In this article, we feature two stunning installations that earned NTCA Five-Star Contractor Projects of the Year awards at the Coverings 2024 show.
Five-Star Contractor members are NTCA members who undergo a rigorous application process to prove their expertise and reliability. These companies often collaborate nationally and regionally, sharing best practices and supporting each other in maintaining high standards. In the last year, accreditation has been added to the requirements of those aspiring to this elite status, which ensure that accredited companies demonstrate scrupulous business practices and are committed to advancing the professionalism of the tile and stone industry.
Hohn & Hohn, Inc.: Five-Star Project of the Year
Residential Artisan Achievement of Excellence Award for Collaboration in Tile
Hohn & Hohn, Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., is a renowned woman-owned tile installation company, led by Jan Hohn, one of the first women to achieve the Certified Tile Installer credential. A member of the NTCA Technical Committee who led a subcommittee to draft the “Handmade Tile” document and “Techniques and Tips for a Good Handmade Tile Installation” document in the NTCA Reference Manual, she is currently working with industry members to develop a guide book on installing handmade tile.
Hohn & Hohn won her prestigious award for collaborating with tile maker Josh Blanc, Owner of Clay Squared to Infinity, located in neighboring Minneapolis. Blanc used his home as the experimental palette for new patterns that he had created.
“Knowing that I was a Five-Star [Contractor], [Blanc] asked me to work with him on three bathrooms in his house,” Hohn said. “He knew that I could help him with details on how to work with the tiles he made, and of course, provide excellent installations according to industry standards.”
In 2021 and 2023, Hohn & Hohn, Inc. completed two bathrooms, each with a different color, pattern, and size palette. The tile did not meet ANSI A137.1, so it required additional skill to install – and the contractor was working in a home that was built in 1890. This vintage property required additional substrate prep that included floating a mud floor, because nothing was level, flat, or plumb.
In the 2021 third floor project, it was discovered once the floor was dry laid, the double bullnose pieces for the curb were too big. The Hohn & Hohn team gave Blanc the needed dimensions and he remade the tile (the advantage of working with a tile maker)! The team also dictated the trim piece sizes so that they could fit perfectly too.
In 2023, Blanc ran a new pattern past Hohn & Hohn, Inc. to install and provide feedback on. The triangular tile featured a Trillium flower in the center and reliefs next to the edge, making grouting almost impossible. Hohn said the joints would need to be at least 3/16″ or more. “This meant a lot of grout would get caught in the relief that was next to the edge, thereby making cleanup quite difficult,” she said. Hohn & Hohn’s comments helped Blanc retool the tile for future use by others.
To make sure the tile was lined up with the layout, it became necessary to move some plumbing. But collaborating with the tile maker on his home installation made discussions and decisions so easy. “Installing tile by itself is quite rewarding, but when you can collaborate with a handmade tile maker to create a bespoke installation, it elevates the sense of accomplishment,” said Hohn. “With the bathrooms, Josh collaborated with us, adjusting his tiles and remaking them as needed, and we collaborated with him to create the layout in these bathrooms with the skill and understanding of how to do it – making sure the installation was done according to TCNA standards,” Hohn said. “These bathrooms are truly one of a kind that are show pieces for Josh and his tile.”
The projects utilized setting materials from LATICRETE, Merkrete, wedi, CUSTOM and MAPEI, from suppliers Kate-Lo, Emser, Dal-Tile, and Minnesota Tile.
J&R Tile: Five-Star Community Impact Award
The Uvalde Love Project
NTCA’s new Community Impact Award honors NTCA Five-Star Contractors members who donate their time, material and energy in their communities by bringing the community together through the use of tile. The Uvalde Love Project, installed by J&R Tile of San Antonio, Texas, was the first recipient of this award.
This project promoted community healing through a combination of workshops that included creating handmade ceramic tile and art in response to the lack of mental health care and support in Uvalde, Texas, after the Uvalde Elementary School shooting. The final part of the project was a custom mosaic mural of handmade ceramic tiles by art therapy workshop participants and other members of the community affected by this event.
Some of the tiles that were made by community members as a way to heal after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Artist Wanda Montemayor, founder of Community Arts Therapy of Austin and The Uvalde Love Project, engaged the community in a series of tile-making activities as a creative way to express emotions resulting from the shooting. The therapists and artists working with Montemayor are a highly-experienced team of former teachers who became mental health professionals who have dedicated themselves to children and healing. They conducted therapy sessions with community members, teachers and students from area schools and churches over a series of months. The tiles that were created during these sessions formed the basis for the mosaic mural installed at Jardin de los Heroes Park in Uvalde by J&R Tile. The mural was dedicated a year ago on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
J&R Tile generously contributed its time, expertise, and resources pro bono to the project, playing a pivotal role in the project’s success. J&R provided invaluable consultation on product selection, procured materials, enlisted volunteer contractors, prepared the installation site, and facilitated the transportation of custom mosaics from Austin to Uvalde. It also provided wall prep and waterproofing, as well as fabrication of custom panels to fit the mural at the park and installed and finished the mural. Terry Hall, Ardex Americas, introduced J&R Tile, Inc. to the project.
“J&R Tile had the opportunity to learn from Wanda and her team throughout the process on this project, discovering that tile can become therapeutic art, and a way of healing a community,” said Erin Albrecht, Owner J&R Tile. “I believe we can all empathize with grief and loss, but the willingness to learn, participate and open our hearts to help our communities in need makes us not only better contractors, but better human beings.”
Editorial Director and Senior Writer for TileLetter and TileLetter ARTISAN
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.
