Handmade Tile Association Newsletter

April

2014

Our 15th Year

Pick up your marketing cards

The Handmade Tile Association meeting for members is:
Date: Wednesday, April 2nd
Time: 6 - 8 pm

Venue: North Prairie Tileworks
2845 Harriet Avenue South
HTA will provide lasagna, salad and beverages.

This is our first meeting of the year. Come talk with your tile peers. Discover what we hear after every meeting: members make lots of new contacts, learn more about the industry and even gain insights as to how to improve their businesses.

We hope you can attend!
Agenda:

1) Discuss opportunities for Handmade Tile Association members.

2) Tour North Prairie Tileworks.

3) Member goals: What would members like HTA to focus on and how can members collaborate to achieve those ideas?

4) Pick up your new marketing cards.

5) Show and share your newest tile or project.

Please mark your calendars and if you can RSVP, please do. It would help us plan for how much food to provide. Thank you!

In This Issue

Tools of the Trade

In the Tile Studio.

Moravian Tile Festival.

Northern Clay Center and Handmade Tile Association Co sponsor tile event.

Spotlight on Artist Schedule

Post of the Month.

Become a member

Tools of the Trade

In this issue we're starting a new series on the tools that tile makers utilize and even invent. Tile makers have some interesting and unique tools that are necessary to create tiles. Do you have tools you would like to highlight or that you invented? Please send us info or photos of the tools, how they are used and where they are sold so we can consider them for the series.

Making Holes in Tile - Do you make house numbers and switch plates? Ever need to install a soap dish or other accessory into tile? Or have to clean out a whole that filled in with glaze during firing? If so, there is a wonderful product made just for tile people. A Tungsten Carbide drill bit by www.AnotherAmazingProduct.com

They are made in England but initially we found them at the MN State Fair. We've tested them and they are amazing! They really help remove glaze in tight spots, especially what fills in holes on house numbers. They are affordable, too, with most of the bits under $10. A nice addition to have in your studio.

In the Tile Studio

Many people who follow our Handmade Tile Association members are intrigued by how we make our work. In the Tile Studio is a new feature to help them see the behind-the-scenes activity at a tile shop.

Below is a tile fireplace project we liked that was featured on the Handmade Tile Association's Facebook page. Showcased on this link is Laura McCaul of Earth Wood and Fire making her amazing tiled Marsh Fireplace. Click to check it out!

Carving the Wet Clay

Partially Blackwared Surround

Laura Loading Bisqued Pieces for Blackware Firing

Marsh Fireplace

Click here to see the whole process of this fireplace.

Moravian Tile Festival

It's time to sign up for the Moravian Tile Festival in Doylestown, PA. Deadline for registrations, deposits and booth requests is Monday, April 14th.

Show Dates:

Saturday and Sunday, May 17 & 18, 2014 - rain or shine.
Saturday 10AM to 5PM

Sunday 10AM to 4PM
WHERE:

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works (a National Historic Landmark), 130 East Swamp Road (Route 313),

Doylestown, PA 18901
(Bucks County Pennsylvania.)

Contact mptw@co.bucks.pa.us to get an application.

To download an application click here.

Northern Clay Center and Handmade Tile Association Cosponsor Tile Event

Volumetric Image Transfer with Forrest Lesch-Middelton

Volumetric Image Transfer, a very cool video,
with Forrest Lesch-Middelton

The Northern Clay Center contacted the HTA to ask if we would like to cosponsor a tile workshop during the American Pottery Festival. We agreed and decided to bring in Forrest Lesch-Middelton. The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, September 11, 10 - 4 pm.

The American Pottery Festival will include our logo in their brochure, which gets mailed out to over 4500 local and national clay enthusiasts.

In addition, the HTA Directory will be available at the check-out table over the American Pottery Festival weekend. Attendance at Opening Night is roughly 400; traffic over the weekend is an additional 400.

The workshop will be held at Northern Clay Center; capacity for enrollment currently is at 14. Seven of those spots are reserved for HTA audience members. If they are not used two weeks prior to the event, they will be considered "open seats" and released to the general public. Tentative fee for the workshop is $100.

Sincerely,

Josh Blanc

President

Handmade Tile Association, LLC

Quick Links! Check out all the new info...

Spotlight on artists for 2014...
If you are next,

gather any new images, information or news you would like to be highlighted. Send them to the HTA by the first of your month.

Sight Line Tile	April
Mercury Mosaics	April
SOMI Tileworks	April
Clay Squared to Infinity	May
Lea Way Design	May
Sheryl Tuorila	May
Tina Schowalter	June
Earth Wood and Fire	June
Kathleen Mellin Grubbs LLC	June
Elfstone Studio	July
Deb LeAir	July
Stone Hollow Tile	July
Ceramic Chinn	August
House on the Hill	august
Hohn & Hohn	August
Belvedere Art Tile	September
North Prairie Tile	September
Syzygy Tileworks	September
Fay Jones Day	October
Martha Coursey Mosaic Tile Works	October
Tile Restoration Center	October
Pewabic Pottery	November
Untapped Resource	November

Post of the Month

We are going to recognize the our highest liked post of the month on our facebook page. Send us your best and see if you can win this prestigious honor

Most like post of the month

Become a member
or
Renew your membership

Your membership is an important to help pay for the newsletter, events and behind the scenes planning. Click here to become a member.

2014 Directory

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Thank you to the

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of the Handmade Tile Association

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