Balineum

If you’ve ever wondered where interior designers go when they want to infuse a room with instant character and charm, the answer lies on a leafy Hampstead street, down a flight of steps to the basement studio of hand-glazed tile specialists Balineum. Taking its name from the Latin word for “bathhouse,” the company was founded in 2007 by Australian native Sarah Watson, whose commitment to craftsmanship was cemented when Balineum acquired the Stoke-on-Trent factory where its celebrated tube-lined and hand-cut tiles are produced, safeguarding the skills of its highly trained artisans for years to come.

We spent the morning with Sarah surrounded by the dizzying array of colourful, elegant prints and patterns stacked in inviting rows on an oak sideboard as she spoke to us about the journey from sticky shower curtains to providing tiles to the world’s best interior designers.

I’d always thought I wanted to start my own business. When I moved here, I couldn’t find a nice shower curtain for my flat. Even though the UK is the land of the bath, I thought, surely I’m not the only one looking for a decent shower curtain. The only ones I could find at places like John Lewis were plastic, often with dolphins and seashells, and they’d cling to you. In America, you can buy those really lovely fabric ones. That’s what sparked the idea. I knew those fabric shower curtains were made in Portugal and Lithuania, so I couldn’t understand why you couldn’t buy them easily in Europe, especially in London.

I realised there probably wasn’t enough of a business in shower curtains alone, so we expanded the concept to include all the decorative elements for the bathroom. Then we eventually added tiles. Tiles have really been the thing that’s grown the brand; they’ve become the part I love most. Honestly, if everything fell apart tomorrow, I’d probably go to bed for six months and cry, then lick my wounds… and still get up and do something with tiles.

I couldn’t really find tiles that I loved, so I started to wonder whether I could have the tiles I wanted made. That’s how I ended up contacting Phoenix, the tile factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Together we chose 12 colours and 12 shapes and launched the range, though at first it grew slowly. We were mainly doing plain colours and simple tiles.

Phoenix had traditionally specialised in decorative fireplace tiles, especially for Art Nouveau and Art Deco fireplaces, which often have a set of five tiles on either side, usually tube-lined with floral motifs. At the time, Phoenix was the last factory still making that kind of tile. They mentioned that this technique was what they were really known for, and although I didn’t think my customers wanted Art Nouveau or Art Deco designs, I thought we could use the technique in a more contemporary way.

So we began creating more graphic, colourful patterns, and that really took off. Sales picked up, and since then we’ve collaborated with lots of artists, including Louis Barthélemy, Fee Greening, and many others, approaching them to see whether their patterns might work on tiles.

Yes, we still sell them, though I think we do more interesting things now. We started with just a couple of whites, then we introduced the softer, more Victorian-style translucent ones. Dusty Rose (what we used to jokingly call “grandma’s underpants”), was there from day one. Nothing has been discontinued; we’ve only added more. We’re now up to 55 shapes, 32 colours, plus a whole range of patterns and decorative options.

For example, Louis develops the initial concepts, but it’s Deborah (who works in the Stoke factory), who chooses the motifs and decides where they sit on the tile. Louis creates the figures and the motifs, but because Deborah has been painting tiles for forty years, her placement and embellishment really elevate the final design. It’s a lovely partnership, almost like a marriage. At first, when we introduced some of the “sexy men” designs, I worried I might be pushing her too far, but she’s been fantastic. She and Louis work brilliantly together:

Yes, definitely. We sell much more colour and pattern now than when I first started. In the beginning it was mostly white, but increasingly, we’re seeing customers use borders and trims, and I suppose people come to us precisely because we can do pattern.

I think customers genuinely feel a bit like they’re in a sweet shop. They get to choose something that will brighten their home and make them happy every single day.

Thanks for having us Sarah. Click here to explore more of Balenieum’s exceptional collections.