Part 6: The Tile Mural...

There's a wall in the Master Bath shower that's just asking for something special.  It's so large and so very blank and you can see it all the way from where the bed will be in the attached bedroom.

I was picturing a large cascade of cherry blossoms gracefully arching down the wall, bringing some vibrant pink colors into the space.  Everything else in the bathroom will be simple, white-ish and calm, letting this explosion of pink exuberance have its moment.

After some investigation and getting over the shock of custom mosaic price tags, I found a company on mainland China who specializes in "exquisite mosaic tile."  Turns out that there are many mosaic production companies in China who create custom glass tile mosaics and ship them all over the world.

My friend and colleague, Claire Schatzle, is a talented graphic designer.  She works in the graphic design and branding department at Ankrom Moisan and runs her own small-but-growing graphic design business on the side.  Claire and I found a good inspiration photo on line and used that as a jumping off point for our blossom mural design.  It's a kind-of stylized cherry/plum blossom mash-up.  Here's her finished design;  (Thank you, Claire!)

Claire Schatzle Design

There were a number of delays and miscommunications working with the Chinese supplier, and I was worried enough to have a back-up plan, but finally, just a few days ago, my contact, Allen, sent email saying the mural was done and would be shipping shortly.  He also included these production photos;

Blossom mural production 

Blossom mural production close up.

The way they produce these murals is interesting;  They print full-size copies of the design, in color, tape them to table tops, then get to work selecting, cutting and placing each piece of glass in place.  In our case, this finished mural will be 4+ feet wide by 8 feet tall, which requires a very high resolution file for them to see and replicate the detail.  

This whole project was a bit of a gamble:  I didn't know what the finished quality would be, or if I would ever even receive the mural, but it's been a ton of fun to start with "What if....", generate the design with Claire, communicate with Allen in China, and finally see the photos.

I'll post more photos once the tile is installed and grouted in place.  I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project!  By the way, Allen's company also sells "quality watches."  :-)

Click here for Part 7:  The Delays:  Hurry up and wait