Guidelines for Designers and Architects
Catalog Morris De Morgan Arts & Crafts Pre-Raphaelite Victorian Medieval
Catalog Morris De Morgan Arts & Crafts Pre-Raphaelite Victorian Medieval
If I've sent you a link to this page, you've asked me a question in email that is answered here. If you came from the Contact form (linked in the footer on this page), you are ahead of the curve and won't have to wait for an answer in email.
There are a good many rules here among the FAQ answers and I am sorry about that, but there have been a few horror stories that have made it necessary.
I am Christine Norstrand, owner and designer at William Morris Tile, LLC. William Morris (1834-1896) was the Father of the Arts & Crafts Movement, also known as the decorative wing of the PreRaphaelite Movement. He was an amazing man with accomplishments in many spheres. You might be interested in my article William Morris and the Birth of the Arts & Crafts Movement.
I do, but it is not my first choice. I find I am happier working with homeowners directly, where the communications have softer corners. There is a lot of back and forth, waiting, churn, and sometimes miscommunications to working with a third party. Tile manufacturers can accommodate this but for an individual artist, the process spins around a single person. Many designers treat me as a "source" for tiles that they can present as an option to their clients, which means they are not serious resulting in a lot of uncompensated time and hung-up attention. More often than not, I never hear back if the decision is to use some other tiles. I am not wired for that.
General guidelines: I require *one* point of contact, usually a designer, for all phases of the design process, from project start, to invoice, to delivery. We can talk or text, but final and revised orders must be written and dated and provided in email and these specifications will be attached to your invoice. Tiles and shipping charges must be pre-paid before tiles are shipped.
I make all tiles one and two at a time. I don't get anything back from the trade as I am not set up as a supplier in the way the industry works (bid, lead time, all that stuff). I am an independent artisan and I do not stock a line of mass produced tile from which I can send free samples. Neither do I have support staff to navigate the design process which can often churn with repeated phone calls and emails [sometimes lost, sometimes walked off from], and process lags while professionals get back to their clients. In the same vein, I do not juggle purchase orders and ship before payment, all niceties that a large tile supplier with a large staff can offer, but I cannot.
Not yet. If I can get things down to a manageable level by providing most of preliminary information on this page, and have a single point of contact through the design process, I don't think I'll have to. But I'm not ruling that out just yet.
You can reach me using the Contact Form and information linked in the footer of this page (the actual page address changes every so often when the spambots find them). We can set up a time to talk via that form, if you wish.
You can do both, but I track everything in email. If it's our initial contact, I'll redirect you to this page or the Contact Form (link at the bottom of this page).
Just your name, firm, address, email phone number, best time to contact you, and what you are interested in. I don't usually respond to first names only, unless something else about it sounds fun. Same with address and phone number because we're going to need that down the road to do business. Such inquiries are rarely serious.
No. I don't have tiles in stock because tiles sitting around in the studio makes it difficult to work so I can't pull one out of stock. Also a freshly made tile will be closer to the actual colors you will get in the final run. And if there is a small change that is needed, such as making a green more olive than blue, I can do that when I make your sample tiles.
Most sample tiles are full-size tiles that you can use in your installation, unless you make modifications to the design, such as choosing a different background color and are whatever the price listed on the product page currently states. If you want to compare background colors, I am able to put a second background color on the same sample tile. Just ask. If you do want that, a six-inch tile is the way to go so you an see the actual background color. Samples, like all my tiles, are custom-made so are not returnable.
If your client found my website, they already want the tiles and want you to put it together and they're not going to be upset with color variations between runs. They'll design around the tiles and you can be creative with field tiles and other elements. In such cases, I don't see the value added. However, if you are trying to fit in with an existing plan or think there's going to be a possibility of "That's not at all what I thought I was getting", then yes, definitely. Since all tiles are custom-made to order, I don't take tiles back so avoid heartbreak if you think that could happen.
The base sample tile as I write this is is between $70 and $100 depending on the size of tile, plus shipping, which is usually somewhere around $20-$30 depending on how far it has to go. There's an economy of scale so if you are considering options, we can get two or three tiles in a box for no increase in shipping. I do ship UPS. When I make you sample tile, I try to include as many colors as I can from the larger design so, unlike accent tiles, it *probably* won't be one you can use in your installation.
It's risky but *might* work. Colors, especially blues, vary when the weather changes and while it is technically the same "color", it can have a different quality. It's rare that I have excessively long wait times so I advise waiting until you get your actual tile order.
I have made matching field tiles a few times. It is an expensive way to go because I make them one and two at a time, just lik the art tile. Moreover, solid color tiles are less forgiving than tiles with multiple colors, so more tiles sacrifice their lives making them more expensive to make, as counter-intuitive as that is. There are so many beautiful field tiles out there that it doesn't seem worth it. Here are some Customer Installation Photos with both matching field tile made by me and complementary field tiles found in the marketplace.
No. I get top of the line tile blanks that are specially treated to take color well.
Most good size tiles stores offer so many choices. You probably have your own. I do suggest complementary tiles, rather than matchy-matchy. Even if the whites, for example, are exact matches, differences in glaze and reflectivity will make it look as if they aren't. The same is true for colors: Even if the color is exact, variations in glaze and how the light reflects can make it look like they don't. When choosing field tile, it's also a good idea to take a sample field tile from the store so you can compare to the art tile in the actual light where they'll be installed. This is especially true if your tile store has bright overhead or flourescent lighting because nobody lives like that at home.
