In the midst of all this craziness, I feel blessed to not only be safe and healthy, but to have a career that affords me the luxuries of working from home. As journalists, we are committed to bringing you pertinent information in a timely manner, no matter where we may be, which is why we’ve been working overtime in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic to provide our readers with not only tile-related news, but how the industry as a whole has been affected. We have created a special landing page for all COVID-19 updates and related news, which you can view here.

Although this pandemic has forced the cancellation and rescheduling of countless industry events, we are here to try and make your reading experience the best that it can possibly be. In my previous editorial, I mentioned how excited I was to attend this year’s edition of Coverings, which would have just happened in New Orleans, LA. In an ode to what would’ve been one of the show’s best editions yet, we decided to put together an exclusive product review, which highlights the new products that exhibitors would’ve been introducing at the interactive event. Flip to page 22 to check that out.

In the beginning of February, I traveled to Valencia, Spain, to attend one of the largest international tradeshows for ceramics and bathroom furnishings, which I didn’t expect to be my last trip to Europe for the foreseeable future. For the last handful of years, I have watched fads come and go, and trends continue to flourish, and this year was no exception. Head over to page 14 to see some of the top tile trends I observed for 2020.

Speaking of tile trends, we also sat down with a group of designers and creative directors from all over the U.S., who shed some light on the current trends they’re seeing that are dominating the market. From new colorways to patterns, and everything in between, get an inside look at what’s hot and what’s not on page 33.

As I sit here writing this, there are so many thoughts rushing through my head. What does the next week hold? How many families will be affected by this tragedy? How will we, as a country and population, come out of this? With millions of tags on Instagram, countless Facebook groups and a variety of articles populating Twitter and LinkedIn over the last month, the “stay home” initiative has garnered a lot of positive feedback. It’s also helped reduce the spread of the virus, according to various health officials, which is something we are all happy about. Until this unfortunate circumstance becomes a distant memory, I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy spring.

Sincerely,

Heather Fiore, Editor