Holly Lasseter creates and hand paints her fine china tableware collections at her home in Dorset.

If you fancy acquiring a piece of fine British craftsmanship, how about investing in a lovingly hand painted fine china tea set.

Holly’s designs are created from an original collection of botanical flowers, fruit and vegetables including insects and butterflies.

However, Holly is happy to discuss your personal requirements, as well as offering individual preferences with wording or any special motifs.

Every teacup tells a tale:

Standard collection prices - Teapots from £75, cups and saucers as featured here, from £38, plates from £25, large platters and bowls from £100.

All of the pieces are available online from the Holly Lasseter Designs website.

About

Holly has been hand painting fine china in her home in Dorset for over fifteen years.

Her collections range from one-off items, to complete dinner services, as well as tile pictures for kitchens and bathrooms.

Her timeless delicate designs are inspired by the natural world including flowers, fruit, vegetables and insects.

She deals exclusively with UK companies for her base china and for the supply, printing and make-up of her fabrics and textile products.

She also accepts private commissions – no task is too small or too great and she enjoys incorporating her clients’ special requests, to create truly unique pieces. You can even choose colours and designs to fit in with the interior decoration of your home.

To view Holly Lasseter’s charming collections of hand painted china, please visit the website.

Tel: (01305) 815784

Craven Dunnill, the award winning UK retailer and tile distributor, has turned back the clock and added the Minton Hollins Craft collection of artisan wall and floor tiles, to its wide-ranging selection of contemporary ceramic floor and wall tiles.

Minton is a name synonymous with the golden age of tile making in the Victorian period:

• This new collection is likely to appeal to period property owners seeking adornment for their bathrooms and kitchens, sympathetic to the age and structure of their property.

• The many home lovers, who prefer a classic, English country feel to their home, rather than accept contemporary styles, will also admire it.

• Featured here is the Monochrome Botanical Panel: set of six 150 x 150mm tiles. Priced at £124.00.

The Minton Hollins Craft collection from Craven Dunnill is British made in the Staffordshire Potteries and includes a wealth of hand-painted original designs, skilfully applied to specialist crackle and undulating glazes, with co-ordinating plain tiles (field tiles) available in a wide colour palette.

Available in traditional, small sized formats, the Craft Collection includes a wide selection of nature inspired décors, from charming botanical prints to delicate bird studies, through to the flora and fauna of the British countryside.

To view Craven Dunnil’s luxurious collections of quality wall and floor tiles please visit the website.
Tel:   (01746) 761611

The Award winning Elite Sumba Yellow from the CP Group, is a stimulating compilation of floor and wall tiles, mosaics and borders that presents an exciting summer style for the home with its striking marble patterns.

Uniting the distinctive characteristics of marble with boldly diverse tones of yellow, brown, blue and grey, reminiscent of bright summer days and seductive, balmy nights, Elite Sumba Yellow’s modern design sits flawlessly with contemporary streamlined kitchen cabinetry, or can fit equally well with vintage style furniture.

Perfectly suited to the fashion conscious and those that like to make a real style statement, Sumba Yellow’s fascinating marble patterns and honed, matt effect tiles, look more like a piece of contemporary art to adorn your kitchen walls or a striking splash-back behind a cooker or sink, or even a full feature wall for the more daring.

With its muted yellow colour scheme, punctuated with smokey brown marble veining and accents of grey and blue, Sumba Yellow adds depth, energy and colour without being overpowering.

152mm x 305mm and 102mm x 203mm tiles have been designed specifically with kitchen splashbacks in mind, while two 305mm x 305mm mosaic options and a 105mm x 305mm border tile are also available, ensuring a completely unique collection of wall tiles.
For the floor, a large format 406mm x 406mm tile is available to create a real feeling of space.

The Elite collection is available from a selection of leading independent retailers.

Prices:
Sumba Yellow 102mm x 203mm: £2.59/tile or £125/sq m.

Winner of ‘best natural product’ award at The Tile Association Awards 2011, Elite is a superior collection of five distinct natural marble ranges that release the extraordinary beauty of Indonesian stone.

For further information and to view the CP Group’s entire tile collections, please visit the website.

Tel: (0845) 519 7039.

For those special projects H&E Smith have the manufacturing capabilities and expertise to create something really unique:

The company has been manufacturing beautiful tiles since 1926 and their factory in Stoke on Trent continues to produce exceptional designs to this day.

Besides their popular standard collections the company also has tremendous flexibility in producing bespoke tiles of varying size, shape and glaze finish.

Traditional techniques coupled with modern computer-aided technology and an inherently skilled workforce make the company an Interior Designer’s dream come true. From exclusive commissions to restoration projects, tiles can be manufactured from original designs quickly and cost effectively.

