have been installed in America in the last 5 years?  Gray and white - clean and safe.  Or the over patterned, over zealous, too saturated in color tiles that make American kitchens appear gaudy?  To say the least... it's a study in extremes when I peruse Houzz.

This brings me back to Pavé.  Pavé is different, but we would never bring something to market that I did not believe is European elegance.  We are inspired by European Art History combined with an American aesthetic. Our tiles bring subtly, color and uniqueness that yes, Mr. and Mrs. Smith probably won't have down the street.  OK - as an artist and manufacturer of fine art tile - I have said my peace.  For now :)

Our improved  upon Villa Raffinato Collection is something François and I are going to install in our kitchen.  If you have not guessed, I am a bit critical and picky about art tile - and I seek a tile that must adhere to a few points. First, will I get bored of it?  Second, is it over-the-top gaudy?  Third, does the tile have a nice edge, tight grout lines but still look vintage?  A pet peeve of ours is large grout lines with terra cotta tiles.  If the tile is well-made - meaning well-made...you will not have to open the joint to have a plum surface.  And we do not like rounded corners, period.  Our Villa Raffinato Collection is the terra cotta tile that wins my heart (for now..for we do have coming On the Road to Florence!).  It's a gloriously, well-crafted hand made terra cotta tile - that can be seen with the tight grout lines. The glaze  - gazing upon the glaze - is like my eyes bathing in color - yet the color is interesting - with specks or crazing or crackling or various values or flashing - it's holding my attention for it's complicated yet simple beauty.

This is a collection that speaks of the Italian country side.  There are no frills - it's a life of hard work and immense beauty.  Colors are rich in the simplicity of every day living.

As for our kitchen, I like contrast of values.  So we will put the Caramel on the wall with a concrete charcoal counter top.  The walls with this color will make me feel warm when our New England gray is all that I see.  In summer, I will bask in this earth tone after spending my afternoon in our garden, still feeling the sun on my skin.  It's a tile that I will live with and it will take care of me.

After my Tuscan inspiration, I became hyper-focused on Florence.  Within the coming months, On the Road to Florence will be our next collection that speaks of the Florentine aesthetic and tones - with elegant patterns yet still not without a vintage feel.  Old world European elegance will forever remain in my heart.

A bientôt!
Emmi Micallef
Pavé Tile & Stone, Inc.

A Testamonial of Pavé's St. Tropez European Terra Cotta Tile Flooring

What is most relevant to a client when searching a product on-line?  For me, if I find I site that is offering a product or service I either need or want - probably the first thing I do is find out who they are.  "About Us" is my click of choice before I do any crawling on any site.  I want to know with whom I am dealing - real people?  robots? 

If the site passes my test for authenticity of product and/or person - I will peruse the product.  But close after will be that "testimonial" click.  Reviews for me can easily solidify a purchase or...not.  At Pavé, I treasure our testimonial page.  I understand how busy our clients are - and when they find the time to photograph their home - their personal space and send it off with thoughtful reviews of our product and service - I am overjoyed.

Recently we received a testimonial of our St. Tropez Collection.  Not only did this client send beautiful installation photos - but his testimonial spoke volumes about our European terra cotta tile.  This was a client searching for a terra cotta tile floor - and learned through his experience there were three essential types.  He saw value and beauty in each of them - but chose the St. Tropez Collection.  If you are in the market for a terra cotta tile floor, reading his testimonial below will help you navigate those terra cotta tile waters brilliantly - and objectively through the eyes of a client.

Thank you, Brooks!
Emmi Micallef
Pavé Tile & Stone, Inc.

  
 "It is not simply the product itself, which is truly unique, but also the degree of support provided by François that has been so great.  In addition to the tile, Pavé provided all of the materials necessary to achieve the antiqued look we sought.  Perhaps most importantly, François also gave me the instruction needed to ensure the quality of the installation.  François insisted on walking through the process with me over the phone.  He was always prompt in answering any questions and patient with my queries.   

Of course, the bottom line is the finished product and we couldn't be more pleased with a floor that is both timeless in its look and will outlast us and our home.  I imagine a hundred years from now Pavé will be reclaiming this tile.  

My wife and I wanted the look of antique terra cotta tile for our new home.  The only options we were able to find were various types of Mexican Saltillo and reclaimed tile from Europe.  The saltillo tile, while nice, lacked the European look we were after.   Reclaimed tile was beautiful; however, it presented a number of challenges due to the weight of the product and requirement that it be set in a fairly thick mortar bed.   We were about to give up when we came across Pavé Tile's hand made terra cotta collections.  After ordering several samples, we realized that this was the best of both worlds.  It could be installed just like regular tile, but still had the Old World hand made look and feel.  Needless to say, we are now enjoying our "antique" terra cotta floors from Pavé.

Brooks Johnson, North Carolina