At their studio-showroom in Bantam, Darin Ronning and Travis Messinger create amazing ceramics in many forms from tableware to custom tiles for floors and fireplaces.
The town of Bantam has a thriving art community, great restaurants, a cinema, and the lake. The best-kept secret, however, is Bantam Tileworks, a wonderful studio and shop where colorful bowls, platters, plates and tiles are handcrafted and finished with a deep, rich glaze. Since they set up shop next to Arethusa Dairy and Creamery in 2012, Travis Messinger and Darin Ronning, owners of Bantam Tileworks, have been creating stunning ceramics, often working directly with customers to help them achieve their aesthetic vision.
Their tiles and tabletop pieces are unique because of the multi-layered colors and depth of the glazes. The tiles start as wet clay that is wedged, rolled, dried, cut, dried again, fired, glazed and fired again on the premises. There are over 100 colors in the palette to choose from. Field tiles are used for bathrooms, backsplashes, fireplaces,or flooring. Special animal tiles are designed and hand-carved by local artist Karen Hiebert. There are shaped tiles which are sometimes used in an entire room or for an accent band. Whether used for large installations like entire bathrooms and sun-room floors or smaller ones like fireplace surrounds and backsplashes, the layered colors are what makes the tiles stand out in any room.
We love going to the studio to browse among those beautiful shapes and colors, and we usually don’t leave empty-handed. If you see a platter you like but would prefer it in a different color, Darin and Travis can turn out a new piece in a matter of a few days. With reasonable prices, stylish pieces, and great customer service, Bantam Tileworks keeps their clientele happy and coming back for more. We took a few minutes to speak with them about their backgrounds and to ask them about the business.
You used to have a shop in NYC, how did you end up in Litchfield County? Did you already know the area?
In NYC we owned and ran a shop with a cafe attached to it in the South Street Seaport area called Pepper Jones. Darin was working one morning and overheard one of the regulars describing a house in the Litchfield area. He is an architect with a passion for saving mid-century modern homes. The house sounded interesting so we came to look at it, never having been in the vicinity before and we immediately fell in love with the house. It was a getaway weekend home for 4 years until we decided to sell our business and move here full time.
Tell us about both of your backgrounds? Where are you from? Did you study art, pottery, or ceramics
Darin and I both grew up in the Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. I had taken all the ceramics classes I could throughout school. The whole time living in NY Darin had taken tile making classes as a hobby, but neither of us has a degree in ceramics.
Who is your clientele? Locals, weekenders, tourists?
Our clients really run the whole spectrum. Lots of times we work directly with the homeowners, but we do also work with architects and designers from across the country. Lots of our tiles are installed in Connecticut and the New York area, but recently we’ve also been doing a lot of work in Florida, California, and Chicago. For the tableware we sell almost exclusively out of our shop to both full time residents and weekenders. People love to bring their guests and family members who are visiting to show them the studio and showroom and just how everything is made. Depending on the time of year we also do get a fair share of tourists—especially now at the peak leaf season.
What are some of your most popular pieces? Is there a color or color combination in your palette that is always in demand?
Our most popular items are the oval platters for $60. They are a great size and value for giving as a gift. Also popular are the rectangle platters. They are an unusual shape and again make for a great gift. The colors that sell seem to go in waves, depending on the time of year. Bright colors (blues and greens) sell well in the spring and summer. Oranges and reds are popular in the lead up to the holiday season. We have a couple of more neutral colors that are year-round good sellers. Since we layer the glazes, the “black” has hints of blue green to it and the “white” also has a blue tone to it. Food always looks great on these more neutral colors.
Are your dishes microwave and dishwasher safe? Are any of your dishes bakeware, for the oven?
The dishes are dishwasher and microwave safe. We do make a couple of bakers specifically to go in the oven.
Do you do everything in your studio — from design to bisque stage to firing in the kiln?
Everything we sell is made here in the shop/studio in Bantam. We mostly make the tiles in the main floor workshop and in the upstairs studio is where we mostly make all the dishes.
When you get a custom order for a backsplash or firplace mantel, do you do the installation or does the client hire a professional tile installer?
We have our hands full just making the tiles, so the clients have professional tile installers do the installation. We are lucky to have a bunch of tilers in the area that we’ve worked with in the past and can highly recommend if our clients need help finding a tile setter.
Have you ever had an exhibition of your work?
We haven’t really had a traditional exhibition. Currently we are working on tiles for a fountain that will be part of a public plaza in New York City on Broadway and 175th street in Washington Heights. It is 4 different mosaics based on different Native-American fabrics. The whole project is designed by artist Ester Partegas and funded by the Percent for Art program for the City of New York. It will be unveiled this coming November.
Are your pieces sold anywhere else apart from your shop and online such as in retail stores or craft shows?
We sell exclusively out of our shop. When we first started out we did attend various craft shows, but going forward we are planning to attend some of the home trade shows.
What is the most challeging custom order you have had?
Probably the most challenging job to date was an entire first floor of a house in Florida where we recreated the floor of the Palais Des Papes in Avignon France. It was about 16,000 4-inch square tiles in various colors with about 3,200 with hand painted with dragons and various symbols—all of them were unique designs.
What are your plans for the future of Bantam Tileworks?
For the future we are always looking to expand the items in our tableware line. This year’s newest items were the various sized vases. We’ll definitely be adding new shapes to the vases. Also one of the most requested item is a pasta bowl so we will definitely listen to our customers and add that to the tableware. The great part about making everything we sell is that we are always hearing new ideas from our customers and we can run with them.
Custom Projects: All prices on quotations honored for 90 days;
Average lead time is 4-6 weeks. Custom glaze matching service available. Custom trim is available. Please provide a profile of the desired shape for a price quote.
Shipping: Delivery is complimentary within Litchfield county. All other locations priced upon request.
Hours are Monday – Friday, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Saturday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm
Bantam Tileworks
816 Bantam Road (Route 202)
Bantam, CT 06750
860-361-9306
www.bantamtileworks.com
