Ann Sacks has come a long way since 1981, when a young Portland teacher was shopping for a Mexican wedding dress, saw a box of vibrant, handcrafted talavera-tile trivets in a shop, and decided to launch a tile company out of her bungalow home.
Today, Ann Sacks is a global brand. The company has 19 showrooms and the factory in Northeast Portland produces more than 2 million tiles and tile parts annually.
Sacks no longer has any day-to-day involvement. She sold the business to Wisconsin-based Kohler Co. in 1989 and in 2003 left to concentrate on other ventures like her commercial tile business and the Pixie Project, a nonprofit animal adoption center and rescue in Portland.
But the company she founded still brands itself around her original principles - handcrafting, fine workmanship and unique, upscale design.
"The fact that many of these tiles are still actually made in Portland comes as a welcome surprise to some of our local customers," said Aly Monroe, manager of the Ann Sacks showroom in the Pearl District. "I'm always excited to explain that the factory is right there over the river."
Ann Sacks Tile and Stone showroom
402 NW Ninth Ave. Portland, Ore. 97209
Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
503-233-0611
The range of tiles displayed in Ann Sacks showrooms has grown every year, as customers have demanded increasingly complex shapes and textures. Classics like square and subway tiles always sell well, Monroe said.
But new designs include the Faceted Hex tile, which has an uncanny ability to bounce light around, the Penta 3D, which transforms into a clever pentagon-hexagon look when installed, and Geo Weave tiles, which appear as if they're interlocking across entire walls.
Metallics like burnished bronze, pewter and gold are especially in-demand right now. Such beauty comes at a price. Many of the company's tiles, conceived by rock-star designers like Kelly Wearstler and Daniel Ogassian, now sell for up to $70 per square foot. That could easily add up to mid-to-high thousands for covering a large powder room, kitchen backsplash or feature wall.
But Monroe said homeowners with more modest tile budgets shouldn't feel intimidated. Many lines cost around $20 to $30 per square foot, and the showroom's consultants can recommend ways to mix basic field tiles with more expensive trims and accents.
"The Basics line is gorgeous, with attractive finishes that give the tiles a custom, high-end look," said Monroe. Tiles in the Basic line sell for about $12 per square foot.
Tile terms
Earthenware
clay is smooth-textured, lightly porous and fired at a relatively low heat. Glaze color on earthenware ceramics tends to be consistent.
Stoneware
clay is denser, fired at higher heats than earthenware, and produces harder, stronger tiles. It's used to make bigger tiles, and glazes may feature breaking along edges and relief details.
The Ann Sacks name has a reputation for quality and high-end design rivaled by only Heath Ceramics and a handful of other U.S. tile companies. The brand launched its first international showroom in London in 2011.
In 2009 Ann Sacks began selling a line of coordinated accessories including wastebaskets, soap pumps and tissue holders, many with names that will make Portlanders grin: The Irvington, the Wilshire, the Broadway.
The showroom in the Pearl District includes an entire wall of Kallista bathroom and kitchen fixtures. And tiles aren't just ceramics anymore; there are specialty tiles in wood and leather.
But the heart of the business is still what it was more than three decades ago: transforming cold lumps of mud-colored clay into functional artwork. And despite fears that it would become a Portland company in name only, Ann Sacks has made a concerted effort to hold onto its Rose City roots.
The main factory, in Northeast Portland's industrial district near the Broadmoor Golf Course, consumes more than 900 tons of clay and 44 tons of dry glaze annually to make the entire Made by Ann Sacks line, the core brand. Factories in Los Angeles and other locations produce some lines.
On the day I visited, technical analyst Doug Sigstad was eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new, 6-foot-square Dutch kiln, which the factory team had already decided to name "Larry" in honor of a retired employee.
The factory's fast-firing, energy-efficient kilns reach heats up to 1,950 degrees Fahrenheit. It's Sigstad's job to make sure tiles look and perform the way designers want them to after they come out of the kiln with attractive edges, the proper density and true glaze colors.
The company is currently working with 153 glaze colors but is constantly developing new ones.
Sigstad said the company prides itself on its environmental commitments. All clay trimmings and scraps are re-purposed, and recipes do not use arsenic or lead. The heavy metal Cadmium was long ago drastically reduced, according to Sigstad. This pre-dates recent moves by local glass makers to reduce heavy metal use over environmental and health concerns.
These limitations can make it hard to achieve certain colors, especially tricky reds and yellows, said Sigstad. But as an artist as well as a technician - he makes functional pottery in his spare time - he rises to the challenge.
"I've been asked to match the deep red of Campari [liqueur], a bright yellow banana, you name it," he said. "The banana turned out to be a joke my boss was playing on me."
With less than 50 employees, many of whom have been with the company for decades, factory employees still form a tight-knit group. Carver and mold-maker Gerbert Leytner, for example, has been with the company for more than 15 years.
Several other longtime employees are highly-skilled individuals Sacks herself found through the Portland immigrant recruitment program IRCO. On the design side, the company has also partnered with prominent local tile artists including Ruth Frances Greenberg.
"We look for designers who are incredibly talented, both established names on the Architectural Digest 100 and up-and-comers," said Jennifer Nye, Ann Sacks marketing manager. "And if they're from Portland? That's definitely a bonus."
-- Amy Mason Doan