Custom Hand Crafted Tiles

About 2005 we were approached by a Melbourne company to produce custom made “fish scale “ shape tiles for Longrain Restaurant and so began our production of custom made bespoke tiles.

The “fish scale” or “fan” shape tile is our most popular shape. We have developed an extensive range of glaze colours and finishes that can be applied to this shape tile as well as any other shape we produce.

The hand glazing process produces shade and colour variations, even with the same glaze, giving our tiles their distinct appearance.

Custom colours and pantone colours can be difficult to match as glazes differ from paints but we have an extensive range of glaze colours to choose from several suppliers and one supplier can develop colours if not in the standard range. The development of custom glaze colours and costs would need to be discussed further should this service be required.

We press a wide variety of shapes and sizes. We have moulds to produce the following square tiles; 100x100mm, 150x150mm and 200x200mm

We can also produce a variety of rectangle sizes and other shapes by pressing the appropriate square and cutting to size while the clay is soft. Then we can cut various rectangles such as 100x50mm, 150 x50mm, 150x75mm, 200x50mm, 200x100mm and can finish in any of our glaze colours.

We can also cut unusual shapes, eg diamonds, from the pressed tile while the clay is soft when it comes off the press.

We are capable of producing approximately 20-25 sqmt per week. We generally stock blank tiles that are then glazed to customer requirements. Lead time on most orders will be 4 to 8 weeks depending on the size of order and current orders in production.





All moulds for the RAM press are produced by us.  We can produce custom made shapes and designs. Set up costs to produce the model and mould are required and this would need to be discussed further at the time should this be considered.
Three dimensional shapes can be produced too as can be seen in the photo of a 200x200mm tile that we produced for the Commonwealth Bank head office in Brisbane.

Tile Finishes

Tiles produced by The Pugmill can have one of three different finishes, a smooth finish, a textured finish, a speckled finish.

A smooth finish is on a white base tile that gives a uniform glaze finish across the entire tile. As with all our tiles due to the hand glazed nature of all our tiles there will be a slight gradient and shade variations from tile to tile.

A textured finish is on a terracotta tile with a under coating applied before the glaze this gives the tile textured shade. As with all our tiles due to the hand glazed nature of all our tiles there will be a slight gradient and shade variations from tile to tile.

A speckled finish uses a high fire BRT (Buff Raku Traychte) clay this creates a speckled finish through the glaze. As with all our tiles due to the hand glazed nature of all our tiles there will be a slight gradient and shade variations from tile to tile. The clay used (BRT) is more expensive than white or terracotta clay and will cost more.

Lastly we can also produce brick tiles made from bricks that have been cut and glazed. These glazes are directly applied to the brick showing all the texture that the brick has. Due to the costs of purchase of brick and the labor associated with cutting them to specifications they are of significantly greater cost than standard white or terracotta tiles
Smooth Finish
Smooth Finish
Textured Finish
Textured Finish
Speckled Finish
Speckled Finish
Brick Tile
Brick Tile

Production Information

Fish Scale Tiles

Approximate tile size of the fish scale tiles is 130mm side to side and 120mm point to base.
There are 120 tiles per sq mt. They are individually laid, not on mesh.
If you look at the tip of the tile it is about 10mm below the "shoulder" of the next one. DO NOT have the tip level with the shoulder of the adjoining tile.
A 3-5mm grout gap works best.
Please note as these are a handmade product there will be slight size variations.
As we generally produce our tiles in terracotta and earthenware clay they are best suited to wall applications. We can produce our tiles in high fired clays (eg, BRT) that are suitable for floor and wall use.
Standard adhesives and grouts can be used. Sealing is optional.
Placement Example 1
Placement Example 1
Placement Example 2
Placement Example 2

Colour Examples

Bellow are some examples of the various colours that we can produce please note that there will be slight variation to tone and shade due to the hand crafted nature of our tiles, as well as some change depending on the finish you desire (Smooth, Textured, Speckled ect.)

The Pugmill can also alter the colours tone or shade to suit your desire we can also create virtually any colour as well bellow are just examples of colours we have previously created.