There’s a lot of movement afoot for Tile Heritage Foundation (THF), the Healdsburg, Calif-based, entity formed by Joseph A. Taylor and Sheila A. Menzies in 1987. From relocating its collections to the establishment of a new Executive Director of Development, THF is poised to take the dedication, knowledge and wisdom that is the bedrock of THF into a new incarnation.
The move
In mid-October, the Tile Heritage Foundation (THF), reached its funding goal of $50,000 from industry donors and sponsors intent on helping the Foundation move a significant portion of its collections from Healdsburg, Calif., to a new home in South Carolina. The new home for THF Tile Collection and Archives is in close proximity to Tile Council of North America (TCNA) in Anderson, S.C. The Foundation will remain an independent nonprofit organization in its new location, retaining offices and management for Tile Heritage in California for the present time. In 2026, a final move of the THF Library and other resources is planned.
A dedicated team from Earl Farnsworth Express/Mayflower carefully packed and delivered the Archives and Tiles in the THF Collection to South Carolina. A team of volunteers from TCNA in Anderson are managing the rehousing of all the assets at their new close-by storage facility. They will be re-shelved for full accessibility now and into the future.
The THF Collection
What does the collection contain?
- 4,000 + different individual tiles, all donated over the past 38 years
- 700+ historical tile catalogs
- 2,700 + tile periodicals from the 1900s to the present
- 140,000+ physical documents and records
- 44,000+ digital images of tile and installations
- 1,100+ tile books from 20 countries
- Select archives of historic manufacturers, tile artists, ceramists and contractors
“All of you have made this possible – thank you!” Menzies and Taylor exclaimed. “Thank you all for your amazing support!”
Next steps
Meanwhile, just a few weeks later, at Tile Solutions Plus, TCNA’s Eric Astrachan (a THF board member) announced the move, calling THF and its collection “a treasure.” He pointed out that the enormity of the THF collections, now in the process of being made more accessible to various sectors and stakeholders in the industry, helps give tile an edge. “Think of what we can do to promote the industry.” He added, “When you make people aware of really great tile installations, it sells tile. Registration, certification and promotion of tile installations by THF gives the medium and the craft an edge over competing surfacing materials like LVP,” he said.
To that end, Astrachan put out a call to manufacturers – as well as individuals – to raise $250,000 to take this plan to the next level. As part of this plan, the THF Board of Directors has voted unanimously to expand from its current 8 directors to 12, including a director from each association: NTCA, CTDA, IMI and TCAA. This action was taken to “harness their expertise, resources, and member outreach to fund and guide THF in the future,” said Astrachan. New directors will be Bart Bettiga, Rick Church, Caryn Halifax and Molly Nation, respectively.
Accessibility and promotion
Another significant step follows closely on the heels of the move: the appointment of industry veteran and tile advocate extraordinaire Karim Motawi as Executive Director of Development. Motawi will spearhead marketing and promotion and to make collections and information more accessible.
With 33 years of tile industry experience, Motawi was a partner at Motawi Tileworks for 18 years, Director of Marketing at Wizard Enterprise Tile for 10 years, Director of Sales at Materials Marketing for 3 years, and taught tile making at the Ann Arbor Art Center for 10 years. He’s been a TCNA Board Member, Art Tile Representative and a volunteer/supporter for Tile Heritage Foundation for many years.
“I am so excited to be doing this work,” Motawi said. “Joe Taylor and Sheila Menzies have run the Tile Heritage Foundation for 38 years and they are ready — soon — to pass it on to the next set of hands. I am privileged to be able to take on this important work.”
With a website currently in redesign, and plans for promotion and marketing in the works, future plans for THF Collections will include traveling exhibitions and a National Tile Museum down the road.
Referencing the extensive body of collected, periodicals, publications, samples and information about tile and tile installations, Motawi said, “The next step is about sharing that archive and putting it to work for the industry. We have a really inspirational collection of materials…And we really want to use that to inspire people to use more tile, to do more interesting things with tile and also encourage people to join the industry because we have a lot of exciting things to offer.
“Ceramic tile is where art and industry meet,” Motawi added, “Getting people excited about tile and using the history to lure them into our industry is an important role that the Tile Heritage Foundation can play and I am excited to get involved with that.”
Lesley Goddin has been writing and journaling since her first diary at age 11. Her journey has taken her through a career in publishing and publicity, landing her the editor position of TileLetter and its special publications in 2006. Her goal is to educate, inspire, recognize and encourage those in the tile industry -- especially the tile and stone contractor.
