Arcana Tileworks Custom Handcrafted Specialty Tile

A.      If you want a color "something like" and we are able to get you a sample or two of our stock glazes that satisfy your requirements in one sample mailing, there is no charge. After 5 samples, the cost is $1 per sample plus mailing expense.

B.      If you want a pretty-much dead-on match that is not among our stock glaze colors, we charge $80 up front for the matching service, which we will only charge once we see your sample and agree to try to match it. That service includes up to 3 sample mailings (regular mail) to you and a return of your sample if you request it. The remaining charge is to cover a bit of our time, materials, and noodling capabilities. We do not guarantee we can achieve your target but will work to get you an answer one way or another as fast as possible. If you order tiles from us, that cost will be additional, and may vary from our standard prices if materials and methods are different, or for small orders.

C.      Be aware that the time required for multiple tests can be extensive. Mixing of glaze ingredients, recordkeeping, firing, and adjusting of the next round of glaze recipes takes time. Glazes usually look very different unfired than fired, so, unlike paint, adjustments in glaze recipes cannot be guided by eye. Each glaze firing takes at least 24 hours and several can be done every week, but a lot of thinking, reference book research, and dozens of firings may be needed to achieve a close match.
     Important: your "commercial" tile will be flatter and more square and more "perfect" than handmade tile! Your tile may also have a texture, which is surprisingly difficult to match well enough to satisfy your eye. These issues may result in an unsuccessful match on your wall or floor, even if the color can be matched. Please feel free to discuss this when requesting a glaze match.
     If you want flat, perfectly identical tile, we can produce colors on commercially produced base tile in a limited number of sizes, along with a variety of special shapes like bullnose, liner, and cove.   These tile require specially formulated glaze, different from our stock glazes. Please inquire. The most common wall tile size of 4.25" square is available, for instance.

Are you trying to match a tile color you have already found or already own? Or are you trying to find a tile color that matches a color you've selected?

Are you tearing your hair out yet?

We may be able to help, and offer a service to try to match your tile. We are often -- but not always -- successful, but may be able to help you avoid having to re-tile an entire room for the lack of a handful of tiles. For those of you with beautiful older homes or commercial buildings, we may be able to help you maintain the look of fine craftsmanship after a remodel.

There are many reasons why matching tile is difficult -- almost impossible:

Manufacturers often don't label their tile so you know who made the tile or what the style and color are. Further, most ceramic tile is made outside the U.S., so U.S. customers have a complex research project.
Tile colors are fashion items and may only be on the market for a few years.
Even if the tile color is still being manufactured and you find out how to get it, tile colors vary from batch to batch.
Tile glazes are proprietary with ingredients that may no longer be available. Even if formulas were available, tiles with these glazes would need to be fired exactly the same way on the same kind of clay to get the same results.
Glaze formulation is a specialized chemistry job that most manufacturers will not do for smaller orders (or even bigger ones), since much testing and experimentation is required, as well as specialized knowledge and chemical ingredients.

So - what to do?

1.       We can see if we can come close with the glazes we have or some combinations. We have many more glaze colors than you will typically find from other manufacturers, and are willing to do some experimentation, even for small orders. We will let you know quickly if we can or cannot do the job for you.

We CAN match and manufacture:

Flat tile, many thicknesses, up to 10" in length and 10" in width in any size increments, for wall, surfaces, or floor.
Through-body color tile in porcelain, in tiles and multi-color mosaics.
High-relief, low-relief, patterned (some but not all: see below).
Special shapes: cove, mudcap, bullnose, etc. in any sizes up to 10".
Special purpose tile: fireplace surrounds, glazed roof tile, fountain emitters, etc. There may be size and other limitations: please inquire.
Tile on commercial base in standard sizes (4.25" and 6" square, trim and bullnose, etc.). Please inquire.

We MAYBE CAN match and manufacture:

Patterned tile. The complexity of the design can be an issue. Please inquire. We can copy some patterns by hand, or produce a photographic copy of your pattern in glaze.
Special glazed roofing tiles. Please inquire.

We CANNOT match and manufacture:

Large-format floor tile (for us, that is any tile greater than 10", or in a few cases, 12" in length or width). Floor tile needs to be very flat for safety and durability, and our handmade tile cannot achieve that standard in large tiles. Commercial 12" floor tiles can be custom glazed in some cases: please inquire.
Red-clay tiles matched onto a red clay matching tile. Our custom clay body is off-white. However, a match for your red-clay tile can be manufactured on our light clay body in some cases for the same look on the surface.
Patterns from tile currently protected by copyright and still commercially available. (Copyright-free images are fine.)
Firebox tile for inside the firebox of fireplaces.

2.       You can try to find handmade or high-volume manufacturers via internet search engines. Handmade tile makers would be more likely to have unusual or bright shades, and might be more willing to try to match a color than the big companies. There are many talented artist-chemists out there.

3.       Talk to tile distributors - especially the high-end and specialty ones - and see if they have any leads.

4.       If you have need of only a few tiles for an existing installation, see if you can remove some tiles from hidden or less-obvious areas and use those.

5.    If you are looking for tile for a home built as part of a development, see if the builder or developer can be found. If so, perhaps they have records of the tile, since it would very likely have been used in more than one house.

6.    For older buildings, go to the Tile Heritage Foundation website for some options. This non-profit organization in California may be able to help you find resources, investigate historical tiles, etc. (www.TileHeritage.org).

7.    Try www.ThisOldTile.com, especially if your have discontinued DalTile, Florida Tile, or other US tile. They will charge a fee to see if they have your tile, and some time will elapse, but if they do have your tile there will be a lot of savings of time and money in the final project.

We hope this is of some help. Don't hesitate to contact us if we can help, or if you only wish someone could.