Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
New Rep for CPTW
Richard Irvine has joined CPTW as their new Santa Barbara representative.
A partner in IrvineCabada ArtDesign Richard will continue to work with Rafael Perea de la Cabada on public art & design projects
Thursday, December 17, 2009
A MESSAGE FROM MONTECITO
After the TEA FIRE in Santa Barbara my wife and I were looking for tile samples, to allow us to once again to be creative with our tile rebuilding applications. The California Pottery and Tile Company was instrumental in offering up as many samples as we needed for our evaluation and comparison process.
Their willingness to work with us by offering a plant tour, free samples and consultation has been most beneficial regarding our do-diligents processes. The production environment in which the tiles are produced was most impressive.
The workmanship of their standard and custom products is outstanding. We have a few tile samples we recovered from our fire debris. They are able to copy and reproduce them at a very reasonable cost which allows us to replace our damaged tiles.
We want to thank Mike & Matt for their kindness and support during our rebuilding process. We have referred several neighbors and friends to the California Pottery and Tile Company with positive results. After learning that the California Pottery and Tile Company has created tiles for several municipalities in Santa Barbara and Ventura, I knew that they were dedicated and responsive to the local communities.
The workmanship of their standard and custom products is outstanding. We have a few tile samples we recovered from our fire debris. They are able to copy and reproduce them at a very reasonable cost which allows us to replace our damaged tiles.
We want to thank Mike & Matt for their kindness and support during our rebuilding process. We have referred several neighbors and friends to the California Pottery and Tile Company with positive results. After learning that the California Pottery and Tile Company has created tiles for several municipalities in Santa Barbara and Ventura, I knew that they were dedicated and responsive to the local communities.
Sincerely,
Grant & Terri Gibson
West Mountain Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
California Pottery and Tile Works Donate to the Tea and Jesusita Fire Victims
NEWS NEWS NEWS
Quote from Jeff Shelton, Santa Barbara Architect - Mountain Drive Community Association
"I have worked with California Pottery for years, on many jobs. People might know them for their beautiful and durable tile. What they may not know is how inventive and flexible they are in terms of making any shape or design I can come up with. While I work with a number of local artisans, California Pottery makes it possible to get a lot of custom work fast.
After the Tea Fire in Santa Barbara, one of the first phone calls I got was from California Pottery. They were not looking for work, but instead, asked me what they could do for all of the people up on Mountain Drive.
Since that time, they have donated more pallets of tile than we can store. Most houses on the Drive will end up having a little or a lot of California Pottery tile."
BELOW: Rendering of a remodeled Tea Fire residence by Jeff Shelton using both donated and custom ordered tile from CPTW.
Many of us who live in Southern California know people and have personal friends who suffered from the Tea Fire in Montecito - Nov. 13th. 2008 and the Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara - May 8th. 2009.
All of us at California Pottery and Tile Works, although based in Los Angeles, have worked closely with architects, designers and home owners in Montecito and Santa Barbara for years and have formed friendships and strong business relationships with many people who have been affected by these two disasters. Because of our ties to this area it was never in question that we would try to help and continue to help in any way we can and support those who have had such devastating loss.
To that end we have worked with Grant Gibson and the Mountain Drive Community Association, MDCA, and Jeff Shelton (Architect), to donate and continue to donate "over run" ceramic tiles and ceramic and terracotta architectural elements, which home owners can use and incorporate in their re-building efforts.
To date we have donated approx. $ 50,000 of various field tiles, decorative malibu style, and hand painted tiles, terracotta pavers, spill ways and contemporary style ceramics. We will continue to do this as long as we can and hope all the home owners can re-build and continue their lives safely in the Santa Barbara and Montecito havens.
California Pottery and Tile Works has done many custom ceramic projects that you may be familiar with, including the Santa Barbara Zoo, the Music Academy of the West, the Biltmore Hotel, La Cumbre Plaza, Paseo Nuevo, Ablitt House, El Andaluz, San Isidro Ranch and many private residences (including historical tile matching). One of our current public art projects includes West Beach Redevolpment mosaic near the Santa Barbara Pier, designed by the team at Irvine Cabada ArtDesign.
Custom pinwheel terracotta flooring made for Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
CPTW and ceramic restoration
Cal Pot in well known for restoration of Historical Ceramics, for matching antique glazes, aged patinas and manufacturing unique architectural terracotta shapes and elements. We have our own full time chemistry laboratory and we have carried out restoration for many Historical buildings. These examples show terracotta pavers, of different shapes and sizes, from an Historical residence in Montecito. To achieve the results original pavers were lifted and molds were made, the base clay color matched and firing temps tested to produce final product which is hard to differentiate from the original tile. Similar pavers can be seen at the Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel and are common in George Washington Smith buildings.
The Watermark Restaurant - originally the Historical "Groene Building" is in Downtown Ventura. This beautiful building has original exterior tile by Gladding McBean, California Potteries spent 2 months experimenting with the 9 glaze colors and eventually was able to reproduce them without using the toxic heavy metals contained in the original 1920's glazes. Following the restoration of the exterior walls and the addition of another story the building is complete and one is hard put to distinguish the old tile from the new.
