I'm not big on travel. (I guess half-way into travel month I'd best fess up here.) And that's not necessarily because I'm a big home-body (which I am) but after starting to board transcontinental flights before I could walk and carrying on like that for my entire youth (Air Force brat), finally staying in one place for college was like a vacation.
However, then I became a tile designer/manufacturer and off I went again. The amazing strata of cultures coursing through the art of tile making is as present today as it was centuries ago. But if you're ever required to crank out tons of tiles, all roads eventually lead to Rome. Actually it's Sassuolo, not Rome. But like their cars, Parmesan and pasta- Italy's tile making expertise is unsurpassed.
I've already shared a bit about the colossal Bologna fair in a recent post, so you know Italy is also where it's at for extraordinary tiles of all sorts. And for me, the one company that embodies tile design at its most creative and exploratory is Ceramica Bardelli. They are best compared to the "collections" section of Barney's or Bergdorf's whose articles of clothing are more like sculpture than a mere suit or dress.
At Ceramica Bardelli, they produce a collection of tiles created by a who's who of industrial design including- Pietro Fornasetti, Marcel Wanders, and Tord Boontje. Like the collections at Bergdorf's - you're not going to see everyone running out to sign up for Ceramica Bardelli's unusual offering of decorative tiles - but I'm most pleased that their showcase of tile collections celebrate the designers along with their pieces.
Here's just a few teasers-
(fornasetti newsprint)
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(fornasetti architture)
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(van der hilst tulips)
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(marcel wanders iris)
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(marcello chiarenza pesce)
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(ruben toledo papillon)
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To complete this tour of European tiles just click on any of the photos and you can enjoy your travel without the jet-lag. But be sure to get over there at least a few times to experience some of this eccentricity up close, and personal.