Artistic Tile

Nancy Epstein did not set out to create one of the country's leading luxury stone and tile firms. She didn't anticipate being known as an innovator or even an entrepreneur. She just wanted to order some cabinets for her son's bathroom. "The cabinet maker was resistant," she recalls, "he told me that what I had in mind would never work, but I sketched it out with all the specs and ordered it anyway." When the cabinets were installed, the cabinet maker was so impressed with the results that he asked Nancy, who had recently completed some design coursework at Parson's, to come work for him in his Tenafly, New Jersey showroom. She did. Very quickly, Nancy, whose business degree from Syracuse University came in handy, recognized that the cabinetry showroom could do more business if they would offer more products for the bath and kitchen, such as tile, stone, fixtures and fittings. The cabinetry maker wasn't interested in the tile business, so Nancy bought out his interest in the business, while still sharing the showroom space with him, and Artistic Tile was born. It was 1987, and the luxury tile industry was a fledgling. There were a handful of suppliers manufacturing, importing and distributing luxury tile and stone, and virtually no showroom was accessible to the homeowner without a professional designer. Nancy outfitted her showroom with the customary "concept-boards", swatches of various tile combinations and configurations mounted on small boards to illustrate design ideas. But when, in 1989, she took advantage of the showroom's working bath to show tile in an entire room setting, she quickly sold out of the featured tile. Nancy instantly identified the kernel of a merchandising concept that would eventually revolutionize her showroom design – lifestyle vignettes. "People were obviously more inspired by the large display, they could really visualize the tile in their own environment." In 1993, Nancy dared to break with convention once again and locate her next showroom along a busy highway, rather than in a "destination" shopping area. The new Paramus showroom was designed to be consumer-friendly, with a children's playroom, ample parking, and an in-house design staff on hand to create room designs. It had 18 floor-to-ceiling vignettes. "I thought, well, I'll keep the first showroom for a year and if this one isn't a success, I'll close it and go back to the destination and to-the-trade business," says Nancy Epstein. Her gamble paid off, and quickly, within two months, design professionals were joined by area homeowners in the pursuit of fabulous tile. Since most product orders in the design-oriented luxury tile industry required a six to eight week lead time, Nancy soon sensed frustration among homeowners, who were not accustomed to waiting for products. Never one to wait around herself, Nancy got on a plane for Italy and began lining up tile and stone suppliers. She found a warehouse space in New Jersey and began building an inventory of stocked products for immediate delivery, including the latest luxury commodity of the time, tumbled stone. By 1993, she had established an import and wholesale distribution company, to service her Paramus showroom. Today, Artistic Tile has become one of the largest wholesale distributors of luxury tile and stone in the country due to Nancy's knack for anticipating and responding to market trends such as importing stone in 3/8" thickness that matches that of most artisan tile. Artistic Tile brand products are now distributed to all Artistic Tile showrooms as well as over 150 luxury tile and stone showrooms across the United States. More showrooms followed: White Plains, New York in 1997, Fifth Avenue, Manhattan in 1998, and Shrewsbury, New Jersey in 2000. 2001 marked the debut of an Artistic Tile showroom in a prestigious design center, Manhattan's Architects and Designers Building. In Fall, 2007 she opened a new, expanded flagship showroom in the equally esteemed Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The new showroom design has since been rolled out in Manhasset on Long Island’s North Shore and Chicago on the prestigious LuxeHome floor of the Merchandise Mart. Artistic Tile’s showrooms invite designers and homeowners to play and interact with thousands of tile options in a lively atmosphere that includes an extensive design library complete with countless samples. Umbrella-shaped fabric canopies with handmade Murano crystal chandeliers bathe the space in warm light while illuminating lifestyle vignettes that beautifully blend a variety of products and suggested installations. Her devotion to creating a warm, comfortable, inspiring environment in each showroom is evident in every detail. Wine is served in the afternoons, coffee in the morning, and lunch upon request. "Our customer service and atmosphere should rival those of any luxury resort,'' Nancy notes, "but most important, our clients should love not only their finished projects, but also the experienc