WATERMARK BEFORE
WATERMARK AFTER
CLOSE UP OF THE WATERMARK TILE
ORIGINAL TERRACOTTA
CPTW DUPLICATES THE ORIGINAL TERRACOTTA
ORIGINAL TERRACOTTA
CPTW DUPLICATES THE ORIGINAL TERRACOTTA
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Santa Barbara Zoo Animal Kingdom Fountain by CPTW
California Pottery and Tile Works re-creates all historical ceramic designs and receives many original designs from Owners, Architects and Interior Designers. However CPTW also has an active in house design department where we develop ideas and produce original works of art, murals , fountains. Other architectural details and embellishments. The "Animal Kingdom Fountain", at the Santa Barbara Zoo, is a recent example of a monumental three dimensional Public/Private Art piece.
This project began November of 2008. CPTW owner and artist, Michael Kelly, was approached by the design company Kavoian and Associates whose client wanted a memorial for her late husband. After several meetings Kelly produced a rendering which illustrated a stylized tree of life with various wild animals attached. Another meeting with the Zoo Director, the client and the designers, it was decided to create a more realistic piece and Kelly began research into the Zoo collection, into the nature and forms of the animals and finally produced a large color rendering which was approved and used to push the project through the Santa Barbara Historic Commission.
The process of manufacturing took about three months. The original drawing was enlarged to exact size, the drawing was then traced onto acetate with ink. Silk screens were then made from the acetates and the design was screened onto the ceramic bisque and then glazed. The challenge was that most of the zoo animals are similar in color - the range is Grey to beige, beige to brown, yellow ochre - beige. The birds and fish provided alternate colors. To offset this problem CTPW created new glazes, textured glazes, multiple firings and different clay bodies and the result is seen here in the photographs. The fountain mural sparkles in the sub and provided fun for the kids and a work of art for everyone to enjoy. These types of projects are as exciting for CPTW as they are for the client.
View the entire SB Zoo gallery HERE
Friday, August 28, 2009
FROM NET: The Colorful Story of Malibu Tile
By Ellen Allen
If you live in Redondo Beach and have children in school, you might recall last year when your child brought home a bisque tile that they had colored in a manner similar to the famous Malibu tiles. The children were studying Malibu potteries through the “Hands on Art” education program. This project was presented by Palos Verdes abstract landscape artist, Phyllis Ferrara.
At first glance this may have looked like just another art project, but it is an ingenious way to explore the rich history of California Tiles. Malibu Potteries was just one of several local tile companies that put California on the map in the 1920s. Other local tile manufacturers were Batcheldor, CALCO in South Gate, Catalina Clay Products in Avalon, Taylor Tilery in Santa Monica, Gladding McBean & Co. in Hermosa Beach and Brayton Laguna Pottery in Laguna.
In 1892 Frederick Rindge bought a rancho that stretched from Santa Monica to Oxnard. Rindge established the Hueneme, Malibu, and Port Los Angeles Railroad to keep the Santa Fe Railroad off his land. When Frederick died, his wife, May, became the world’s first female railroad president. May’s daughter Rhoda Agatha and her husband Merritt Huntley Adamson built their summer home overlooking the sea and another home in Serra Retreat. In order to provide tiles for these new homes, May Rindge hired the finest ceramic craftsmen and started the Malibu Tile Works in 1926. The plant only made tiles until 1932 due to a devastating fire.
The Adamson House is filled with many Malibu Potteries tiles; including an Oriental tile carpet made with over 600 tiles. The tiles themselves are quite beautiful and can be found in many places including the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the Union train station in downtown Los Angeles. In fact, you may even have some in your own home as they were used all over southern California.
The Adamson House is located at the Malibu Lagoon State Beach (23200 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu). Call 310-456-8432 for individual and group tour information. The grounds are available for wedding services and special events.
The Malibu Tile Works glazing technique was as unique as their tiles. The design’s outline was put on the bisque tile to as act as a resist to keep all of the wonderful colors separate. The glazes were not painted on but rather blobbed on with a tool that looked much like a baby rubber bulb nose aspirator.
If you think you have Malibu tile or any other kind of California tile in your home, you may want to consider the offer found in the back of More About Malibu Tiles by Ronald Rindge. The Malibu Lagoon Museum has an active tile research committee to authenticate installations of Malibu tiles. Send a photo of your tiles to the committee and they will try to identify the manufacturer and style number.
If you would like to add Malibu Pottery tile in your house, there are some local stores that sell vintage tile.
Wells Antiques
2162 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles (213) 413-0558
Mark Jager Antiques
1012 Mission Street., So. Pasadena (626) 799-2640
Mortarless Building Supply Co.
2707 Fletcher Drive., Los Angeles (323) 663-3291
California Pottery and Tile Works in South Central LA was founded by three bothers in 1994. Patrick, Sean, and Desmond had their own construction company since 1980 and during that time they found themselves captivated by the handcrafted, hand painted tiles from Malibu Potteries. They now continue the rich tradition of making extraordinary tiles using the same methods as the potters at Surfrider Beach. They even color their tiles in the same strange manner with the rubber aspirators!
