On November 21 and 22, 2019, renowned porcelain artist, Roberto Colonetti, hosted a free workshop at The Stone Shop in Ankeny, IA. Colonetti, who is known for his innovative installation techniques, travels to countries all over the world to give hands-on demonstrations of his methods.

Highlighting tile products from ABK Group, Artistic Tile, Crossville, Daltile, Ege Seramik, Emilgroup, Emser Tile, Fincibec Group, Infinity Surfaces, Island Stone, Lunada Bay Tile, MSI Surfaces, Nemo Tile + Stone, Realonda Ceramica, SomerTile, and Walker Zanger.

Often times, when people hear the word “tilework,” the traditional 4- x 4- or 8- x 8-inch subway tiles that are commonly seen on kitchen walls may come to mind. However, there is an entire universe of tile artists creating custom artworks with different varieties of mosaic tile.

Gauged porcelain tile panels/slabs (GPTP) are gaining a lot of traction in the tile and stone industries as of late. The large-format materials, which are technically defined as tiles measuring 1 x 1 meter (40 x 40 inches) or larger, have been creating a lot of buzz in the marketplace lately.

In this edition, we sat down with Ken Ballin, owner of Skyro Floors in West Creek, NJ.

The Pietta Donovan collection from Walker Zanger is a bold and balanced artful palette of handmade tiles that emphasizes pattern play, bright colors and new shapes, each invigorating the spaces they dwell in with depth and emotion.

Mimicking the natural appearance of oak wood, SomerTile's Tribeka Hex Brown 8 5/8" x 9 7/8" porcelain floor and wall tile emulates rustic beauty with an abstract twist. This hexagon-shaped tile transforms any space into a work of art through triangular patterns reminiscent of Art Deco style.

The eternal charm of wood, with its naturalness, grain and color shades, is reflected in the Sequoia collection by Realonda Ceramica, and shown in different formats and reliefs. The 40- x 120-cm rectified porcelain is inspired by the warmth of the Nordic style with thin and irregular wood strips.

Nemo Tile+Stone’s new Stellar collection of whitebody wall tiles are available in three different colors: Solid White, Blue and Black. Offered in a glazed finish, these tiles are intricately designed to create a linear pattern.