Featured here is a bespoke project completed by H&E Smith.

2003 saw the start of a vast re-furbishment programme by the London Underground, and since the company had already supplied heritage style tiles in the previous decade for several stations, they were again requested to develop special colour glazes and tiles to match the existing designs of 100 years ago.

In more recent years the company have complemented their range of ceramic wall tiles with some carefully selected porcelain floor tiles. They now offer clients the Westminster range of top quality Victorian style porcelain geometric floor patterns and designs together with a quality range of polished porcelain large format tiles.

The company are always happy to speak to customers considering bespoke projects and price is on application.

To view the H&E Smith range of stylish wall and floor tiles, please visit the website.

Tel:   (01782) 281617

Well known for his role on BBC1’s High Street Dreams, Nick Munro is celebrated as one of Britain’s most original and innovative designers - and now he’s launching two new collections with Fired Earth.

The two new tile collections - Roman Mosaics and Welsh Mountain Slate are designed to be both beautiful and functional.

“I’m really excited about the new tile collections,” says Nick. “Welsh Slate is a great product. I love the Welsh mountains and I love the colours when the sun breaks through - the green meadows, crystal streams, blue skies - and, of course, the perfect blue-grey of the slate.

“It’s brilliant for wall and floor tiles as you can cut it very precisely and it doesn’t peel, making it safe to walk on.”

Nick and his wife, Ali - a textile designer - have also worked together to create a new mosaic collection for Fired Earth.

“When Fired Earth asked me to work with them on a new collection of hand made mosaic tiles, it gave me the perfect opportunity to work on a joint project with Ali, who is a brilliant textile designer.

The two of us looked at the original Fired Earth mosaics and we loved the craftsmanship and attention to detail of the Tunisian artisans, but decided that we could bring a new and more contemporary spirit to this ancient process.

We’ve created both geometric and figurative designs in an unusual colour palette of ochres, reds, greys and oranges.”

With Nick’s brilliant eye for design and instinctive understanding that Fired Earth wants to create spaces that are both beautiful and functional, these new collections are set to become design classics.

Roman Mosaics
Using an organic palette of Tunisian stone and marrying it with geometric patterns inspired by Roman baths and spas, the couple have achieved a new perspective on mosaic art.

Unique and evocative, as suggested by their names - Ludo, Maze, Lattice, Pyramid, Tartan and Rooftops - they can be used as details to add interest to a room, or using a whole panel to fundamentally change the space within which they are used.

Suitable for most purposes, looking equally stunning on walls and floors. Priced at £44.94 each. Pictured here is the lattice design.

To view the striking new Nick Munro tile collections please visit the Fired Fired Earth website.
Tel: (0845) 366 0400

The Fired Earth summer sale runs from June 19 to July 17 and they are offering up to 25% off selected wall and floor tiles, kitchens and bathroom and even 50% off special purchase and discontinued tiles.

Kitchens

• Fired Earth’s kitchens are handcrafted from the highest quality, responsibly sourced materials and work well in contemporary and traditional spaces.
• Now is a great time to think about updating yours, as there’s 15% off all freestanding and fitted kitchens - including the new fitted Bastide (in our picture) and Moderne collections by Charles Smallbone - and rising to 25% off if you spend more than £10,000. (Offer excludes worktops and appliances for fitted kitchens.)

Tiles

• Fired Earth is well known for its collection of stunning wall and floor tiles and there’s never been a better time to buy them - with up to 25% off selected tiles from the hugely popular Tile Basics collection; in fact, you can now buy tiles from just 27p each, as the Architecture tiles have been reduced by 25%.

Bathrooms

• From truly chic wet rooms through to the most romantic bathrooms imaginable, Fired Earth has pieces to suit every taste. The summer sale offers savings of up to 25% off a huge range of products.
• For example there’s 25% off Bastide bathrooms, including the Washstand 1170 - reduced from £2,495 to £1,871.25.
• There’s also 25% off the Bastide dual control shower and accessories, which are reduced from £1,565 to £1,173.75.

Plus there’s also 15% off selected wood flooring, all Lloyd Loom furniture and hand-woven rugs.

For more information on sale products and prices, please visit the Fired Earth website.

Tel: (0845) 366 0400

Leading tile manufacturer, CP Group, has unveiled the next generation of polished porcelain with the launch of its innovative Portia collection.

Featuring three different looks including Mono (single block colour) and Double Charged (where a combination of shades creates a subtle graining effect); the collection also showcases a unique new finish called Sandstorm.

Available exclusively in the UK from CP Group, Sandstorm, in our picture, combines different shades of porcelain to create dramatic sandstone-like patterns with a luxurious polished finish.

