The battle begins. Manufactured vs. Handmade Tile.

Walk into your local Home Depot or Lowe’s and you’re sure to find tiles abound for your next weekend project.  But before you pick up that $15 for 20 sq ft box, stop and ask yourself these questions—Where were these tiles made?  Who made them?  Am I going to love this in a year?  Two years?  Ten?  Did I help to slowly kill a cute family of birds?  (Okay, maybe not always the last question…)

Walk in to your local handmade tile store and you’re sure to find colorful tiles in creative designs, smiling faces and a real LIVE person rolling out clay for Martha’s kitchen backsplash.

And so the battle begins…

For us and our amazing clients, the battle is already clearly won.  But how do you choose between cost and your conscious?  Between the economy and your taste?

For Kirsten Purcell, the choice became clear after exhaustive trips and a visit to our studio, “We made several trips to different locations to look at manufactured tile and we could not find anything that we felt would work for our new kitchen.  We did, however, love the look of the handmade tile.  It had a warmth and artistry to it that we had not seen in manufactured tile… We did want a tile that was classic and unique at the same time.  I was given a tour when I visited the studio and I was impressed with the hands-on attention that each and every tile received.  Plus the staff seemed very proud of their product.”

In the end Kirsten decided to go with a simple field tile in Light Grey, a color known for its beautiful variation, yet another thing virtually unattainable with factory manufactured tile.

Above all else, one of the most important things that sets handmade tile miles ahead is the level of customer service you get for your project.  Because we work with each person individually on their design, our clients feel safe and happy with their decision to work with us.  As Kirsten says here, “I really appreciated their commitment to detail.  When we had finally settled on a tile design and color, a tile board was made so that we could see how the tile looked in our home…The staff and tile elves at Mercury Mosaics are all very friendly and helpful.  They also understand that working with handmade tile is not only about the product but it is about the experience”.

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