It has been a very long time since I last put any new spirit into this website of mine. I am falling behind the cybertimes as I can't seem to find the time, brain power and energy to play with my own tiles (a hobby), sell a few over the internet, and try to learn to effectively use Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, E-bay, Amazon, MAO, SAMA, The Mosaic Atlas and all of the other wonderful places to go and to be here and there on the internet.
Having been brought up in a family of campers, I can't seem to make the trade off (as my kids easily have) between crusing the bandwidth or crusing the winding mountain roads of the National Forest for 2 weeks every year. Of the 5 members of my family, I'm the only one who doesn't have a cell phone or a laptop and I don't see the need for them. Oh, if I wanted to hustle up a following and fan club and brand my tiles to increase my sales, I suppose I would have to accept all of the trappings of the game as it is played today, but the harder I try, the more stressful life seems to become. I find myself taking it all so seriously when only 12 or so years ago none of this extra effort was even nessessary. (Simpler Times!)
OK, That's enough talk about me for at least a year or two! I am, contrary to my opening paragraph quite excited these days over a couple of recent finds. My favorite is a product which I had tried to sell for many years when I first opened Cyclopstile but it found only limted appreciation. I was able to sell this tile sporadically at best --- to my delight! because it gave me an excuse to use most of it up on my own home. I have a hunch that there might be a different reaction today then there was 10 years ago to hand thrown, high fire, glazed stone ware pottery shards. Here is a sneak peek of my first sack of tiles which I expect to sell for about $18.50 per lb. (a pound is about 50 pieces perhaps 1 to 1-1/2" in diameter and will cover an area of about 10" by 7")
Hand Thrown, High Fired, glazed, Stoneware Pottery Shards!
This tile is not for the timid of nipper. It has some thick areas, some is very hard to cut and may be better approached with a hammer, some has knobs or dips or other sculptural protrusians in and about it. It may not sit flat or lay an even grout line for you but that's the price you pay for using tile with real life in it. This tile is listed at the top of my broken dishes list under the products menu on the right.
The next treat I have been working on is still somewhat of an experiment. I call this "Teardrop Millefiori" The examples in the pictures are a little larger than the real life product. Anyway, I have recently added 9 or 10 new designs to my "Teardrop Millefiori" page and have another 12 or 15 designs in the wings which I hope to turn loose on the world soon.
Italian Millifeori chips, slices or tiles (call them what you may) are here at Cyclops Mosaic Tile. These beautiful little bits of colored glass have become very popular over the past 2 or 3 years and are hard to obtain, especially in a single pattern. I am very excited to have a distinguished old world product with some unimagineable New Age potential. You will soon see these tiles used in ways that have never been seen before anywhere in the world at any time past or present. This is part prediction, part boast, and the absolute truth. I must leave with that promise for now but you will see some extradornary things happening even now if you look closely at some of the mosaics which showcse millefiori or simply incorporate millefiori in their designs.
One energing millefiori techiniques is of my design and it is available in a limited way (by custom order)on page 6 or my millefiori products menu pages. The tiles featured there are merely one small scratch on the surface of the new life that will revitalize millefiori in the coming decades.
Check out the Millefiori product menu as well as my Fun With Millefiori Page for a look at some of the patterns available and a brief overview of a couple of ways that millefiori can often add a very pleasant surprise to your designs I will try to get some examples of millifeori tile mosaics into the gallery as some of you send me your pictures of mosaics which you enriched with one or one thousand millefiori tiles.
Although I don't send out any regular newsletter or sales promotion, if you would like to be informed by e-mail about new products, price changes, sales or other unusual events at Cyclops Mosaic Tile, please send me a note asking to be put on my mailing list. I will never publish, share, sell, rent or abuse your contact information.
I have discontinued the sale of Plate Center Mosaic Tiles
I want to thank all of you, our customers and friends who have supported Cyclops and encouraged us for so many years. I am excited about our future and have many ideas for new and unique products to help you add something special to your mosaics. I know how much of your work and worry and soul goes into each project that you do and I plan to continue to offer quality tiles that are truly worthy of your labor and love.
Please continue to send us pictures of your mosaics so we can add them to our gallery and make it a vibrant place to give and get inspiration.
By the way, I had a computer crash and lost about 6 or 7 pictures that artists had sent me to hang in my gallery. If your's has not gone up yet, please send it again... it is lost! I'm sorry.
Sincerely Joshua and Antoinette Ascencio Lowell
Specializing in cut and broken vintage china for Mosaic Tile. Here you will find Blue Willow Tiny Tiles and other Decorate Tile made from vintage china. Thank you for taking time to view our site. We hope that you find some useful or interesting idea, material or information while you are here to include into your Mosaics. Please let us know what you are looking for in the way of mosaic making materials and we will look for it during the course of our regular shopping trips. Check out The Gallery! while you are here to see some of my work and that of others.
