Bonton Designs

BonTon creates artistic handmade tile for commercial and residential applications. Each tile is custom-designed and manufactured to order in our Minnesota studio. Our old-world methods allow us to produce shapes, colors, and textures that result in distinctive, one-of-a-kind designs to express your unique personality. Bon ton (bn tn) n. Fr. Fashion... able and/or elegant in manner or style. Something regarded as fashionably correct. BonTon designs is a member of the Tile Council of North America, an international trade association dedicated to expanding the market for ceramic tile manufactured in North America. I am a self-taught ceramicist, employing both traditional and innovative methods. I have devised many of my own signature glazes and firing techniques, allowing me to create tiles that you will find nowhere else. My designs are often inspired by an observation of nature or my surroundings. The graceful expressiveness of a flowering branch, the grain of a sawn piece of wood, ocean waves, fish scales, a starry sky, a barren tree in the snow, ragged prairie grasses all of these have found their way into my work. Other designs are more abstract, allowing me to subvert the natural visual rhythm of tile with unusual shapes and random elements, or develop playful color palettes. I take a no boundaries approach to making tileIf you can dream it, I can make it! Working with tile affords me a three-dimensional freedom in design. Many of my tiles are sculpted or textured in a way that can bring unexpected depth to a flat surface. In a room, my work may be a surprising accent or a dramatic expanse. In any case, my goal as an artist is to create beautiful designs that enhance the spaces they occupy. My work is influenced by many styles, including Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Contemporary and Traditional. Though I work deliberately, my unconscious is my compass.Read More