Archive for the ‘Italy’ Category
The new Evolution Evolve range from Minoli
The new Evolution Evolve range is set to redefine standards in applicability, aesthetics and design.
Evolution is defined as ‘a natural development process in which something changes into a different and better form’ and this is true of the new range which is simply different and better in so many ways.
Evolve Suede Strut, 30 x 60 cm VC02448
Now in stock at Minoli’s Oxford Distribution centre, Evolution Evolve is a modern masterpiece of tile design, evoking the effect of brushed concrete, with an extraordinary richness of surface texture.
Its distinct new larger format uniquely accentuates spaces with seamless transitions from walls to floors, indoors and outdoors. Sophisticated shade-on-shade colourways contrast metallics and natural tones, and crisp, rectified edges create an impeccable, uniform finish whilst enhancing the organic surface patterns.
Evolve Suede Strut 30 x 60 cm, VC02448
The colour pallet of soft and strong tones are used across the three surface finishes – matt, lappatto and structured – the latter being highly suitable for commercial installation with its unusual, striking, industrial profile.
The most notable progression in this new range is its 75 x 75cm size, a true ‘evolution’ from the recognised 60 x 60cm format, but not a revolution. The size shows the cement brushed effect to its full potential and is ideal for the new living spaces being created by designers and developers, with kitchen, dining and living area all uniformly tiled as one expanse.
The Evolution Evolve range is now on display in the new Minoli Corporate Clients showroom and is available to view as samples, and within the Home House presentation brochure, which is available upon request.
Posted by Sophie Weitz in Home House, Italy, Minoli, New ranges, 26th March, 2012
The new Stockholm Range from Minoli
The new Stockholm Range of Italian porcelain tiles is due for arrival at Minoli’s Oxford distribution centre later this month. Having viewed tiles from the initial production run, the Minoli team secured plentiful stock for the coming months, expecting the range to be very popular with house builders, developers, architects and designers.
Stockholm is a state-of-the-art, contemporary range with a subtle, natural pattern and crisp, rectified edges. Suitable for both floor and wall application, tiles are available in 45 x 90cm, 60 x 60cm and 30 x 60cm formats, complemented beautifully by the striking, block-work, ‘Spaccatella’ mosaic.
Colours within the range include: Lysgrau – a light stone grey, Grau – a darker grey, slate-like in appearance but with a modern architectural finish, and Mandel – a light, bright and minimal limestone effect.
Manufactured using the latest technology production techniques, the full range is also accredited with all of the relevant environmental ‘Eco label’ certificates.
The Stockholm Range is now on display in the new Minoli Corporate Clients showroom and is available to view as samples, and within the Home House presentation brochure, upon request.
Posted by Sophie Weitz in Italy, Minoli, New catalogues 2012, New ranges, 23rd March, 2012
The new Minoli Everstone range has now arrived into stock
Everstone is an extensive range of Italian Porcelain Stoneware , available in two colours and in two sizes; 30 x 60 and 60 x 60 together with a co-ordinating porcelain mosaic.
The two stunning Stone colours, Everstone – Ever Beige, a light limestone effect and Everstone – Ever Grau, a light grey stone effect. The porcelain mosaic is produced from the base tile and is available in both the Beige and Grau colour.
Posted by Sophie Weitz in Italy, Minoli, New ranges, 6th March, 2012
Italy 2012
The Minoli team; Joanthon, Darren and Daniel have just returned from and exciting week in Italy that involved a tour of the factory suppliers affiliated with Minoli in Northern Italy.
The weather was cold , but the sun shone and the products shown were inspiring!
We can epect new stock ranges to be with us in the next weeks, from the leading Italian factrories in the Modena region. Ranges such as Evolution – Evolve , that were previewed in Cersaie 2011 and again by Minoli in Home House on Novermber 21st last year are now ready to ship fresh out of the kilns!
A summary of ranges due to land soon…
Stockholm, Lysgrau
Evolve, Night
We regard it as a vital part of our work to regularly visit the manufacturing plants to discuss current ranges, ranges that are imminent and due to arrive in stock soon as well as the opportunity to get “in the lab” and see what is coming NEXT year as a sneak previews.
