Designer Spotlight

Clay SMA Artists in Residency: Rock Paper Build

A week long stay culminating in an effortlessly cool tile line

By Clay Imports

Clay Imports is not only a tile store; it is a place that facilitates the creativity of designers and builders alike. That’s why we created our Clay SMA Studio: an environment where Clay Imports ceramicists, designers, artists and clients can work together to create not only a product but a holistic experience of creation. On this occasion, wife / husband team Rebecca Holliday and Davey McEathron of Rock Paper Build ventured into the heart of the Mexican state of Guanajuato to build a new perspective, find inspiration, and rediscover the materials they specify every day.

Rebecca Holliday and Davey McEathron of Rock Paper Build

The Clay SMA Residency

We strongly believe in the value of well-developed products and the benefit of collaboration on a personal level with designers and makers. As such, it was important to create a space that honors this philosophy, where creatives find a new avenue for their original works through clay tile and tableware. Thats why, in 2023, Clay Imports opened a ceramic studio and artist residency in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

In this new space, Clay Imports started the Clay SMA Residency program, where our guests will flex their talent on a new medium: tile. Artists work, design, and create their tiles in San Miguel with us and have the opportunity to explore the communities in which traditional clay tile production is practiced.

San Miguel de Allende (just voted the No.1 Best City in the World by Travel and Leisure (felicidades San Miguel!)) and neighboring Pueblo Magico Dolores Hidalgo are two fascinating towns in Mexico’s central highlands, renowned for their baroque and vibrant Spanish architecture, thriving arts scene, and cultural festivals. We invite artists and creatives to this fully immersive experience to witness the unparalleled craftsmanship that goes into each tile firsthand, connect with makers, the creatives at Clay Imports (poolside cocktail hours included), and enjoy the immaculate vibes of San Miguel.

Rock Paper Build at the Clay SMA Residency

“We're always looking for something new, something innovating, something different, and so being able to come to an environment where you know you're going to spend a week on design collaboration really get into the process, it just made so much sense and it's been a lovely experience” Said Rebecca, who has taken the role of general contractor and shares design responsibilities with Davey at Rock Paper Build. Rebecca and Davey have been clients of Clay Imports for several years. We were thrilled when they accepted the invitation to become artists in residence and spend time with us in San Miguel.

“We've used Clay Imports tile a lot and we designed a lot of homes, so at some point, we were looking for new patterns and new options and we like designing so we just approached Clay Imports and we're like “hey, can we start to design some of our own tiles?” Said Davey, who is not only the husband half in the team, but also the founder and principal architect at Davey McEathron Architecture, a firm with 10 years of experience, based in Austin.

What they discover in Mexico

“I think that my favorite part thus far has been being absorbed and immersed into the culture here” Davey has enjoyed not only working in the same location where the clay is harvested, but also learning about a new workframe: “Our level of iteration and reiteration is sort of Non-Stop and we don't like to stop until we've sort of solved the problem and feel like ‘okay it's done, we've reached the end, we've sort of solved the problem’. And in Mexico I think things are a little slower and a little more laid-back [...] it's been nice to try to slow down a little bit but yeah, we're here to do this amazing thing, so we're absorbing every minute we can.

Similarly, Rebecca,has enjoyed exploring the region and seeing how being in the place where the clay materials originate has shaped it in a way that has left her stunned: “I mean, you go, you're driving through the city and you just see sketches of essentially tile patterns on, you know, doors and the sidewalk and poles. It's just such a part of the community that I feel like being here really immerses you in that design experience and that it's just such a part of the culture here.”

I think San Miguel feels a little bit more urban than Dolores does and I think wandering the streets of San Miguel in the evening it's… there's a lot of people walking around, everyone's having a good time, there's smiles on their faces… it feels a little bit more electric and that's a little bit more my vibe and the beautiful churches at night all lit up, the squares with people dancing and laughing… I think that for me San Miguel in the evening has really been my favorite so far.

Davey and Rebecca had the chance to get to know both Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende and they have praised the aesthetic of both places, as Davey mentions: “The way that everything is handmade here: the homes are handmade and the streets are cobblestone and everything sort of makes you slow down and appreciate what's happening.”

Rebecca highlights the metalwork of both places, specially doors. That’s one of the aspects that we love about bringing people to our Clay SMA experience: sharing with our guests the aspects we often take for granted give us all the opportunity to explore design from new perspectives and find inspiration in the most unexpected places.

I could wander around both cities and just take photographs of the doors and metal work that go into the facades of these buildings. I think it one of the things I was I didn't really expect here is that the facades of all the buildings are so close to the street and that's the first thing you see when you're kind of wandering around the city: these massive doors and [how] all the buildings are just so distinct I like when people can put their own spin on the space.

We loved having Rebecca and Davey join us for the week and we are sure this experience will influence their future work. If you want to know more about them, you can follow Rock Paper Build and Davey McEathron Architecture on Instagram. You can also learn more about their design process and the work they did in this article and find the collection they built here. And remember, if you have any questions or require more information, reach out to us at contact@clayimports.com.