Made a Mano makes my head spin

Last week, I wrote about an author in Berlin and his amazing mosaic bathrooms. Christophe Niemann and I corresponded a bit and he sent me a link to an Italian website called Made a Mano. Niemann told me that if he had unlimited funds, he would have tiled his bathrooms with the offerings of Made a Mano instead of the 4x4s I was so enamored with. I clicked on his link and knew immediately what he was talking about.

This is Mount Etna in Sicily.

Mount Etna has been erupting for thousands of years and is hands-down the most active volcano on the planet. Over the millennia, vast amounts of basaltic lava have solidified on its flanks.

Made a Mano takes this solidified lava and makes glazed tiles, glazed counters and sinks. Made a Mano also powders it to make a low-fire clay they call Cotto.

Unfortunately, Made a Mano doesn't yet have a US distributor. But I can dream, can't I?

So I was going through their website and trying to contain myself when I came across this tile:

That pattern looked strangely familiar. And then it hit me. I'd seen the same pattern on a floor in Pompeii.

So far as I'm concerned, everything can be traced back to the Romans. Made a Mano gained a lifetime fan with the inclusion of that pattern, let me tell you.

I'm insane for this stuff. Check out these tile patterns.

Now bear in mind that these things are hand-painted on glazed stone. Just beautiful.

But that's not all. They get involved in floors too. Take that Pyrolave!

They make counters and sinks too.

Beautiful, all of it. Check out Made a Mano's website and drool. Now, I just have to find a way to get my hands on their stuff.