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If you're redoing a bathroom or your kitchen backsplash, Artistic Tile should be on your radar. The luxury tile company has a store in White Plains that gets a lot of celebrity traffic. "We had a famous musician who lived in Connecticut," says Lauren Cherkas, president of the company. "We were doing a custom mosaic fireplace for him." The client and his interior designer flew to Venice, Italy to check that the hand-chiseled tiles were being made as specified. "The musician ended up coming home because everyone recognized him," Lauren says, carefully keeping his identity a secret.
Artistic Tile started almost by accident. Lauren's cousin, Nancy Epstein, had designed cabinets for her son's bathroom. The cabinetmaker didn't think the design would work but Nancy placed the order. When the job was done, the cabinetmaker was so impressed that he offered her a job in his new showroom.
Making use of what she'd learned as a business major, Nancy suggested that the company could increase its business by offering tile, stone and plumbing fixtures. The cabinetmaker wasn't interested in the tiles, so Nancy bought him out -- and Artistic Tile was born.
"Nancy is the CEO and our chief product designer," says Lauren. "She travels the world looking for inspiration." Nancy's most recent designs are inspired by waterjet technology that enables her to create custom patterns with a quick turnaround. Waterjets allow the operator to cut intricate patterns in marble and granite using high-pressure water flowing through a nozzle. "If you love one of our patterns but hate the color," Lauren says, "We can create exactly what you want with a short lead time."
Artistic Tile products range from inexpensive tiles, around $5 per square foot, to hand-carved stone tiles that cost what Lauren refers to as "an infinity." But, she adds: "We have tiles for every budget."
Have you ever been to an Artistic Tile showroom?
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