Project Feature Articles THE ARTEDOMUS SERIES

Episode 5: The Natural Beauty of Japanese Tiles

Words by Rose Onans

Video by Cheer Squad

The beauty of Japanese tiles lies in the principle of ‘wabi-sabi’, an idea that suggests beauty is to be found in the natural qualities of an object – in its imperfections and the characteristics that make it unique.

While Japanese culture and design emphasise precision and attention to detail, “tiles aren’t ceramics aren’t meant to be perfect. That’s in the beauty of the product, that variation” says Yassaman Bahar, senior sales at Artedomus Melbourne. “We’ve got tiles like the Yohen Border and ‘yohen’ means variation.” Variation and interest also come not only through the glazes and natural characteristics of the tiles themselves, but through the individual factories that bring their own creativity to the design and manufacturing process.

The Sugie Series tile, produced at the Sugie Factory in Japan, featured in a residential project by Anna Vaughan and Peter Dunkley (left) and at the Artedomus Showroom in Melbourne designed by the Stella Collective, Thomas Coward Studio and Kestie Lane Studio (right).

INAX works with many factories throughout Japan, and does not own all of them, explains Phil Brenton, Artedomus managing director. “They’re often family businesses that have been making ceramics for decades or even hundreds of years, they have their own design departments and their own creative people that come in and create the prototypes for them,” he says. For Artedomus, visiting these factories presents an opportunity to discover new and unusual tiles that have been developed by these designers. “Walking through some of these factories that I’ve been through, you kind of look around a corner pick up a crate and move it out of the way and you find something, something different. Something that connects to you and something that’s not on the main shelf,” says Matthew Croll, Artedomus Sydney sales manager.

“Tiles aren’t ceramics aren’t meant to be perfect. That’s in the beauty of the product, that variation.”

The story that each tile tells is in the design, in the manufacturing process, and in the materiality. “Japanese ceramics – they’re almost always made with a story behind them, a lot of the methods that get used to create the glazes that we love have very traditional methods. [They’re often developed] for ceramics as art and now they’re being translated for ceramic as tiles,” Phil explains. Embracing the raw natural materiality of the products is another reason for their beauty, reflects William Pearse, Artedomus Melbourne sales manager. This approach also extends into the tiles, such as the extruded and textured tiles, that show the means by which they are made, Phil adds. “The nature of the product is that there’s nothing hidden, the scratching, the strength of the tile is shown on the surface.”

The Yuki Border tile is produced at the Nippon Factory. Featured in the Challis Avenue Apartment by Retallack Thompson (left) and the Artedomus Brisbane Showroom by the Stella Collective and Thomas Coward Studio.