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.
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
“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:
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
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
Acornucopia! Mid-century modern meets Motawi mastery in these tiles based on the work of celebrated wildlife artist Charley Harper (1922-2007), a self-described “minimal realist.” This design is adapted from the artist’s print titled “October Edibles” (2000) and can be hung with our “Autumn Edibles” tile, also by Charley Harper. Actual
“From twelve o’clock high, a mockingbird screams out of the sky to strafe his catnapping enemy with bad bird words, pulling up just in time to escape catastrophe while tantalizing the tormented tabby.” – Charley Harper Actual Tile Size: Approximately 5 7/8” x 5 7/8”. As each Motawi tile is
6×8 Vienna Woods is based on Carl Otto Czeschka’s “Waldidyll (Forest Idyll),” originally created as a textile design and produced by Vienna’s renowned Wiener Werkstätte artist community circa 1910. Long before it inspired a Motawi tile, this work of art was worn as a caftan by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.
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
This bungalow-friendly beauty is a classic Arts and Crafts design (originally credited to Myrna Ballantine) from the influential periodical Keramic Studio. Actual Tile Size: Approximately 3 7/8” x 3 7/8”. As each Motawi tile is crafted by hand, dimensions may vary slightly by up to 1/16″. Tiles are 5/8″ thick
One of Nawal Motawi’s favorite flowers, the peony is a recurring source of inspiration at Motawi Tileworks. Peony Bloom complements our beloved 4×8 Peony and other florals in Motawi’s ceramic garden. Actual Tile Size: Approximately 3 7/8” x 3 7/8”. As each Motawi tile is crafted by hand, dimensions may
4×4 Square Flowers is one example of the wealth of inspiration Nawal Motawi finds among works once featured in Keramic Studio magazine. This design by Carrie Hetlage is a fitting follow-up to Motawi Tileworks’ 4×4 Round Flowers art tile. Actual Tile Size: Approximately 3 7/8” x 3 7/8”. As each