They now have a spotless 20,000 sq. ft. factory. In the front room they have a reproduction of the Oriental tile rug at the Adamson house. More than likely they will give you a tour of the plant so you can see the amazing artistry that goes into all their custom tiles. They also have their own color lab where they can match your tile to your drapes.
You will find California Pottery and Tile Work at 859 East 60th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001, (323) 235-4151 7:00am to 3:30pm and at their website, http://www.malibutile.com/.
So if you are restoring or remodeling your home and are looking for a vintage feel, you may consider adding California tile.
Additional resources:
Los Angeles Magazine
“Heavenly Glaze” by Bill Stern June 2001
More About Malibu Potteries 1926-1932
by Ronald Rindge, 1997,
pub. by The Malibu Lagoon Museum
Traditional Malibu Tile Peacock fountain by CPTW.
CPTW shows that while they stay true to the traditions of Malibu Tiles, they also continue to push the medium in exciting new directions.
Here we have another application that only CPTW can produce. Decorative tiles can be concave or convex and made to fit any uniqe shape or radius.
If you live in Redondo Beach and have children in school, you might recall last year when your child brought home a bisque tile that they had colored in a manner similar to the famous Malibu tiles. The children were studying Malibu potteries through the “Hands on Art” education program. This project was presented by Palos Verdes abstract landscape artist, Phyllis Ferrara.
At first glance this may have looked like just another art project, but it is an ingenious way to explore the rich history of California Tiles. Malibu Potteries was just one of several local tile companies that put California on the map in the 1920s. Other local tile manufacturers were Batcheldor, CALCO in South Gate, Catalina Clay Products in Avalon, Taylor Tilery in Santa Monica, Gladding McBean & Co. in Hermosa Beach and Brayton Laguna Pottery in Laguna.
In 1892 Frederick Rindge bought a rancho that stretched from Santa Monica to Oxnard. Rindge established the Hueneme, Malibu, and Port Los Angeles Railroad to keep the Santa Fe Railroad off his land. When Frederick died, his wife, May, became the world’s first female railroad president. May’s daughter Rhoda Agatha and her husband Merritt Huntley Adamson built their summer home overlooking the sea and another home in Serra Retreat. In order to provide tiles for these new homes, May Rindge hired the finest ceramic craftsmen and started the Malibu Tile Works in 1926. The plant only made tiles until 1932 due to a devastating fire.
The Adamson House is filled with many Malibu Potteries tiles; including an Oriental tile carpet made with over 600 tiles. The tiles themselves are quite beautiful and can be found in many places including the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the Union train station in downtown Los Angeles. In fact, you may even have some in your own home as they were used all over southern California.
The Adamson House is located at the Malibu Lagoon State Beach (23200 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu). Call 310-456-8432 for individual and group tour information. The grounds are available for wedding services and special events.
The Malibu Tile Works glazing technique was as unique as their tiles. The design’s outline was put on the bisque tile to as act as a resist to keep all of the wonderful colors separate. The glazes were not painted on but rather blobbed on with a tool that looked much like a baby rubber bulb nose aspirator.
If you think you have Malibu tile or any other kind of California tile in your home, you may want to consider the offer found in the back of More About Malibu Tiles by Ronald Rindge. The Malibu Lagoon Museum has an active tile research committee to authenticate installations of Malibu tiles. Send a photo of your tiles to the committee and they will try to identify the manufacturer and style number.
If you would like to add Malibu Pottery tile in your house, there are some local stores that sell vintage tile.
Wells Antiques
2162 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles (213) 413-0558
Mark Jager Antiques
1012 Mission Street., So. Pasadena (626) 799-2640
Mortarless Building Supply Co.
2707 Fletcher Drive., Los Angeles (323) 663-3291
California Pottery and Tile Works in South Central LA was founded by three bothers in 1994. Patrick, Sean, and Desmond had their own construction company since 1980 and during that time they found themselves captivated by the handcrafted, hand painted tiles from Malibu Potteries. They now continue the rich tradition of making extraordinary tiles using the same methods as the potters at Surfrider Beach. They even color their tiles in the same strange manner with the rubber aspirators!
They now have a spotless 20,000 sq. ft. factory. In the front room they have a reproduction of the Oriental tile rug at the Adamson house. More than likely they will give you a tour of the plant so you can see the amazing artistry that goes into all their custom tiles. They also have their own color lab where they can match your tile to your drapes.
You will find California Pottery and Tile Work at 859 East 60th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001, (323) 235-4151 7:00am to 3:30pm and at their website, http://www.malibutile.com/.
So if you are restoring or remodeling your home and are looking for a vintage feel, you may consider adding California tile.
Additional resources:
Los Angeles Magazine
“Heavenly Glaze” by Bill Stern June 2001
More About Malibu Potteries 1926-1932
by Ronald Rindge, 1997,
pub. by The Malibu Lagoon Museum
Traditional Malibu Tile Peacock fountain by CPTW.
CPTW shows that while they stay true to the traditions of Malibu Tiles, they also continue to push the medium in exciting new directions.
Here we have another application that only CPTW can produce. Decorative tiles can be concave or convex and made to fit any uniqe shape or radius.
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