Clay Times Back Issues Volume 3 Issue 8 • Jan/Feb 1997 | Page 21

ples of American, Spanish,
Mexican, and even Dutch tile, we
saw the magnificent estate gardens
of Lotusland, Val Verde, and Casa
Dorinda. The bus trips also gave us
the opportunity to get to know
other symposium attendees, look at
their slides, and learn from each
other.
By evening, I was tired. But
the evening sessions promised the
most pertinent information for tile
makers, with sessions primarily
devoted to marketing and distribution.
The following is a distillation
of what I learned. (I should note
that I went to the conference with
very little knowledge about the tile
business. Coming from a pottery
and painting background, I was
more familiar with galleries and
craft fairs. Tiles add a whole new
dimension to the business.)
There are (at least) three distinct ways to work in the tile business. One way is to work with one
of the major distributors of handmade tiles (Ann Sacks Tile & Stone,
Country Floors, Waterworks, or
Walker Zanger).

requires that you have more marketing skills than the first route.
Home shows, more than craft
shows, are a good place to get
started if you’re following this
2
route.
In both of these cases, you
need to develop a “line” of tiles
that can be easily priced by someone besides you. If you have a lot
of different sizes, shapes, and
trims, this can result in a very complicated price