The 2021 Bologna Exhibition was successfully held in Italy from September 27th to October 1st. The ceramic brands at the exhibition exhibited natural stone, wood, metal, and gravel texture products of different sizes, which can be said to be the best for the ceramic tile industry. The subsequent product design gave new sources of inspiration and innovative directions, which is also an important reason why insiders have always regarded the Bologna exhibition as a "pilgrimage place".
▲Tile products at Bologna Exhibition 2021
(Picture source: Taocheng Daily)
Although Zhongtaojun did not have the opportunity to participate in this event on site, when browsing the information shared and disseminated by industry media and participating brands, Zhongtaojun was deeply attracted by the tile products at the Bologna exhibition at a glance.
At the 2021 Bologna Building Materials Exhibition in Italy held on October 15, Zhu Wei, managing director of Huayan Pinzhi Slate, mentioned that the proportion of flower products at this year's Bologna Exhibition has increased significantly. Dr. Yin Hong also said that this year's Bologna exhibition is no longer dominated by marble textures, and the application of flower and plant patterns in products has increased significantly.
As a category with a long history, what is the charm of tiles? Today, when we open apps such as Xiaohongshu and Yidoutang on our mobile phones, bloggers in the field of decoration design will basically publish content about planting tiles. These tile products have also been successfully praised by a large number of users and received countless likes. and collections.
Today, Zhongtaojun will talk about the category of tiles in detail from various aspects such as history, craftsmanship, brand, etc., and use a large number of beautiful pictures to explain the four flavors of tiles.
One
The history of tiles
Tile was born in Europe in the 18th century. As a novel floor decoration, tiles with rich patterns and bright colors quickly became popular in Europe and became an architectural trend at that time. When the Age of Discovery came, the tiles spread to Southeast Asia, and were later brought back to China's southern Fujian region by overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia. Since then, tiles have been introduced to China, and the Fujian and Guangdong areas have become the origin of tiles, and gradually spread to thousands of households across the country.
▲19th century Barcelona tiles
With the maturity and scale of the architectural ceramics industry, in 1994, the world's first factory to produce tiles with a modern assembly line was born in Spain. It was BALDOCER established by the Qatar Royal Investment Group. As international product design exchanges become more and more frequent, a large number of ceramic tile companies producing tiles have begun to emerge in China.
▲Andaz Hotel Xiamen Lobby
After hundreds of years of cultural accumulation and decades of technological innovation, today's tiles are not only widely used in wall and floor decorations such as kitchens, bathrooms, balconies, entrance halls, etc. in home life, but are also popular in B&Bs, restaurants, milk teas, etc. The application in public commercial spaces such as shops, coffee shops, and clothing stores can be said to be the "favorite" of high-end space designers.
二
The craftsmanship of tiles
The tiles currently on the market are mainly divided into two types: glazed tiles and cement tiles. Glazed tiles are ceramic tiles that have been fired at high temperatures. This type of tile is the most common and market-oriented category. Cement tiles are cement tiles with colored patterns on the surface. The production method is relatively traditional. The technology is only handed down in some areas, making it difficult to carry out industrial mass production.
The process of glazed tiles is simply brick embryo + glaze + pattern, which is similar to the "glaze color" in ceramics. Some ceramic tile brands still have handmade tiles, but the prices are high and they are regarded by merchants as works of art and luxury goods displayed in stores; and most of the tiles circulating in the market are glazed + screen printing / inkjet printing Produced through industrialized processes, this kind of tiles are more stable and more uniform in style.
In terms of surface technology, inkjet printing technology will be more flexible in pattern customization, and can easily achieve large-scale mass production of ceramic tiles with various complex patterns. But if the pattern is not particularly complex, screen printing will have a better effect, because screen printing can ensure pure color and high definition. With the emergence of various digital inks and fine engraving inks, the presentation effect of the inkjet printing process has gradually become as good as that of the screen printing process.
四
Brand of tiles
Speaking of tiles, the first thing that comes to mind is imported tile brands from Spain and Italy, such as Mainzu, IMOLA, MARAZZI, Versace, Meisheng·Yazuli, BALDOCER, etc. Compared with the large-sized ceramic tiles/rock slabs that are popular in China, the stores of these imported brick brands will still display their unique handmade tile products on a large scale. Of course, the price of this product is also quite high.
▲ Spanish MAINZU brand tiles
Among the domestic tile brands, Marco Polo, which has an absolute advantage in the field of antique tiles, has developed a number of classic tiles. You can basically find a variety of small tile products in its brand stores. Even in July this year At the Tanzhou Ceramics Exhibition, Marco Polo also displayed a lot of tiles. In addition, Romantic also launched a new product of 200x200mm universal tiles this year. This product incorporates elements such as ethnic craft embroidery and is full of national aesthetics.
▲ New Romantic tiles
Zhong Taojun visited China Ceramics City and found that brands including Marco Polo, Bellite, Daoxun and other brands displayed their own tile products. Since most of the sales channels for tile products are export-oriented, the tiles of domestic brands not only reveal the symmetrical beauty of Chinese culture, but also include abstract geometric patterns of modern art, traditional plant and flower patterns, and even Western oil painting patterns. . These various tiles serve as an embellishment in the space, presenting a different flavor.
▲ Tiles from various brands in China Ceramic City
五
4 flavors of tiles
Flavour 1: "European", &ldquo"Renaissance", "Elegance"
As a product that originated in Europe, tiles have a Renaissance elegance. Because most of the original users of tiles were European royal nobles, most of the patterns have a bit of palace characteristics. Most of the first-generation tiles had elegant colors and simple patterns, but they perfectly depicted the diversity and splendor of ancient European culture.
Flavour 2: "Nanyang style", "ancient flavor", "vitality"
As an imported product, tiles are expensive. They are a symbol of the good life of overseas Chinese and the honorable return to their hometown. These overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia generally like the good omen of "icing on the cake", so the style of this tile is more like Chinese brocade, with bright colors and patterns. complex. An American pastor once described what he saw in "Xiamen Local Chronicles": "There are no carpets in these purely oriental families, only tiles are popular on the floor."
Flavour Three: "Luxury", "High-end", "Gorgeous"
As we all know, the price of imported tiles is much higher than that of domestic tiles, and most of the imported tile stores are located in very high-end stores, and the store decorations are also very stylish. The customers they serve can be said to be "either rich or expensive." Therefore, a luxurious style of tile products has gradually emerged. They are regarded as "luxury goods" among ceramic tiles and are widely used in the wall and floor decoration of luxury homes to reflect the wealth of the owner.
Flavor 4: "Romantic", "Healing", "Fresh"
This type of tiles can be said to be the most popular among young people today, and are frequently active in the works of many decoration design bloggers. They have both retro romance and modern simplicity, saving the coldness caused by the all-white, black and gray decoration. Under the background of these tiles, the decoration style can become more "fresh" and "INS style", which is very healing.
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Zhong Taojun believes that tiles are more like paintings. They were once loved by European aristocrats and also amazed compatriots who traveled to foreign countries. They have been going around in the long river of time, but they can still attract people the moment they appear. Public gaze. Therefore, tiles are not only a ceramic tile category abandoned by the times, but a classic category that bursts with vitality in the combination of traditional and modern aesthetics.
Whether it is Chinese, American, European, Japanese, French, or light luxury, modern, and simple decoration style, applying tiles in a small area can not only greatly enhance the artistic sense of the space, but also clearly divide functional areas , breaking the monotony and boringness of the space. Seeing this, have you got the charm of tiles?
7 ways to match beautiful tiles:
(Author: Hong Xiaochun)
