The Handmade Tile Association for the Northwest

A non-profit tilemakers group dedicated
to the preservation of the art and craft of handmade tile

Claudia Riedener
Ixia Tile Tacoma

Ixia Tile is named after a little flowering bulb from South Africa - Ixia viridiflora - recognizing the artist's background in horticulture and love for nature. Claudia Riedener moved from Switzerland to the USA in 1993, after she traveled around the world for a few years. In Chicago she started working in horticulture and went to college for a degree in the same. After her internship in plant propagation, she was hired on by the Chicago Botanic Garden and worked there for three years. In 1998 Claudia and her husband John relocated to the gorgeous Pacific Northwest. There she worked at Lakewold Gardens and the Seymour Botanical Conservatory before venturing out on her own. She now runs Ixia Tile Tacoma, where she creates tiles. Gardening, nature and community are important in her life, as well as her husband John, who created the Ixia website and designed the Ixia logo. Claudia is self-taught in the fascinating field of ceramic tiles.

Ixia Tile offers a vibrant and exciting range of hand-crafted ceramic tiles. Bas-relief tiles, nature print tiles, moldings, liners and field tiles provide variety to create installations for fireplaces, bathrooms, kitchens, floors, foyers and window and door surrounds as well as outdoor applications such as garden benches, tables, mirrors and water features. High quality stoneware blends beauty, function and lasting durability while expressing artistic harmony that only comes from tiles made by hand.

Created in a careful process, each tile is hand-made from beginning to end. For bas-relief tiles, the design is hand-drawn and hand-carved, often over a period of a few days. From this original carving a mold is made. Each relief tile is then hand-pressed, dried, and bisque fired. Nature print tiles are hand- rolled and imprinted with a variety of leaves and plants from the garden. All tiles are hand-glazed, either brushed or dipped. Field tiles, moldings and liners are hand-extruded. These labor intensive methods have been used for centuries to make art tile. Machine reproductions cannot match the authenticity and quality of hand-crafted tile.

Design, Installation and Orders:
Design work and installation are available. For local orders, I meet on site and go over the options with the designer or owner. For mail orders, please have a designer or experienced installer accurately specify quantities.

Sample service is available, upon ordering the sample price will be deducted.
Allow 3 to 8 weeks for delivery, depending on size of order.

Specifications:
Ixia Tiles are handmade. Irregularities may occur, but do not deter from the quality of the tile. Clay is a natural material; therefore the final product size can vary. Slight variations in the glaze color are normal and add to the charm and uniqueness of hand-crafted art tiles. The hand-pressed look and the thickness of the tiles are desired. Ixia tiles are frost proof and heat resistant, the colors will not fade.

Claudia Riedener Ixia Tile Tacoma www.ixiatile.com