Dezeen promotion: Italian ceramics company Marazzi has released a collection of porcelain tiles with hand-painted designs and small irregularities that create an authentic look.
The tiles are painted in a palette of whites and blues, designed to give interiors "vibrancy" and a "welcoming mood".
The Crogiolo Rice collection is informed by thick-glazed majolica tiles, resulting in a lustrous "glossy" finish. They come in either block colours or decorated with nature-inspired motifs.
Each tile has minor flaws: pitting, irregularities and smears, adding to their authenticity and making the pieces unique.
"Around the edges, some tiles have grainy, sugary surfaces, or chipping, for an even more vibrant effect when installed on walls, with minimal joints thanks to the rectified edges," said Marazzi.
Crogiolo is the name of the factory where the brand was born. Rice is one range in the Crogiolo collection which aims to reflect the company's ongoing research into technological innovation, craft, colours and glazes that determine their handmade designs.
"Marazzi's latest research in the area of industrial craftsmanship has led to the rediscovery of the beauty of authentic, colourful, decorated ceramics in collections with a handmade flavour, created by combining craft skills with industrial technology," said the brand.
The straight-edged tiles come in three sizes: 15 by 15, five by 15 and 7.5 by 20 centimetres.
"The very subtle changes in colour tone, shadowing, chiaroscuro effects and imperceptible variations in concave-convex form, with minimal hollows and sudden, equally small, bulges in the material," said Marazzi. "All ensure that no two modules are identical."
As part of Marazzi’s design heritage, there are a series of booklets developed in the 1980s called Il Crogiolo that records the company's story and includes 112 projects illustrating its decorative techniques.
The resource includes photographs, sketches, and comments by potters and designers that are "still a source of inspiration of the company's product development today".
More information about the tiles and their applications can be found on Marazzi's website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for Marazzi as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.