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Tiles Inspired by Japanese Textile Dying Techniques

04.11.14 | By
Tiles Inspired by Japanese Textile Dying Techniques

Designer Deborah Osburn has been designing and manufacturing tile through her company Tilevera for 25 years and her latest work is a dreamy new series of tile, the Watermark Collection, available exclusively through clé, a company she founded in 2012. The collection was inspired by Japanese textile dying techniques and each tile’s individuality is much like what it’s named after, the watermark.

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Indigo – dip

Each tile is completely unique and begins as an unglazed, hand formed and slow fired porcelain tile that is the color of new paper. Using authentic pigments in indigo and gold verdigris, each tile is dipped, stroked, stained, or washed to the desired effect. The tiles absorb the pigments differently which makes them all individual works of art.

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Indigo – dip and Indigo – stain

The watercolor-like appearance of each organic pattern gives a soft, ethereal look to each tile. Can you imagine an entire wall covered with these?! Stunning…

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Indigo – dip

The tiles can be installed indoors or out, on walls or on floors. Each design comes in 3″x6″, 4″x8″, and 6″x12″.

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Indigo – stroke

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Indigo – wash

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Indigo – stain

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Gold verdigris – dip

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Gold verdigris – stroke

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Gold verdigris – wash

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Gold verdigris – stain

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Look, they even make clé iPhone cases so if you can’t get in on their tile action, you can bring some of their awesome tile designs home with you!

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.