The news may be full of terrible reports from Italy and its economy, but the manufacturing plants that Minoli work with are working close to capacity with buoyant exports of the product taking most of the business , to companies like Minoli throughout the world.
Home House Launch
Guests at the Home House Launch
Minoli chose the stunning setting of Home House No. 21, the private members club on Portman Square, as the perfect venue in which to preview their Italian Collections of tiles for 2012.
Over 200 guests joined the Minoli team at the exclusive location on Monday 21st November, enjoying a champagne and canapés reception in the striking, minimalist interiors designed by the acclaimed Zaha Hadid and finished in sumptuous detail by Candy & Candy.
Amongst the attendees were key clients from leading developers such as Rectory, Linden and Oakford Homes, as well as representatives from renown car brands Lexus, Infiniti, Kia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler, and journalists from esteemed publications Vogue and House & Garden.
Much like the Home House, these brand new tile ranges are at the cutting edge in terms of design and quality. Gathered from the leading manufacturers of the region, Minoli showcased an unprecedented selection, some in advance of their official launches.
The Evolution range was presented in a room entirely dedicated to that range – Evolution Room
The Evolution Evolve range with its innovative 75×75 cm format probably stole the show, along with Ambition, Stockholm and Etic. These ranges also all feature Eco-label certification and as such, are not only state of the art in terms of style and aesthetics but also manufacturing process and materials.
Managing Director, Jonathon Minoli said, “We’re delighted that so many of our clients and suppliers were able to join us to preview our exciting new collections in such a stunning venue and look forward to even more exclusive launches throughout the year ahead.”
The Minoli Team proudly presenting the Italian Tile Collection 2012
Since the event, Minoli have created a dedicated display of these new ranges at their Oxford headquarters where corporate and private clients are welcome to view them in more detail.
Posted by AK Ellern in Environment, Home House, Italy, Minoli, 12th December, 2011
Minoli Home House Launch
Minoli launches brand new Italian collections for 2012
Minoli chose the stunning setting of Home House No. 21, Portman Square, the private members club, as the perfect venue in which to preview their Italian Collections of tiles for 2012.
Very much like the Home House, these brand new ranges are at the cutting edge in terms of design and quality. Gathered from the leading manufacturers of the region, Minoli showcased an unprecedented selection, some in advance of their official launches.
Of those within, some are just out of pre-production, like the Evolution Evolve range with its innovative 75×75 cm format, and others have had new and exciting additions to their ranges, such as Advance, now with complementary linear brick format mosaic, for instance.
These ranges also all feature Eco-label certification and, as such, are not only state of the art in terms of style and aesthetics but also manufacturing process and materials.
Posted by AK Ellern in Home House, Italy, Minoli, 21st November, 2011
Minoli at Cersaie 2011
A possible new addition to the Minoli ranges.
Jonathon Minoli has just returned from Bologna, northern Italy where he has been attending the Italian tile industry exhibition, Cersaie. This is a very important Exhibition for tile companies like Minoli who specialize in working with the world’s leading tile manufacturers. This year Jonathon has returned very excited about the new ranges presented by our factories for launch in 2012…. “ this year the new ranges by the factories we work with are truly outstanding and I simply cannot wait to begin the process of getting these ranges in to Minoli and out to our clients, 2012 is going to be a fantastic year for the Minoli and our ranges” said Jonathon, Managing director of Minoli. Ranges that have been highlighted already to be made available to our clients for 2012 include Evolve, a truly stunning range of floor and wall porcelain tiles, with mosaics, variations of size and design and with a brand new size for 2012, 75 cm x 75 cm. colours and final selections will be finalized towards the end of the Autumn and previews will be available by November, if not before. We are also looking to be suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome” in 2012, with a new range inspired by the city of Stockholm, ultra smart ultra-sophisticated porcelain in 45 x 90, 60 x 60 and 30 x 60 cm with mosaics and special pieces to suit. These new ranges from Minoli of stunning Italian porcelains are also accompanied by a collection of new white bodied wall tiles, which are named after their appearance “ Magnifique”. The colours and designs of this series are truly Magnificent, especially the blue “Energy” . with these new ranges due to be previewed soon it is no wonder Jonathon and the Minoli team are so very excited about the prospects for our clients in 2012
Another possible new addition to the Minoli ranges.
