bumping...

Oh my. I had to look up that one, to see what it looks like. Fun!!

Cawaps - you may have just led me to my fireplace mantel tile, thanks and curses both perhaps to come....

Pratt and Larson has one that's close...their large elongated hex tile...but it lacks the fluid lines that are so appealing in the Fireclay tile.

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Thanks, Mudhouse. I had found the Pratt & Larson after I posted. They actually have a curvier version under new products in their catalog addendum. But if Fireclay is out of budget, it's likely that Pratt & Larson is as well. Sigh.

I had suggested to my friend that we trek down to San Jose (from Oakland) to their "Boneyard" to look for seconds. Although she might make this a splurge if we don't find anything. She really was quite taken with the tile.

They're very friendly--just call them or email them and ask if they have them. If you go into the shop your friend might end up spending more than she wanted. :)

On the other hand, best to see all the colors if she does end up splurging...

This one might be too straight for you.

Seagull Tile.

We have it in our bathroom but it was installed 5 years ago.

Cawaps, I know. I really love that shape, but anything I find looks like it will be pretty expensive.
Swerve by Bonton Designs:

What is her budget?

There are ways to work with tile you can't afford. One is to look for something similar, like you're doing now. Another is to use it as an accent tile, either surrounded by an affordable field tile, or as the only tile in a highlighted zone, with a counter material bs for the rest of the kitchen. It may make her happy to know that using this as an accent would be the truest to her kitchen's MCM roots.

That said... she should ask what Fireclay's minimum order would be on that tile. Of course if you're in CA the boneyard is a fantastic idea.

The daltiles Natural Hues line has a really nice elongated hex. We were just quoted about $17/ sq ft which is substantially less than fireclay. It comes in a bunch of pretty colors.

http://products.daltile.com/series.cfm?seriesName=naturalhues

We are off to the Boneyard tomorrow--I've been wanting to go ever since I found out that Fireclay was so close to me. My friend being interested was just the push I needed. I will let you know how it goes.

KL, thanks for the tip. I've looked at Natual Hues many times--they have great colors at an even better price point. I know she really likes the curves, but with that kind of price differential she might be swayed.

Blfenton, nice tile, but very geometric.

Fori, she already saw their San Francisco showroom, that was how she discovered this tile in the first place.

Lucky! Take pictures for us please:)

Love fireclay tile, wish it was in my budget! Let us know what you find and what the boneyard is like, pretty please.

They had bins of random glass tiles that they were selling to use for mosaics that they were selling by the box. My daughter begged, so I let her get a box ($10). I told her we could find a table at Goodwill and mosaic the top. I have NO experience tiling, so that should be interesting.

The above pic is of some seriously large, seriously detailed, tile, of which there were many. Probably 40 square feet or more.

These are the 2x2 decos my daughter was so enamored of.

Oh, you're killing me! Thanks so much for posting all the wonderful photos. DH will not be happy to hear we now have to drive from NM to CA to rummage through the bone yard.

If I lived close, I'm afraid I'd have to make regular pilgrimages there. What fun!!!

I can see the challenge, though, of having such limited quantities there. I hope your friend was able to find something she liked.

You and your daughter will have fun doing a table top, I'm sure.

Thank you! I love it. Now I'm plotting to see if I can get dh to go down with me before we order tile, just in case.

I need a field trip - cross the border and straight down I-5. I can do this.

Cawaps - love the pictures!! Thanks so much for the detail too.

Now Heath has a similar program, and even advertises what they have online, so perhaps another road trip and more pictures for us LD dreamers?

Glad you enjoyed them. My daughter gets credit for most of the pics--she commandeered the camera (yes, camera, no smart phone) as soon as she realized I brought it, and that was it.

Heath has also been on my list for a while. Unlike Fireclay, they post an inventory of their seconds online. When I go, I'll be sure to post pics.