Many years ago I had the good fortune to discover two long-established tile shops that were selling off odd lots of vintage tiles that had been gathering dust on their shelves since as far back as the 1920s. This was the start of my love affair with tiles. Up until the mid-1950s, tiles were manufactured in a wide range of styles and in incredibly, beautiful, subtle colors, like the deepest, mouth-watering maroon and eye-popping ultramarine blue. By the 1960s, though, about the only colors one could find were hideous pastels and what were called ‘oatmeal’ patterns. It wasn’t until about the 1990s when manufacturers began reviving older styles and color palettes and today, there’s almost nothing you can’t find. So I spent the intervening thirty years creating unusual installations from my vintage tile collection. I especially like incorporating tiles with built-in cabinetry. Some of what you see here are Victorian-era tiles and marble mosaics from the 1930s that I have set by hand.
