Tex Alta

A rich multi-colored ceramic tile collection inspired by textiles textures was the starting point of the new project designed for Mutina by Raw Edges studio in London. “Creating a tangible texture is one of the challenges when designing ceramics tiles”, the two young designers state. “Looking around us, almost every object has its own particular texture, whether it’s a natural or a handmade material. Rather than designing new textures by ourselves, we have reached a print effect and created our reference tactile library by placing plasticine on objects and materials we thought were interesting. To our surprise, it were the textures taken from textiles which have led us to define the new collection Tex. The shape of the tile is a simplified enlargement of the basic knitted stitch: when looking carefully into a knitted textile, a repetition of stitches can be seen aligned in symmetric rows next to each other. This rhombus can be arranged in three main fashions, each of which has a different impact. The collection has eight different colors, each of which contains a group of three shades. This triple shade mixture was inspired as well by textile design, re-creating the feel of the different tones of the yarn. To enhance the surprise effect and to increase the creativity and personalization, the three shades will be placed randomly in the packages; by this, when installing Tex, arbitrary arrangements could be achieved. On the other hand, in addition to the single tiles installation, premade patterns named Runner, will be arranged on a mesh similarly to mosaics settings. These meshes will allow locating graphic elements in particular places on the wall or on the floor (for instance, as a frame to the room, a central element or a linear pattern). The production of Tex is artisanal and enables a large multiplicity of textures, the verity of colors and the tactile qualities of the glaze. In addition, the colorful and natural glaze applied on a white ceramics creates an irregular effect in certain places, while a more saturated one in others”.