The Tale of Suzy and Connie’s Quest for handmade Mexican tiles

Suzy Brown and Connie Cowden drove all over Southern California in search of the most authentic hand-made Mexican tiles. Having no luck finding a truly authentic Mexican tile made by a domestic tile maker, they got in the car and headed south for Mexico. Without a map or a specific destination, they headed for Tecate, Mexico. Just after crossing the border, they asked anyone who looked industrious if they knew where they could find handmade tiles. They found some tiles, but knew the best were yet to be discovered.

Eventually, someone told them to go to Tijuana for the best tiles and gave them the name of a tile store called Lomeli, but they had no directions or a map. They made their way to Tijuana and with many roadside stops, asking people if they have heard of Lomeli, managed find the best tile maker in Tijuana. It was shortly after dark, by which time most stores were closed, but, miraculously, Lomeli was still open for business. Unfortunately, Connie and Suzy quickly realized this tile maker had abandoned the irregulaDr ceramic tiles in favor of the cleaner and the more homogenous porcelain tiles that were now in greater demand by the Americans across the border; so they had to move on.

Just when they thought they had ran into a dead end, one of the customers in the store pulled them aside and confided in them that if they wanted the best ceramic tile maker in the region, they would have to go to Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Without wasting any time, they drove to Rosarito Beach in the dark! That’s another story in itself. They arrived after midnight in a town without street lights or street signs and found a room in a run down hotel.

The next day they began their search all over again. They spent half the day searching and still did not find what they were looking for. They decided to stop in an art gallery by the side of the road to regroup. The owner showed them some handmade tiles that took their breaths away. They finally found them! When asked where they came from, you can imagine their surprise when he told them they came from Tecate, Mexico! Connie and Suzy wasted no time heading back to Tecate where their journey began the day before, and by sundown they found the most beautiful handmade tiles in northern Mexico.

Over a two-year period, Javier Ramirez and his family-run business in Tecate, Mexico, carefully hand-made and hand-painted all the decorative Mexican tiles for Vivienda's Estate. The patterns were hand-drawn by Connie Cowden, designer of Vivienda's Estate, and taken from authentic patterns of the early 1900's.

From the bottom of our hearts we thank Javier and his family of tile makers for their love and attention in making the hand crafted tiles of Vivienda's Estate. We also wish to thank Rivelino Martinez and his extended family of tile setters who lovingly set every tile in Vivienda's Estate. The tile laying effort alone took over a year of dedication and concentration. You guys make our hearts sing.