The team at Motawi Tileworks is passionate about making great tile while spreading positivity, and sharing the Motawi experience. The company was founded in 1992 by Nawal Motawi, who started making tiles in her garage and selling them at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market next to the rutabaga sellers. More than 30 employees now make tiles in a 12,900 square foot studio. Their team utilizes Toyota Style Production thinking and methodology and strive to cultivate positivity, constant improvement, and high quality tile. Nawal’s motto: It’s fun to be good! (at what you do)
Motawi polychrome tiles are striking individual art pieces as much as functional tile installation accents. We’re told that our tiles will give you serious cred in gift-giving circles. And each one is made by hand and with heart in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Motwawi embraces variation and handmade beauty. The bold heft of each Motawi tile reveals serious craftsmanship. And their time-honored hand-glazing methods produce a nuanced range of color with depth and translucence.
Cat lovers everywhere, rejoice! This lazy calico is just waiting for you to take her home so she can lounge around, gazing at birds from the comfort of your windowsill. Who knows? She might even catch one. Mid-century modern meets Motawi mastery in these tiles based on the work of
Artist Yoshiko Yamamoto is a self-taught block printmaker who strives always to fuse Japanese design sensibility with fine craftsmanship. Several years ago, Nawal Motawi, a longtime admirer of Yoshiko’s work, approached her for a collaboration. Motawi thought Yamamoto’s bold prints would work well as a raised-line tile design. She was
Cheery 4×8 Primrose is based on an art nouveau tile design Nawal Motawi discovered in a book. Nawal experimented with many iterations before arriving at this pared-down version with an Arts and Crafts vibe. Motawi tiles are striking art pieces and installation accents. Each tile is made by hand and
Midcentury modern meets Motawi mastery in this serene scene by Charley Harper. Motawi tiles are striking art pieces and installation accents. Each tile is made by hand and with heart in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Motwai embraces variation and handmade beauty: their time-honored methods produce a nuanced range of color with
6×8 Panda Panda is based on a T-shirt design (and later a print) by Charley Harper. This sweet homage to panda parenthood is part of our extensive Charley Harper by Motawi line. Motawi tiles are striking art pieces and installation accents. Each tile is made by hand and with heart
This Jugendstil design is based on one of a series of stylized flowers by Gustav Marisch, published by the Wiener Werkstätte circa 1912. Crown Quintet joins another Motawi art tile from that Marisch series: 6×8 Blooming Bell. Motawi tiles are striking art pieces and installation accents. Each tile is made by hand
Artist Yoshiko Yamamoto is a self-taught block printmaker who strives always to fuse Japanese design sensibility with fine craftsmanship. Several years ago, Nawal Motawi, a longtime admirer of Yoshiko’s work, approached her for a collaboration. Motawi thought Yamamoto’s bold prints would work well as a raised-line tile design. She was
“We heard the lonely cry of the loon, one of the wildest and most striking of all the wilderness sounds, a strange, sad, mournful, unearthly cry, half laughing, half wailing.” – John Muir A group of loons can be called a “cry,” maybe for their plaintive call. Actual Tile Size:
Stylizing such an intricate flower as an iris proved tricky. Nawal Motawi mingled visual cues from multiple Arts & Crafts-period renderings to arrive at this design. Like the flower, Motawi’s iris is more declarative than demure. Actual Tile Size: Approximately 3 7/8” x 7 7/8”. As each Motawi tile is
Artist Yoshiko Yamamoto is a self-taught block printmaker who strives always to fuse Japanese design sensibility with fine craftsmanship. Several years ago, Nawal Motawi, a longtime admirer of Yoshiko’s work, approached her for a collaboration. Motawi thought Yamamoto’s bold prints would work well as a raised-line tile design. She was
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) is recognized worldwide as one of the greatest architects of the 20th century. Wright’s Oak Park Home and Studio on Chicago Avenue was the first residential design over which he had complete artistic control. The Oak Park Studio, added to the home in 1897, was Wright’s
6×8 Titmouse Tidbit is based on the original piece by celebrated wildlife artist Charley Harper. This cheery scene depicts a determined titmouse’s stages of motion as he reaches for a highly coveted seed. It is one of many Motawi art tiles resulting from a fun and fruitful collaboration with the
