The Artist Series by Clay Imports
Here’s where things get interesting
Our 100% original lines of tile can only be found at Clay Imports. The original Clay Imports designs have been co-created in-house with talented designers who have never worked in tile. Giving the designers and makers we love a platform to flex their talents. The results are imaginative tile designs that are like nothing else in the industry.
The Artist Series is a shining example of how we strive to achieve our purpose: create collaborations that go far beyond a backsplash, connect the customer with artisans, and simplify the process of acquiring handmade ceramics.
Meet the Artist Series
VALLADOLID SERIES
Ayse (I-sha) of Ayse Design is a designer who specializes in making beautiful things we can smile at while drinking. She has designed three custom tile lines for Clay Imports. The timeless Geometric Series, vibrant Valladolid Series, and versatile Patisserie Series have become top sellers highlighting her ability to create designs that are both unique and accessible. The Valladolid Series x Clay Imports draws inspiration from the rich and luscious landscape of the Yucatan. The textures and vibrant deep glazes evoke a natural sense of wonder with a touch of timeless glamour. Go ‘elevated Bohemian,’ ‘polished jungalow’ or be the focal point of any modern or art deco design with these stunning pieces of art.
PATISSERIE SERIES
The Patisserie Series x Clay Imports is not just a line of tiles, it's a manual 4-speed Renault ride back to France of the 70s. When expats, intellectuals, and paupers all hung out to discuss the issues of the day, deep into the night. The design was elevated yet natural. The colors, contemporary. The art on the verge of deco. Light another cigarette. Pour a round for my friends. The party has only begun.
OAXACA SERIES
Rohin Bhalla is a designer from Austin, TX, who invents all types of objects. While working in Mexico, he became fascinated with how simple shapes of wood could be rotated and intersected together to create a piece of furniture. He couldn’t help but use the same approach when creating the Oaxaca Series x Clay Imports. The Oaxaca Series features three patterns, in three different colors, all inspired by fascinating Oaxaca: Tortuga, Michelada, and Midnight. The Oaxaca Series encompasses three color customizable patterns, Xochitl, Etla, and Penacho.
HORIZON SERIES
Claire Zinnecker leads a boutique interior design firm based in Austin, TX. Specializing in both residential and commercial design, Claire is a firm believer that every space tells a story. Her unique style paired with her passion for clean, affordable design has become her design aesthetic. Claire Zinnecker’s Horizon Series x Clay Imports is an interactive, made-to-order, tile experience that brings you into the design process. The Horizon Series includes seven clay tile body options and eight glaze finish colors. Using Claire’s curated foundation of tile shapes and finish colors, you get to be the designer, by pairing the perfect color to your selected shape.
INK SERIES
These original patterns are inspired by Devon’s fascination and personal work with ink. Bold patterns and fine lines pull from calligraphy and traditional tattoo design. Each pattern is color-customizable to fit any aesthetic: moody contrast, warm neutral, or something bolder, Ink is as adaptable as you need it to be.
FROM OUTSIDE SERIES
Brett Stiles Is a designer, illustrator, and taco connoisseur based in Austin, Texas. Past jobs have found Stiles working as an antique dealer, furniture restorer, full-time skateboarder, and advertising creative director, prior to planting his own flag. The From Outside Series x Clay Imports is inspired by nature. Strong visual cues come from skateboarding and everyday life. The series embodies a sense of style that is flexible in form and function while allowing for a broad range of designs from random spontaneity to bold imagery. Now with new colorways and bundles. Check it out here!
GROW HOUSE GROW SERIES
Design Studio Grow House Grow specializes in narrative-inspired patterns. Their lifelong love of storytelling and affinity for design shapes every single thing they produce. With Grow House Grow’s magical designs and Clay Imports' artisanal tile-making expertise, we are excited to share the Grow House Grow Series x Clay Imports: original patterns on clay that tell a story. When Clay Imports and Katie met it was like, two people, with two ideas, coming together to make a better idea. Katie was curious to try out a new medium, and Clay Imports was deeply intrigued by her work. Beautiful things can happen when you join forces!
Shop the Grow House Grow Series
MILLENNIAL LOTERIA
Millennial Loteria by Mike Alfaro is a witty and insightful parody of the traditional Hispanic game of Lotería, sometimes referred to as “Mexican Bingo”. This game reimagines outdated Latinx representation and humorously updates it to reflect a more modern millennial generation. Originally conceived as an Instagram account, Millennial Lotería went viral appearing even on the cover of The New York Times. This led to the release of the actual card game on Amazon, and Target. The Millennial Loteria Series x Clay Imports has turned the beloved Millennial Loteria on tile.
Shop the Millennial Loteria Series
BLACK SERIES
David Bravo is an award-winning Austin-based interior designer. David takes inspiration from a variety of directions but a Modern Santa Barbara look is one of his favorite. The original Oval tile of the Black Series x Clay Imports is a 3-dimensional clay piece featuring a curated colorway of matte colors that elevate any space. You can choose from any of our matte colors to make the Oval part of your residential or commercial design.
LACUNA SERIES
Jada Schumacher runs a materials-obsessed design studio in New York City.
She is a Color Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Color and Trend Reporter for the Government of Japan. A lacuna is the moment before you leap into a lake, a gap with promise, an exquisite opportunity for the new. Well, yes, that lovely gap in your space is also the ideal place to set some stylish new tiles and launch into what’s next.
PASEO SERIES
Kim Spradlin Wolfe is a San Antonio, TX based interior designer, HGTV star and Survivor winner with a big heart for vintage style. Kim collaborated with us for the Paseo tile series. Paseo features rich hues and bold tones on perfectly imperfect vintage handcrafted tiles inspired by the city of San Miguel de Allende. Offered in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from 1 inch “ita” square tiles to 4.5 inch circles. Paseo is designed to be interchangeable to enable imaginative mixing and matching. Make your space uniquely yours with Paseo, a tile collection unlike any other.
DAEDREAM SERIES
Shadé Akanbi, the Creative Director and Designer of Printed Pattern People. present us one of the most intricate hand made tile we've ever had. Daedream Series is rooted in African landscapes and motifs from Shadé’s travels. Everything is named after something familiar in Nigerian and Black culture and features a handmade tile collection with cultural significance and a personalized artist’s touch unlike any other. These expansive influences provide her handmade tile collection with cultural significance and a personalized artist’s touch unlike any other tile collection.
BLOOM SERIES
Sarahí Bloom is a Mexican designer born in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, one of the most beautiful beach towns in the Mexican pacific and she was always interested in developing a career in design and creative painting. Now with a private illustration career, her work is finding a new home with ceramic tiles, combining inspiration from the blooming coastal flora of her hometown with hand crafted ceramics, creating a seamless fusion of symmetry, organic elements, and harmonious motifs.
If you have any questions or know an artist you would like to see featured here, don't hesitate to reach out to us at contact@clayimports.com