Posted by AK Ellern in Cersaie, Italy, Minoli, 23rd September, 2011
Minoli Attend Grand opening of “Motor Village” Croydon.
Thursday September 8th 2011.
On Thursday evening September 8th, Minoli attended the grand opening of the first Fiat Group “ Motor Village” in Europe on Purley Way in Croydon, London.
Minoli were invited to attend this celebration of the opening of the new showroom, which is the very first opening of a “Motor Village” in Europe, where the Fiat Group show the entire family of vehicles, Fiat , Chrysler, Jeep and Alfa Romeo. The showroom is a new concept for Fiat Group that brings all of the iconic car brands together under one roof for the first time.
The new showroom is on a huge scale approaching 1,000 MT2 fully tiled in Minoli Porcelain tiles produced in Italy, some specifically for Fiat Group. A selection of finishes for each brand, White
Porcelain with a “Grid” effect for Fiat, Blue/Grey highly Polished porcelain for Alfa Romeo and a slightly structured grey porcelain tile for Chrysler Jeep all blended together by a unifying white porcelain tile in a blue stone finish as the neutral and entrance way tile.
Cheryl Tisdale Corporate brand Manager for Fiat Group and Cristiano Calabrese Group general manager for Motor village were both truly delighted with the showroom, especially the floor by Minoli!!
The evening was very well attended with well in excess of 300 people including local dignitaries, television stars and a senior delegation from Fiat Group Italy.
A tremendous combination of Italian cars, Italian design, Italian tiles and especially the food, which was wonderful and as you would expect Italian.
Posted by AK Ellern in Car Showroom, Italy, Minoli, 19th September, 2011
Minoli Factory Visits Spring 2011
Minoli Team in Italy, March 2011, we apologise that the picture looks like something from “Reservoir Dogs” it wasn’t planned that way!
Minoli have a number of core manufacturing partners, predominantly in northern Italy. Although we make a point of reviewing our ranges regularly it is very important to revisit the manufacturing plants very regularly to ensure that our ranges are ahead of the current fashions. Every spring our team travels to Italy and meets with our main manufacturer suppliers, we review the ranges we have , those that have become newly available and look at the forthcoming ranges in prototype format. This year, with the increase in demand for large format polished ( lappatto ) finish tiles we made a point of revisiting the specialist polishing plant in the region to ensure that the whole team can speak with confidence on the polishing process and why our range from these production sources is superior.
This year was no less inspiring than previous visits and we have highlighted many stunning new ranges to add to our extensive range, and the vast majority will carry the Eco Label, showing how these predominantly porcelain tiles are produced with thought for the environment.
The sunshine and fantastic food is just something we had to put up with!
Just a few of the New Additions to our range…
Spark Jasmine
Spark a stunning new tile, with a fabric texture and a “spark of light” on the surface. Mosaics, 60 x 60 and 30 x 60 tiles, a beautiful and comprehensive range.
Four Seasons, Degrade A
The overwhelming success of the Minoli – Four Seasons Mosaics has led the Manufacturer to produce new colours which are literally on their way from production to Minoli now, in addition to the new “base” colors there will be two ranges of Four Seasons with “degrade”, an amazing waterfall effect created using the colours of four seasons mixed…. Truly stunning. Four Seasons is an Extravagant touch of Luxury, which is why we fell in love with in in the spring of ’10 and launched in July , the new colours and effects simply allow even more uses for this magical tile. See more from this range here
A.I.R People
Minoli introduced the Air Series in July of 2010, this new colour, “People” is a unique Silver Grey color that adds to the “Habitat” ( white ) and “Energy” ( Black) which have been tremendously successful, especially when used with the Four Seasons. Air is a rectified porcelain range, available as 30 x 60 , 60 x 60 and 45 x 90.
The Italian Tile Renaissance
The Italian tile industry has been going through recovery and resurgence in recent years, driven by both the pressure of emerging competition and the ambition of the region’s manufacturers to reclaim leadership in terms of style, quality and environmental credentials.
