Laura Gottwald’s stunningly mod stone mosaics

My favorite discovery at ICFF last spring: interior designer Laura Gottwald unveiled an amazing line of mod waterjet-cut stone mosaics for Sara Baldwin’s New Ravenna, which are being carried by Stone Source. They come in 6-by-12-inch modules, in a variety of marbles and other stones. I wanted to steal all of her samples and take them home with me!

I’ve been seeing some amazing water-jet-cut designs lately, but manufacturers have mostly been enlisting the technology to create either very contemporary designs or very classical olde-tyme patterns. While both extremes have resulted in some amazing product, I think the technique–which creates super crisp lines–is a natural for very graphic, mid-20th-century influenced designs like these, which I love best! 

Visit Laura’s website to visit some of the amazing spaces she’s designed. And Sara from New Ravenna did a great blog post with lots of background scoopage. Plus check out Interior Design’s article, too:

More of Laura’s designs:

A digital rendering of the above:

As seen in: the Dior Institute

Oooh la la! Will someone please book me a trip to the Dior Institute at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris so I can check out the spa’s amazing tilework in person? Thank you so much.

Above: the hammam! Below: The fiber-optic-lit mosaiced pool. [Eric Laignel's pix from Interior Design mag.]

Learn how to mosaic from Heath Ceramics!

Dying to do this: mosaic class at Heath Ceramics! One of Heath’s employees, Lisa Bookstein, runs workshops for beginners on a monthly basis–8 hours spread over a weekend, during which you learn the basics and make a 12 x 12-inch mosaic panel! Upcoming dates are August 22 through 23, and September 26 through 27. Plus she offers more advanced classes for those with some experience in the medium! Great excuse to visit Heath’s Sausalito shop/facilities (as if you needed another)…

Oh, and speaking of Delftware…

…just ordered this on Amazon! If you haven’t checked it out, the Philadelphia Museum of Art‘s collection of Delftware tiles is a must-see.

And speaking of Royal Tichelaar…

…a shout out to Dick van Hoff‘s awesome Tile Stove project, which debuted at Milan. More goodies on Dezeen! Almost makes me hanker for winter.

Royal Tichelaar Makkum’s customizable tiles

There is so much I dig about old-school Dutch ceramic house Royal Tichelaar Makkum, including its amazing selection of Delftware, its collaborations with top designers, and its milky glazed tiles cladding the MAD Museum‘s facade (and soon to clad The Hague). But I just discovered this! For approximately 125-190 euros, they will customize an earthenware tile with whatever hand-painted text you’d like. What a sweet way to commemorate an anniversary or some such! (Now you know what to get the Tileist for her birthday, ahem…)

Check out RTM’s full selection of tiles here.

Other awesome designs:

Boffi kitchens gets a taste of tile!

This makes me most excited: Piero Lissoni‘s Duemilaotto kitchen system for Boffi, featuring…drumroll, please…a tiled ventilation hood! I’ve seen tiled hoods a few times before–very clever–but always in a southwestern-y style, with pretty hand-painted ceramics or some such. Lissoi’s system–which incorporates tiles into the backsplash and countertop, too–is the first time I’ve seen the treatment in a contemporary setting. What makes me so excited about this design is his paring of very clean lines and sleek surfaces with more textured finishes like the rough-hewn wood (one iteration of the system has an Acacia island) and artisan ceramics that have the appearance of woven fabric.

Trendir did a great post showcasing the whole system…check it out here. Or visit Boffi.

A close-up:

An overall of the whole system:

Cool stuff from Stone Source

Little bit tardy posting this…intriguing new things at the Stone Source booth at ICFF in May: dimensional tiles above and recycled-glass chip mosaics below. Also check out their (somewhat recently revamped) website here.

As seen in: Marfa, Texas

Also saw alot of crazy bugs:

Shiny Metallic Mosaics at Barbie Shanghai

What?! Totally nuts! Go Slade Architecture! (Meanwhile, I can’t even believe such a thing as a Barbie store in Shanghai exist but whatevs…)