SoMa's Newest Resident: Fireclay Tile

If only all new tenants threw such hot parties. Fireclay Tile splashed down in style Thursday at the grand opening of its showroom and HQ at 8th and Brannan, a stone's throw from Airbnb and Zynga. Here, chief ceramicist and prez Paul Burns with CEO Eric Edelson. The two used to commute together from their city abodes to the showroom's former San Jose location. (Now Paul's pup Asia is a favorite around the 2k SF HQ, but an office dog trailing its owner in SoMa is nothing new.) They clearly like to coordinate clothes. Paul says he couldn't pick a favorite tile to show us; his biggest problem is he likes color too much. 

Paul, who founded the company in 1986, says he almost made this display wall show all the colors Fireclay offers, but even he agrees that would have been too busy. Fireclay just launched its direct-to-consumer online tile concept, a personalized way to sample and buy the tile while home in PJs. Fireclay also just released its newest sustainable offering: CRT Glass Tile, made from 100% recycled cathode ray tube computer screens. (Does that mean staring at the wall now counts as office work?)

Any tiles look familiar? Their client list includes Whole Foods, Starbucks and Google, and using the tiles helps companies attain LEED credits. Some employees at the 85-person company even moonlight as stellar chefs; the party's in-house Mexican spread was a hit. A display table showed off the funky places Fireclay goes to get the material for its product, like a toilet graveyard that sits about an hour away. (A quick search reveals this is the first time we've used the phrase "toilet graveyard." This is slightly disappointing.)