The Guild: American Restoration Tile

When American Restoration Tile founder Bryan Byrd died suddenly five years ago, his daughters were faced with a choice: let the family business go . . . or run it themselves.

Erin Oliver and Rachel Silvestri chose to keep it going. “We owed it to the employees to give their jobs a chance,” says Oliver, who deals with clients and sales; Silvestri runs production and human resources, and finesses trickier designs. Five years on, the sisters are more than happy with their decision. Business is booming and the number of employees has doubled: “We’ve made about three times as much tile this year as Dad did in 2016.”

Colloquially known as ART, the company makes the small, flat tiles called mosaics. In shapes such as square, hexagon, and penny round, the tiles lend themselves to patterns (usually on a white ground), from stars and flowers to geometrics and intricate borders.

Like mosaic tile made between 1885 and 1945, all ART tile is unglazed, full-body porcelain, meaning the color runs through top to bottom. Tops are perfectly flat without bevels or cushions. Grout lines are thin—a hygienic response to the late-19th-century “sanitary” movement. The small tiles are ¼” thick without exception.

Both women say making tile is “a lot like making cookies.” Raw materials for each color are mixed dry in a large mixer, with just enough water added to make the clay pressable. Tiles are formed under pressure, then fired. One batch yields about 30 square feet of tile. Affordable compared to hand-pressed art tile, mosaic tiles are typically priced at $38 to $40 per sq. ft. About 75% is sold to owners of old houses, for new work and patching, with the rest going to new-builds and commercial or institutional clients.

Erin Oliver & Rachel Silvestri
American Restoration Tile
Little Rock, Arkansas
(501) 455-1000
restorationtile.com