the clé chronicle: summer 2019
by clé tile | published: Aug 22, 2019
not surprisingly, at the top of the most wanted list is zellige. this classic glazed moroccan terracotta tile continues to be the in-demand surface of 2019, despite being around for thousands of years. so what’s different about this year? the desire for handcrafted, artisanal creations has never been stronger, and, coupled with some high-profile installations, the craft has been invigorated with bold color and creativity. “anything new and too ‘perfect’ feels mass produced and inhuman,” explains our founder deborah osburn. “right now, zellige is what our modern, digital world is craving.”
to read more about the insatiable thirst for zellige, see this feature in domino magazine with some amazing recent clé installations. keep your eyes (and your backsplashes) open, because we will be launching an all-new zellige color this autumn (ssshhh). like the rest of the world, we also can’t get enough zellige. so, drawing upon the mosaic traditions of moroccan zellige, we debuted a collaboration with designer anthony d’argenzio of zio & sons. the collection features two shapes and four colors, for countless combinations and ways to create a truly custom look. if you’ve seen a design website or magazine in the past month, you’ve no doubt read all about it. highlights include profiles in house beautiful, domino and luxe, as well as ADpro, where the collection has been described as “disrupting the mosaic tile work model.” look for our next kiln shipment soon.
while summertime is normally lazy and relaxing, our kilns have been working overtime on some additional new launches this summer. according to our instagram followers everyone wants an amazing outdoor living room. so, just in time for patio season, we unveiled new colorways of five of our most popular cement tile patterns. the collection is nearly sold out, and as a result of its popularity, we arecontemplating bringing some of the tiles into our permanent collection. check out the summer ’19 collection here. most recently, we relaunched our creative partnership with south african artist ruan hoffmann. artist collaboration is at the very core of what cle is about, and hoffmann feels the same way: “anything that brings art closer to people I should like to explore.” the result is “much love me” a collection of hoffmann’s art applied to limestone in two colorways. for more on this limited collection, read the highlight on ADpro.
other news highlights of recent weeks: interior design magazine featuring fornace brioni, whose handmade italian masterpieces are only available in the united states via clé, two tributes to the the backsplash in real simple and the LA times and shower tile ideas from domino.