Margaret and John Larcade have shared not only a life as husband and wife and business partners, but also an appreciation and love of tile from Mexico, with its vibrant colors and endless possibilities of patterns and designs. When Margaret Larcade talks of her life together with her husband John, never has there been a time when tile was not a part of their story.
Margaret first met John when they worked at the same architect’s office in New York, shortly after he returned from a stint in Colombia where he designed and built rural schools for the Peace Corps. After their marriage, the Larcades moved from New York and divided their time between their two homes in San Antonio, Texas and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
“In New York City, I used standard tiles in commercial installation, and then was introduced to Talavera tiles when we moved to Texas. I have had the pleasure of working in Mexico where I could choose from a wide range of Talavera tiles and sinks for projects, playing with different configurations to create patterns.”
But the Larcades wanted to push the design envelope, and create a more contemporary look while still maintaining the vibrancy of traditional Talavera tiles. “I yearned for tiles that gave me more geometric possibilities than the Talavera tiles and give a fresh attitude to the prevalent Southwest/Mexico look, but still have color,” explains Margaret.
“I wanted a tile to be more universal, to slip easily into a contemporary design, a modern graphic for these spaces.” Imbued with a love for stripes and patterns found in textiles from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as inspired by American mid-century optical and pop art, the Larcades released their own line of tiles in January 2014 that includes a new series of glazes and colors, including semi-transparent glazes that give greater depth of colors, and created a new range of patterns not possible with traditional tiles.
“In the world of going green and very minimal design, I envisioned geometric murals in building entrances to contrast with plain concrete walls for decoration and easy maintenance,” says Margaret. “On the floor the tiles can be used as accents with larger tiles in low traffic residential installations. You can use just the solid colors by themselves, as there is variation within all the tiles which makes up beautifully.”
Larcade Larcade Tiles presents a dazzling array of tile choices for a variety of building projects, offering a beautiful pop and depth of color that adds dimensionality to a custom tile design, from typical tile projects such as backsplashes, bathrooms and table tops to more imaginative and esoteric uses, such as bed headboards or creating tile rugs for walls.
LARCADE LARCADE TILES
210.733.0260 | www.Larcadetiles.com