The ninth edition of Total Solutions Plus (TSP) was held from October 27 to 30, 2018, at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, TX, where it welcomed more than 600 attendees. Distributors, manufacturers and contractors alike enjoyed a range of educational sessions and attend various motivational speeches.

Comprised of three world-class tradeshows: SURFACES, StonExpo/Marmomac and TileExpo, The International Surface Event (TISE) is the largest North American floor covering, stone and tile industry event, which is held each year at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV.

This year, Cevisama is scheduled to take place from Jan 28 to Feb 1, 2019, at the Feria Valencia Center in Valencia, Spain. The international ceramic exhibition showcases the newest products relating to architecture, bathroom and kitchen equipment, natural stone, raw materials, frits, glazes, colors and even machinery.

Business is thriving, markets are growing and big things are happening. It’s good to see positive signs of growth in the industry. As I sit here writing this, I’m preparing for one of the busiest times of the year here at TILE. The “trade show season” is about to commence — a period when industry events are hosted back-to-back.

In 1937, Rodolfo Squinzi founded MAPEI as a small family business in Milan, Italy. Looking to fill a void in the local construction industry, Squinzi established the company with only three employees. He named it “Materiali ausiliari per l’edilizia e l’industria,” for which MAPEI is now the acronym.

Over the last year, I have been fortunate to travel to many different countries around the world. During my travels, I’ve observed how much of an impact the tile industry has on different regions. It’s truly amazing to see how a manmade material such as tile can affect different ways of business and life.

Organized annually by BolognaFiere, Cersaie is known as the world's largest exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings. With more than 1.7 million square feet of exhibition space, the renowned tradeshow is held each year at the end of September in Bologna, Italy.

Recently, the company decided to expand its six-floor office space in Vancouver to a nine-floor, 160,000-square-foot workplace for its 1,000 employees. The project included a detailed functional space program and full interior design services.

“A marvellous story unfolding in every little corner” is Marcel Wanders’ curious description of the Mondrian Doha, a 24-story skyscraper recently added to the skyline of Doha, Qatar’s capital and biggest city.

Rahnee Gladwin is an interior designer, allied member of the American Institute of Architects and member of the Tile Heritage Foundation. Since 1997, she has also worked with stone, glass, metal and ceramics, specializing in custom mosaic design and assembly.