Glazed 35th Anniversary tile!

It's very exciting to work in clay - from idea, to creation, then drying the piece, firing it for the first time (bisque), glazing, and glaze firing....a long road to get to the finished piece. And some pieces get many glaze firings after the first. Whenever I make custom pieces I always make at least two extras to make sure that I get one that is perfect. So when I got the original tile that I made for our 35th Anniversary commemorative piece out of the glaze kiln.....perfect....I was very very pleased!!

Brushing glaze onto the tile - I chose one of my favorite glazes - our Azure blue gloss crackle.

The glaze has a touch of periwinkle tone to it.

Our glaze is a high boron glaze and the blue comes from adding a Mason stain at 1/2% to it. The stain has cobalt oxide as the colorant.

The finished, glazed tile

It measures about 5 11/16" square - a non-standard size...which makes sense to me......

A  long haul....but now we're headed towards 40 years!!

I had originally thought I'd add a detail of silver luster to the edge, but now that I see the glazed tile, I don't think that detail is needed.

What do you think??

I'll be posting sales of 35% off on particular items in my Etsy shop. Today's special is on my Roman Soldier Panel. Originally priced at $325.00, use coupon code 35YEARS to make it $211.25!!

Find the listing here -

https://www.etsy.com/listing/75571148/reproduction-victorian-tile-soldier-tile?ref=shop_home_active_4

You can find my tiles for sale on etsy here - lesperancetile.etsy.com
You can find my other social networking links here -
https://www.facebook.com/lesperancetile
https://twitter.com/lesperancetile
http://instagram.com/lellett

I'm making just 35 pieces of our Anniversary tile, all numbered on the back. Most of them will be going to family, friends, and honored customers...but I will save one for a give-away for one lucky person. Hey, it might be worth something someday!! :>)

Stay tuned for that contest before the end of next week.

Are you interested in having us create a commemorative tile for you? Please contact us at lestile@nycap.rr.com to talk!!

XX Linda@L'esperance Tile Works OO

Celebrating 35 years of making beautiful tiles!!

It's hard to believe, but it's true what they say....time flies when you love what you do!! I'm creating a commemorative tile to celebrate our 35 years in business, and I'm using the very first tile I ever carved for the brand new DBA - L'esperance Tile Works, in September of 1979. Here's the process.

My Daylily Tile 4x4 was the first decorative that I carved after the DBA for L'esperance Tile Works was filed, in downtown Troy, NY.

I had the mould pressed into a large slab of clay, and cleaned up the edges. I decided to make the 4x4 into a larger sized tile with lettering and a decorative swirled background.

I created lettering in photoshop and laid the image over the wet clay tile. Then I traced the lettering onto the clay with a ball point pen.

I created a border around the tile for ease in pressing the mould.

Here's the wet clay with the lettering and border images slightly impressed from the pen.

I'm adding a decorative swirl in the background of the commemorative tile.

Here's the finished added additions to the wet clay. I poured a plaster mould on top of this tile, and notated that it is the original carving on the back of the tile....recorded for posterity!

Here's the tile cut around the border and drying.

This tile will be bisqued in the next few days and glazed in a light blue crackle. Then I'll start pressing a limited number of tiles. I'll hand number 1 - 35 on the back of the first 35 pieces, creating a limited edition. I'll also add a gold luster border to make them even more special. Each of my family members will get one, along with a number of very special friends and highly valued customers who have followed us through the years. I'll also save one for a give-away....so stay tuned for the details before the end of September!

You can find my tiles for sale on etsy here - lesperancetile.etsy.com
You can find my other social networking links here -
https://www.facebook.com/lesperancetile
https://twitter.com/lesperancetile
http://instagram.com/lellett

Holiday giveaway to all of my wonderful customers, followers, and friends!

Last Saturday, December 14, I started listing one item in my Etsy shop for $1.00. I have so many wonderful customers, and followers on facebook, twitter (@lesperancetile), and pinterest that I just wanted to take this time to say THANK YOU!!

My first $1 tile was a tile I call an ornament tile, because I've taken one of my little ornaments and pressed it into the center of a tile after I've pressed the clay with a carved decorative motif, an Angel and Star pressed on top of a funky 4x4 called puffballs.

Congrats to Carrie!!

Sunday I had 2 winners (why not?) and they both got the $1 tile that was a reproduction for a home on the west coast that I call Daisy 3x3.

Congrats to Jenn and Kathy!!

Monday's tile is one of my favorites (it's really hard to say that - we love all of our children the same, don't we?), A raised line tile that depicts Horus, who is one of the oldest and most significant deities in ancient Egyptian religion.

Congrats to Alexis!

Yesterdays tile was one of the oldest in my tile catalogue....and that's saying a lot since I've been making tiles sine 1979!! A Celtic knot design, actually inspired by a book of Celtic images I received as a gift from someone who loved me (sorry, but who could remember who gave them a Dover book 30+ years ago?).

Congratulations, Dyani!

What will I list today? Hey, I'm not even sure yet, but since I think my holiday rush is over, it might be something really special. Follow me on facebook and twitter (@lesperancetile) and be the first to find the $1 item (plus the cost of shipping, which I try to keep as close to the actual price as possible) and it's yours!

Thanks again and again!!
XXLinda @ L'esperancwe TileXX

"Kind woman lives here" handmade tile

My customer was kind enough to send a photo showing how she used her custom tile in an address sign, an amazing project!

She cemented the tiles onto a board and grouted with a very dark green grout. Here you can see it before the grout is cleaned completely off the tiles.

Close up of my cat tile, lines filled with grout.

The grout is all cleaned off and the tiles sparkle! What a fantastic project and an attention grabber for anyone who passes the house!

If you'd like to discuss custom tile projects, please visit my Etsy shop or e-mail me at lestile@nycap.rr.com.

Thanks for visiting!!