Imagine Tile has introduced the new Jungle collection, featuring a tropical design by Ghislaine Viñas. Known for her wallpaper and textiles, this is her first foray in tile—a perfect partner for the NJ-based company that specializes in custom products. “It was easy to translate this pattern, a modern interpretation of a tropical print, and bring it to tile,” Viñas said.
Raised in South Africa, Viñas was inspired by the region’s abundant foliage, and designed the popular Wild Thing collection for Flavor Paper, a producer of hand-screened and digital wallcoverings. Imagine Tile now offers clients a similar style in a durable porcelain. “With tile you don’t have the same wear and tear of a wallpaper, it is made to last,” noted Lynda Portelli, vice president of sales and marketing at Imagine Tile.
The collection features two 12-by-24-inch tiles that can be used on the wall or floor, indoors or out that is ideal in high-traffic areas.“The large format is really trending now. There are less grout lines, and that allows you to have more pattern on the surface,” Portelli said. “It was designed to repeat in a mural effect, essentially creating a wallpaper in tile.”
The Imagine Tile team worked with Viñas to achieve an appealing palette for use in a range of projects. Emerald features lush green tones, and Concrete has delicate shades of gray on a white ground. A harmonious blend of lowlights and highlights give Emerald added dimension. The minimalist, tone-on-tone of Concrete boasts warmer hues that are a departure from traditional silver tints.
Portelli explained that bespoke pieces continue to be a core offering for the company. “I would say that 95 percent of our business is custom. We can produce a tile and then color match according to a client’s particular design. We can always find a solution or fill a need with a tailor-made tile.”
Viñas agreed and noted that personalization offers endless possibilities that can refresh the most basic of interiors. “The tiles are completely customizable, so I am hoping that people really play with pattern and pump up the color.”
Even with such attention to every detail, from start to finish the line was an uncomplIcated one. “It was fairly simple to replicate the artwork that Ghislaine gave us, and it only took three months to put everything together, which is pretty quick in this industry,” Portelli explained.
For Viñas, the collaboration sparked her imagination, melding all of the elements that she loves. “As a designer, I can never find the right combination of color, scale, and pattern, so working with tile has been a great creative outlet. It’s a fun avenue for us.”
While vibrant, true shades are a signature, Imagine Tile’s glazing process is unique—and patented. As the original and printed glazes cool, they combine, for superior durability. “Our expertise is printing an application of glaze into, not on top of, the ceramic,” Portelli said. This capability allows Imagine Tile to reproduce textures, patterns, photos, illustrations, and even three-dimensional images. “We’re seeing a lot of looks that are painterly or more distressed, and there are a lot of effects we can create not only with art but with the glazing, which sets us apart,” she added.
While bathrooms and pools first come to mind when thinking about tile, Portelli said that the material can enhance the workplace, especially in a kitchen or common areas. “We do a lot of large-scale restaurant and hotel projects but also traditional offices. You’ll see a backsplash or tile decorating a breakroom where employees go to relax. Tile is incorporated in the common areas, because specifiers are looking at more than furniture to bring color and creativity into a space.”
With the continued emphasis on biophilia, it’s hardly a surprise that the Jungle collection already resonates. Portelli explained that more than an of-the-moment grouping, it calls to mind Imagine Tile’s beginning. “We started with our Nature series 25 years ago, that’s what really launched our business. It was about bringing the outdoors in, and we are still doing that today. It is a full-circle moment for us. It’s nice to have this pattern that reflects our roots.”