Stunning Tile Design in Denver
I love to work with local companies. In today’s virtual world, it’s nice to have a relationship with a person in your shared community and it helps to meet our sustainability goals to work locally.
Today I’m talking to Nina Nino, a surface designer with an amazing new tile Collection made right here in Colorado. Her collection, Trails Tile is manufactured by D&W Ceramics, a Denver-based business that makes stunning tiles.
I discovered her collection at the Interior Design market at the Denver Design District and I knew I wanted to share this stunning work.
Tell me a little about your background
Nina Nino: I started my career as a graphic designer in Bogota-Colombia. I wanted to study arts but I didn’t see myself as a painter or sculptor. When I was in college I heard about a class called Surface Design from the product design emphasis. I was fascinated, that class showed me new possibilities in the field, a more artistic side of design that I hadn’t known before. Studying the work of other artists and designers that create new materials and surfaces opened my eyes to a new realm. It was the first time I realized that I can be an inventor in the artistic field.
Leather was the first material I started to experiment with, and then wood and clay started to interest me. These natural materials have something special: they age well, they are sustainable, have a feeling that I like, and keep a part of the essence from the place they are obtained. I’ve been creating different surfaces that modify materials from a graphic perspective, playing with pattern, texture, and color to bring fresh ideas to the material design industry. Surfaces that can be placed on a wall or serve as the main component of an object.
What led you into tile design?
NN: Before I started working on the Trails Collection I was exploring how to create a surface that was unique, with a concept behind, and at the same time, being able to be fabricated in series. Tile is the best example of a surface that is made to be manufactured in big quantities. It needs to be easily replicable and have a very set production line to be efficient and profitable. I was experimenting last year on how to make a wood tile surface when I met Randy Winter, the owner of D&W Ceramics, and after showing him some of my material samples he offered to create a tile collection in collaboration with them.
Since then we’ve been prototyping every afternoon to find new colors and possibilities of the tiles, creating a collection that combines their craftsmanship of 30 years in the business, with my experimental and artistic perspective.
Tell me about your inspirations for this collection
NN: The collection is inspired by the expansive vistas from the Western side of the United States and the amazing landscapes of Colombia, although I think the tiles can be contrasted with more landscapes around the globe. We wanted to represent nature in a different way that is being represented in the past in ceramic tile. We looked to show the land and water paths and how they are connected to represent the endless trails in nature, almost like if a drone was flying over one of the many national parks in this side of the country and registered all the mountain formations and water paths in a wall.
To achieve the natural feeling was crucial to create an interesting color palette that resemble the real spaces as possible. We didn’t want any flat colors in the collection because that is not what nature shows us, instead we looked to create textures and variation of color tones that gives the sensation of movement and constant change.
Do you have a favorite color from this collection?
NN: One of my favorite colors is called Mountain City, which is inspired by the mountains of Bogota with green and blue dots variations that represent the different colors of the trees depending on the day and the way light hits them. I’m still amazed to see how the tiles look so alike to the colors of the real mountains.
I didn’t realize how the mountains were a huge part of my life’s background when I lived in Bogota, until I moved to Denver and felt immediately a sense of familiarity. I hope that this color, and the other colors of this collection, can transport people to memories and places the same way that this color makes me connect with my home city.
These are made locally in the Denver area – tell me about that
NN: D&W Ceramics has been manufacturing tile in Aurora, Colorado for over 30 years, using local clay and creating glazes from scratch. Their handmade tiles, including the Trails Collection, can resist extreme weather conditions thanks to the meticulous process and high firing temperatures they use. These tiles can be placed anywhere in Colorado, from desert climate to below-zero temperatures, and even swimming pools, making them a lifetime product suitable for any location in the US and overseas. The owners of D&W Ceramics, Randy Winter and James Owsley, possess amazing knowledge in ceramics. It has been a real pleasure for me to learn firsthand about the production process and translate this knowledge into a more experimental tile collection.
What have been the challenges on this journey?
NN: One of the challenges that we encountered at the beginning was the creation of an organic pattern design that shows movement and fluidity. Something that is easy when it is one piece, but in a pattern gets more complicated because the repetition adds more structure. We went through many iterations to achieve a strong look with smooth transitions.
Adding the option of changing the direction of the tiles to create different patterns, or landscapes, was a whole different challenge that required many hours of design tweaks to ensure all parts matched and all the patterns had a flow that I liked.
Secondly, creating ceramic glazes is a whole different adventure, often disliked by potters due to its unpredictability. Glazing depends on various factors, like chemicals, firing temperature, and the way of spraying. It’s not like mixing yellow and blue to make green. Also we couldn’t see the results immediately; it takes two to three days to see how the pieces come out after they are fired. We experimented with a lot of glaze mixes and techniques to obtain the amazing colors in this collection, it was challenging but definitely worth it to communicate the concept behind.
Where would you like to go next?
NN: I would love to co-create with others in the art and design industry to create unique surfaces and reveal new material possibilities for interior design spaces. I admire how concept clothing stores and restaurants create multi-sensory experiences, and I want to contribute by applying my design process to new surfaces for walls and objects. I aim to create visual and tactile experiences that spark conversations around new material possibilities.
I definitely want to explore the possibilities of ceramic tile further. While working on the Trails Collection, many new ideas emerged that can be used in future designs. I also aim to continue my personal work, creating surfaces and objects that reflect my design philosophy which focuses on finding new physical and visual possibilities to natural materials. I have many interesting samples in wood and leather that I want to take to the next step, including leather that visually resembles stone and rusted metal, leather tiles that can be adapted to any shape, and wood samples exploring superposition and layered depth.
What is your superpower?
NN: I believe my superpower is the way I connect with materials. My design process is a conversation: I give something to the material, the material gives me something back, and then after much back and forth, we both come to a conclusion. Sometimes the material reveals something interesting early on, other times I need more inspiration and learn different techniques to test the material in new ways. This is when my creativity is tested.
The materials guide the process and I trust they will show me the next step that they want me to take them. This connection helps me focus on the process and avoid being influenced by other people’s work, something that is really easy at the moment with internet access. Sometimes the process can get very introspective and I have to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing what the end result is going to be, but it is definitely more gratifying when I just flow with the process and things start to reveal.
What sets Trails apart from other tile collections?
NN: The Trails collection has a story that we hope resonates with people. It speaks of adventure, idyllic vacation destinations, self-discovery in nature, and creating memories with loved ones on hikes and lakeside picnics. We aimed to create tiles that represent nature abstractly, allowing people to design their own landscapes by deciding how the pieces connect.
These are not regular tiles; they are fine art tiles meant to be displayed as wall art to inspire people to imagine new destinations. Many people have told me that when they see these tiles, they envision a map with various routes. We hope these tiles guide the imagination of those who interact with them, taking them on new adventures and offering a different way to connect with nature.
TW: The collection certainly resonated with me! I was captivated by the movement within each tile, then in the patterns of multiple tiles together. I also LOVED the inspiration story behind each color in the collection.
See the whole Trails Collection Here
I was immediately captivated by the finished tile next to the inspiration photos of the natural landscape that inspired them, like the images above. You’v egot to see all of the stunning landscapes and the tiles that represent them.
For more Inspiration, Check out these resources
Colorado Artists in the 2021 Showhouse