In this Artisan Gallery, we tour through shining examples of tile craftsmanship and artistry demonstrated by NTCA Member Contractors. The projects span the spectrum, from an award-winning 100-year-old-home renovation, to a mosaic install at the historic Macy’s in Chicago, to a mosaic tribute to veterans, to a playful kitchen backsplash. Each project took a combination of traditional tile setting skills and specialized skills for working with artistic elements. What new dimensions in your tile work will you find today?
Tile artistry in the West Hills
NTCA Five-Star Accredited Contractor Columbia River Tile & Stone won Residential Ceramic Tile Installation honors in the Coverings 2026 Installation & Design Awards (CID) in March for its Tile Artistry in the West Hills project. The scope of the project was immense: five bathrooms, three fireplaces, a wine room, a sauna, a dog wash, and an art studio—all under one roof.
This 1920s Colonial was transformed with handmade ceramics, custom unglazed porcelain mosaics, slim brick herringbone, glazed relief details, and quarry tile that imparted a unique identity to each space yet still created a coherent flow in the home. Jeff Occhinpinti’s team included heated floors, standards-based flood-tested shower beds, and custom 1/8” mosaics with zero margin for error, and planned every layout to land a full tile exactly where the eye falls first. The team integrated precision, craftsmanship, careful execution of details, and technical excellence to breathe new life into a century-old home.
Custom mosaic in historic Chicagoland landmark
When Chicago native Danielle Casali needed to install her “Gather & Hold” mosaic work at the renowned Macy’s at 111 N. State Street in Chicago in the historic Marshall Fields building, she sought out NTCA Member and longtime Ambassador Greg Twarog and his Unique 2 tile contracting company.
Casali used a 3D VR helmet to scale up her original sketchbook drawing to the desired 5’ x 11’ size on a 6’ x 12’ piece of paper. She and her team then free-cut the glass, mounted pieces onto one sheet of white mesh, and later cut them into 12 sheets for easy transport and installation.
Once on site, Unique 2 had two days to install the artwork in a confined space away from the pedestrians’ path to the escalators. Twarog, CTI #1302, and his lead, Joe Mitchell, leaned on their extensive training and field experience installing elevator flooring. They contained the area with a construction curtain and blockades, then set the first two rows of tile. Only then did they erect the one-stage rolling scaffolding to reach the full 12’ height of the install.
On site, Casali offered placement assistance while Mitchell and Twarog installed the sheets onto wedi backer, using MAPEI Adesilex-P10 Premium Glass/Tile Mortar for the strongest bond to the underlayment and best shear strength for the vertical surface. The team grouted with MAPEI UltracolorPlus FA since the fine aggregate sand is safe for glass and it has a fast-track cure time of three hours. Later in the same day, the install was fully prepared for the carpenters to follow behind to frame out the completed artwork with the black painted wood trim.
“It was an honor for Joe and me to be chosen to install such a beautiful handcrafted art piece that will be enjoyed by generations of shoppers and architecture enthusiasts for generations to come,” Twarog said. He proudly noted that his company’s work is located under the iconic 6,000-sq.-ft. mosaic ceiling made of over one million pieces of glass, designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and completed in 1907.
Supporting our veterans
USA Cares, Inc.’s mission is to provide post-9/11 military veterans, service members, and their families with financial assistance and postservice skills training to create a foundation for long-term stability. Its services improve the quality of life for veterans and their families and reduce potential factors that can contribute to veteran suicide.
NTCA Member Bobby Bell of Bobby Bell Floors in Louisville, Ky., saw these services in action when his father-in-law, a Vietnam vet, passed away. His uncle, Bill Roby, Sr., himself a Vietnam vet and Chair of the Executive Advisory Council for USA Cares, Inc., helped Bell’s mother-in-law navigate survivor benefits, giving her hope and security.
Moved by this blessing, in December, Bell approached his uncle about creating a mosaic to be auctioned off for USA Cares’ annual gala in July. Bell put his 2024 Artisans Revolution in Tile (A.R.T.) training to work designing the mosaic based on the organization’s original logo, keeping as faithful as possible to the official design.
Others in the industry pitched in on the project. Robin Straub at Louisville Tile and Tiffany McGaw at The Tile Shop helped Bell with color selection and donated tile to the project. A.R.T. master craftsman and instructor Lee Callewaert helped Bell with technical aspects and finishing touches.
“Being accepted into the A.R.T. program has really changed my life in many ways,” Bell said. He has also been a dedicated member of the TileFest contingent for the last two years. “I’m so happy and proud to be a part of the community.”
The flowers and the bees
NTCA Member and Ambassador Chris Resti of Crest Tile and Mosaic, Inc., in Hilton, N.Y., is an ace craftsman who approaches his calling with optimism, ingenuity, and standards-based precision. A graduate of the Artisans Revolution in Tile (A.R.T.) program, he is now a leading training assistant there and helps organize artisantilesetter-related events at Coverings and TileFest.
For a recent project, he was tasked by his clients to create a floral backyard scene inlaid into their kitchen backsplash, with four bees to represent each of their children. After Resti drew a variety of flowers, the clients picked their favorites and he sent them a digital rendering of the backsplash. Once the colors were finalized, Resti started material selection, which the clients also approved. Field tile was from The Home Depot, with tile for the mosaics from The Tile Shop and Floor & Decor.
Resti began fabrication. “I made each piece, keeping the clients informed through the process,” he said. “I brought a few to their house to show them when I made a template for their main wall. I brought all of the tile home and fabricated the entire wall in my studio.”
Resti set the flowers on a LATICRETE sheet membrane with LATICRETE MULTIMAX Lite. He face-taped the field tile with mosaic tape to make installation more efficient, installing all tile with MULTIMAX Lite, and grouting with LATICRETE PERMACOLOR and color-matched LATASIL.
Resti’s creativity and attention to detail created a permanent garden with happy flowers and bees to delight his clients for a long time to come.
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.