I have done this several times, but recently my provider changed their glaze slightly and I can't guarantee that they will match exactly. It's better to get your art tiles and then look around. I am happy to give you their contact information, if you want to order from them directly.
No. Even if they match, variations in glaze and how the light reflects makes it look like they don't.
Yes, too many things. I am a great starter and some things sit for awhile until I come around to them again. If you have something special in mind, it doesn't hurt to ask.
No, I don't stock anything. I do sometimes have a few overruns but I usually use these as samples or gifts.
I am not a manufacturer so just-in-time ordering is hazardous. Time to ship depends on how many orders are queued ahead of you, how many tiles, how many seams I have to match, if I have tiles of that size-glaze enough to cover the order. Small orders can sometimes be slipped in with something similar because I can use the same set up, but not in the middle of something completely different.
The prices of everything are on the individual web pages and since I don't offer a discount to the trade, you can work this out yourself and request an invoice. Do you need a formal quote to submit to a client? Since no money has exchanged hands and I am not a big tile supplier with a support staff for such things, I charge $50 for a proper quote on my fancy linen letterhead.
Shipping is a moving target and I don't know the cost until ship time. Shipping costs include a packaging fee per box ($30-$50), and actual shipping / insurance + 3% (less if it's just a few times). If you need to quote your customer a price, you can be prudently safe allowing an additional $200 for packaging, shipping, and insurance, which in most cases is overkill but avoids overruns or having to absorb those costs yourself. If we are over or under by more than $20 at the end, we can settle up then.
It depends on the blanks I am sent when I order. They don't make the tiles themselves, they make the glazes and they don't control what they are sent by the tile manufacturer. Right now, my 6-inch tiles with and without spacers are listed as .25 inch, but there's a slight difference with the spacerless being slightly thicker. These are differences most installers can easily accommodate. The small 4.25 inch tiles are also .25 inch, unless I can get the Spanish tiles I love, and these are thinner. Tiles that are made in Mexico are a bit thicker and so on. If you require a specific thickness, let me know and we'll see if we can make it work.
This is more of a homeowner question, but sometimes comes from a builder. To answer that question, I need more information like size, address, etc. Also, I usually build shipping / packaging / insurance separately at the end because these are moving targets.
How to convert linear feet to number of tiles: Divide the width by the size of the tile. You'll need some space for grout but usually not much (Thick white grout looks like a summer camp project. Please don't do this unless the surround is brick.) If you have a remainder, you can cut the tile to fit, use a field tile, or change the size of the tile to fit better. For some times, you can turn the pattern 45 degrees (so it looks like diamonds) and that can work. For square feet, you need the actual width and height and repeat the above, then multiple number of tiles across by numbr of tiles down.
No, I'm not set up for that. Tiles are custom work, must be completely paid for before shipping, no refunds. Get lots of samples and let them choose. Historically, I once redid a whole fireplace at no cost for a client who didn't like the tiles after they were installed and he *still* didn't like them. I can't get ahead of this sort of thing.
That's something you do for flooring and field tile. I sell art tiles by the piece, but you can divide the total length by the length of the tile plus the planned grout size.
No, I don't do that. You can make mockups from screenshots.
I only have the size blanks that I can order, so 5x5 or other sizes isn't an option. I can, and have, put a 5x5 or other design on a larger tile that your installer can cut to fit, but of course, there can be adventure with cutting tile and the tiles will have sharp edges. This is how most British tiles comes by default, not the smooth corners we have in the States, but if you find it annoying, and I do, then ask your installer to arrange the cut edges along the boundaries. Most installer know to do this by default and in many cases, I honestly cannot even tell that the tiles have been cut.
I do sometimes do mockups for individual clients without designers but not to designers directly. Twice, I've found my designs in magazines or websites attributed to someone else. As you can imagine, this is disheartening so I don't expose myself like that.
No. I absolutely do not, will not, cannot ship to a new construction *job site*. Tile has been signed for by workers and lost, only to be found after replacement tiles were made and in route. Tiles have never disappeared forever, but customers have shared that newly delivered kitchen appliances have. Such events take all the fun out of it.
Tiles do require a signature at delivery and if there is no one there when the tiles are delivered, often in the evening, a tag is left by the carrier. Or sometimes not. I know this is inconvenient but I'm firm on this.
I do. I usually ship UPS Worldwide, but have also had success with FedEx. USPS is an option, but there's no one to talk to if things go wrong.
I use UPS ground or 3-day, sometimes 2-day if I am trying to avoid a holiday weekend. If you have a carrier you like and have a shipping agreement with, I can provide you with shipping details and you can schedule a pickup.
I live and make my tiles in the sovereign state of Oregon, where there is no sales tax. VAT and import taxes are the customer's responsibility and the carrier will contact the addressee for payment.
Do you still want to? Use the Contact Form link in the footer of this page.
William Morris Overview and text listing of all William Morris and early Morris & Co. tiles
Morris Tiles from Textiles - visual gallery
William De Morgan Overview and text listing of all De Morgan Tiles
Arts & Crafts Overview and text listing of both Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau tiles
Pre-Raphaelite Overview and text listing of all Pre-Raphaelite art tiles
(From left:
De Morgan Parrots and Macaws,
Art Nouveau Blue Peacocks,
Fulham Winged Seahorses,
Tree of Knowledge,
Fantastic Bird,
Winged Gryphon,
Peacock and Salamanders,
Edward Burne-Jones Cupid and Psyche,
Louis Tiffany Grapevine )
