A New Gas Kiln

We got a new gas kiln! It's a Formi kiln from Italy. 

It's much bigger than our other glaze kilns, So big in fact, it arrived with it's own forklift to get it off the truck and into our building!

There was a bad moment when we thought it wouldn't fit on the elevator...

but it just made it! (phew)

We cleared out a space for it and got it all set up. 

It can hold 3 to 4 times as much tile as our regular glaze kilns which are electric but first we'll have to run lots of experiments to see how our glaze colors react to the gas firing. 

Our R&D department is ready to put it to the test! 

Come visit our showroom and take a tour of our factory in the heart of Portland, OR. 

We'd love to show you around.  

New Shapes from Pratt & Larson

The first thing to come to mind when you are thinking about tile is usually the classic but utilitarian square and rectangle or subway tile. While we have lots of variations on those timeless squares and rectangles, Pratt & Larson has a wide array of interesting and contemporary tile shapes as well. We've just recently added several new ones. Download the brochure from our website.

This is our new Elongated Fan. It's beautiful in a single color or in color blends, both light and dark, as you can see in these two concept boards. 

Similar in style is the new Elongated Crescent. It's a bit more streamlined and smaller than the Elongated Fan and almost has a retro look in the bright color version to the right. These pieces come loose so you can set them in any direction. The images above show you a couple of options, the first is all oriented in the same direction, the second changes direction from one row to the next, changing the look of the pattern dramatically.

The Rhomboid and the gem shaped Facet offer some sharp angles in contrast to the soft curves of the Elongated Crescent and Fan. In either high contrasting colors or a softer color blend they have a very contemporary and modern feel.

The Hourglass shape is a fresh take on a classic pattern sometimes known as the dog bone. Pratt & Larson's version uses a single shape that suggests a woven pattern when used in two colors. Choose a high contrast color combination for a dramatic basket weave or checkered effect.

The last time we added new shapes was back in 2012, check out the blog post for those fun shapes here.

Bevels & Frames - New Bas Relief styles at Pratt & Larson

We've added on to the Pratt & Larson Bas Relief collection with some new dimensional tiles. More sizes in our popular Bevels, a Pyramid and a whole new series of dimensional Frame tiles that are a great clean, contemporary version of the classic bevel.

Bevels:

Our 3x6 Bevel has been popular for decades so we thought it was about time we added some more sizes to go along with it. The new bevel sizes include a 5x10 and a 4x8 in addition to our 3x6 bevel and there are beveled squares too, in 5x5, 4x4 and 3x3.

The Bevels look great in any of our glazes, from Watercolors, to R-Gloss, Craftsman and Metallic. The Watercolors pool beautifully on the edges of the bevel accentuating the dimension of the bevel and the Metallic glazes really catch the light on all those angles. 

Frames:

There are two styles of our new Frames - Recessed and Raised. Keep in mind we are describing the Frame - the outer ring of the design, when we say raised or recessed so you don't mix them up! Refer to this diagram and call them Frame A or Frame B, and make sure of your codes when ordering. 

You can order the Recessed Frame in 4x4, 4x8, 6x6 and 6x12, while the Raised Frame comes only in the 4x4 & 4x8 sizes. 

The Frame series comes in any of our glaze colors and they break on the edges and pool in the recesses in wonderful ways. Order some samples for your showroom or stop by our Portland showroom to see how beautiful they are in person. Download the brochure from our website here.

Pratt & Larson Showroom Open House

We're inviting everyone to an 

Open House

Thursday March 6th from 2pm to 7pm

There's been lots of great new changes in the showroom. We're welcoming a new vendor - Sabine Hill whose cement tiles added some beautiful bright colors and patterns to our collections. There's a whole new Stone room full of displays from new and existing vendors as well as a new Porcelain room with lots of new displays and installations in an array of styles. 

Stop by the showroom for our Open House on Thursday March 6th and see all the wonderful new changes. We'd love to see you! 

1201 SE 3rd Ave Portland OR 97214   503-231-9464

Contemporary Craftsman

We've been updating our Craftsman glaze display boards. Focused more on showing off the beautiful fields of color offered in our Craftsman glaze line the boards have a more contemporary, streamlined look. While they're perfect for a Craftsman bungalow update or a modern cabin retreat these beautiful glazes add a rich varied field of color to projects of any style.

C70 and C216

C200 and C58

C203

C306 and C58

C365 and C51

Hope you're enjoying this beautiful summer! Stop by and see what else is new in the showroom and stay posted for our next release - Filigree. 

New Displays in the Pratt & Larson Showroom

We've been doing some rearranging in the showroom and there's lots of new products, displays and work areas. Scraffito is a brand new line which will be officially released soon but you can have a sneak preview in our Portland showroom. We installed a beautiful new floor pad and there are 12 new concept boards to showcase it. I'll blog all about it when it's officially released.

Setting the new Scraffito floor

Laying out the tile to make sure the variation in color is spread out evenly.

Grouting the new floor

The new Scraffito floor in S14

New Scraffito display boards

There is a new Pratt & Larson color wall with our glazes shown on 2x4's and organized by glaze family. It's next to the new work table and hangs over the credenza with all the parts and pieces so everything is close at hand while you're designing.

The new work table and color wall

New Shapes and Shadow Boxes

All of the tool boards have been rehung. I think the gray wall helps to make the pieces easier to see.

The Intaglio display has been rearranged too and there are 6 new display boards.

The Intaglio series

Here's two of the new Intaglio boards. 

Decorative tile themes

Craftsman glazes and themes

Simple Solutions

There are still more changes in the works including new display for some of our vendors too!
Stop in and tell us what you think!