Long prized by interior designers for its light diffusing properties, polished porcelain provides an ever changing backdrop to a room over the course of the day, creating different looks and moods as natural daylight fades and is replaced by a contemporary lighting scheme.

While renowned for its aesthetic qualities, polished porcelain is also a practical solution for the modern home as it is very hardwearing.
As a result it is now to be found in rooms such as the bedroom, lounge and hallway, as well as more traditional locations such as the bathroom, kitchen or conservatory.

And, in recognition of consumers increasing desire to personalise their homes and create a truly bespoke look, the new Portia collection also includes a range of complementary borders and décors, which can be combined to create an exceptional end result:

• A selection of glass borders in both plain and iridescent finishes punctuate the sleek expanse with flashes of bold colour – including aubergine, this year’s hottest shade – or provide a subtle accent for a more muted colour scheme.

• Meanwhile, a range of décors made up of mosaic style strips of Sandstorm, can be used on the floor or wall, to create borders or even an entire feature wall.

The new Portia collection is available from leading independent retailers across the UK.

To view the new Portia collection and for details of your nearest stockist visit the CP Group website.

Tel: (01484) 727 147.

Meissen is launching a range of Architectural tiles; at the moment 40 different colours are available and they plan to have 60 different shades at a later date.

The technological origin of “Meissen® Architecture” is the world’s largest ceramic mural “Procession of Princes” in the city of Dresden, pictured here.

It was made in 1904-1907 and consists of 25.000 single elements juxtaposed with no fuge and exposed to weather and frost for over 100 years.

The MEISSEN® porcelain material used for MEISSEN® Architecture elements, has a prominent technological advantage compared to conventional industrial tiles and mosaic: it is 100% waterproof.

Therefore it is ideally suited for kitchens, bathrooms and spas – in private villas and commercial or corporate luxury environments.

Based on this technology MEISSEN® has now created a contemporary programme for architects, with different styles:

Minimalism, Royally opulent, Trends, Ornaments and refinement, Textures and Romanticism.

Visit the MEISSEN website to view this exciting new range of tiles.

Following in the footsteps of the best fashion designers, Fired Earth is adding a diffusion line to its collections.

First to arrive is the Tile Basics collection, which will include tiles starting at 36p each.

Bright and bold, tiles from the Collage range, take their inspiration from the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 60s, when collage and painting were combined to construct new art forms that heralded the cultural transformation of Britain and America at the time.

• The colours that form the new Collage collection closely replicate those used by some of the key artists of the time.

• The new range is available in nine vibrant colours, including pink, yellow, orange and lime. This versatile collection has a beautiful gloss finish and includes pencils, as well as practical 15 x 15 cm tiles at £1.81 per tile (£79.62 per m2).

• The tiles are perfect to mix and match and are extremely versatile - great for anyone looking to make a colourful statement.

• Affordable chic: prices for tiles in Fired Earth’s new Collage collection start at just £1.81 per tile.

Fired Earth has 56 showrooms in the UK and Ireland.

Visit the Fired Earth website to view these exciting new tile ranges and to find your nearest showroom.

Tel: (0845) 366 0400

Fired Earth is broadening its reach and appeal by adding a diffusion line to its collections.

This begins with the launch of Tile Basics this month, which will carry tiles starting from just 36p each.

Tile Basics is designed to complement the existing Fired Earth range and add some new bolder colours, which can be mixed and matched.

Rob Whitaker, Creative Director of Fired Earth, said: “We wanted to add to the range so that customers could find something to suit every room and every purpose at the right price.
“For example, for a utility room people don’t necessarily want something hand-crafted, but they do still want something well designed, practical and fit for the purpose.

“We also wanted to attract new customers - perhaps those in their first home - wanting great design at an easily affordable price; essentially we’re offering quality you’d expect at prices you wouldn’t.”

Tile Basics will complement the existing Fired Earth collection, by introducing some exciting bold colours, such as the pink, orange and lime to be found in the Pop Art-inspired Collage range.

Colours and formats can be mixed and matched to create eye-catching schemes.

Offering everything from crisp slate flooring and beautifully designed wall tiles, to hard-wearing porcelain and rustic terracotta, Tile Basics includes tiles for every style of home at easily affordable prices. The diffusion line will continue with the Bathroom Basics collection.

The Architecture range in our picture, fuses classic elegance with clean, structural style; simple lines can create versatile designs, by using several sizes together in patterned combinations, or by mixing the gloss and matt finishes.

Fired Earth has 57 showrooms in the UK and Ireland.

Visit the Fired Earth website to view the new Tile Basics range.

Tel: (0845) 366 0400