Decorating in Stone, Ceramic, and Glass

In October, The Tile Shop, a specialty retailer of natural and manufactured stone tiles, announced that it would be the exclusive U.S. distributor for Ted Baker-branded tiles. British Ceramic Tile has been the licensee for the U.K.-based designer’s tile range since 2015. The Tile Shop carries the floor and wall tiles in its 120 showrooms as well as providing in-store merchandising of the products in five U.S. Ted Baker retail stores. Sizes start at six inches a side and go up from there.

The deal brings to mind other licenses that have entered this market sector over the past several years. Dwell Media, for example, has been working with Heath Ceramics on a collection of small patterned ceramic tiles in diamond and hexagonal shapes. They can be custom-combined in various colors, with matte or glossy glazes, to create three-dimensional-looking patterns on a backsplash or full wall.

In another example, Crayola partnered with Surfaces for small glass tile mosaics in two sizes, available in 42 solid colors and 18 blends, which allow customers to create unique patterns for large or small areas of the home. Surfaces has a similar program with artist Romero Britto, featuring mosaics in his trademark bright hues, billed as enabling consumers to make their own art on their walls.

These are complete branded tile programs, encompassing solid-colored and patterned shapes for use in full kitchens and baths and/or for floors and patios. They represent a broader and deeper relationship with the licensee than the decorative tiles widely licensed by artists and other properties, which are sold mostly individually or in small quantities as art objects.

Such branded programs, while still relatively few and far between, are reminders that licensing in the house and home area is increasingly extending beyond the common categories such as bed and bath textiles, dinnerware, and cookware. For the right properties, there may be opportunities in building materials such as flooring, paint, moldings, windows, and plumbing fixtures, as well as tiles.