The relentless influx of cheaper imported tiles from China has long been of grave concern. Recently the subject of heated debate at the EU Commission, industry representatives from Spain, Portugal and Italy have complained of illegal pricing and market dumping, causing untenable profit erosion.
A positive ruling on proposals for much higher import duties is expected imminently but, as recessionary pressures squeeze margins across the building and home improvement sectors, importers may now turn to Turkey or Indonesia as alternative sources of low cost products.
The reaction of the Italian industry has not however been to fight their ground on price alone. Ever-eager to innovate and dictate fashion, leading manufacturers have looked for new ways to differentiate and add value.
Minoli, the Oxford based tile distributor, has specialised in Italian ceramic and porcelain tiles for over 50 years and they remain confident that their loyalties are not misplaced.
Managing Director, Jonathon Minoli explains, “Our long-standing relationships with some of the most pre-eminent manufacturers in Italy is once again proving of great advantage.
“Quality tiles are no longer regarded as just functional floor covering or wall sealant. In the end-users’ eyes they have become a design statement and today’s Italian tiles are the ideal focal feature for contemporary homes, throughout bathrooms, kitchens, living spaces and beyond.
“As a distributor, our dealings with the public are limited so we listen to our professional developer, house builder and architect clients. Our role is to then select from a factory’s output the tiles most likely to be in tune with our clients wants and needs and in turn, those of their customers.
“It’s also about bringing new products to market, those that inspire and create a step-change in style and fashion. Whilst we don’t manufacture tiles ourselves, we can influence the design process, especially with long-standing partners such as renowned Italian manufacturer Atlas.”
The Atlas production technologies stem from constant research and development and are among the most advanced in the global sector. Raw materials are carefully selected and the automated production processes are diligently monitored through to a flawless end result. Evolved technologies such as Microtech, combine the resistance of full-body porcelain stoneware with laser decoration’s perfect aesthetics.
The latest ranges from Atlas are the backbone of Minoli’s contemporary collections, the most recent of which was launched in celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary. Stunning tile ranges such as Advance, Style and Milestone all demonstrate the latest advancements in production, as well as featuring Ecolabel certification – the European mark of environmental quality.
In summary, Jonathon Minoli commented, “The Italian tile industry remains remarkably resilient and forward thinking. Through the development of accreditations like ‘Ceramic Tiles of Italy’, constant investment in R&D and trend-setting design credentials, they have found an inimitable way of protecting their unique reputation in the market. Every year I attend CERSAIE – Bologna’s annual International Tile Exhibition – and the raft of fresh products, exciting new styles and inter-firm camaraderie, never ceases to impress.”
Some things are made to last
Minoli Delivery Van 1950′s
The long-lasting business relationships that Minoli have made over the last 50 years demonstrate the reciprocal loyalty on which the company’s success is founded.
At the end of last year, Minoli celebrated the company’s 50-year milestone with a private viewing of the Pre-Raphaelites and Italy exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Some 500 guests comprising clients, suppliers, staff and friends gathered to also mark the occasion with a cocktail and canapé reception.
Amongst them were representatives from Atlas, one of the leading players in the ceramic industry and a company synonymous with prestige in Italy and around the world.
Jonathon Minoli with Atlas, Alessandro (Left), Mike (Right)
During the event, a plaque from Luca Mussini, President of Ceramiche Atlas SPA Italy, was to presented Jonathon Minoli “in recognition of the first 50 years of Minoli” and the on-going and successful partnership between the two companies.
As UK distribution partner, Minoli has been working with Atlas for over 25 years with stunning floor and wall tile ranges like Style, Advance and Trust now featuring in Minoli’s latest extended Creative Essentials range.
Both corporate and private customers can now view the full range at Minoli’s Oxford showrooms or online at www.minoli.co.uk.
From Italy With “Style”
From Italy with ‘Style’ – Minoli Style, Bianco Venato, 60×60 cm
Minoli’s Creative Essentials collection has been extended with six exciting new tile ranges. This latest collection features a hand-picked selection of the most stylish and contemporary floor, wall and mosaic tiles, sourced from some of Italy’s most renown manufacturers.
First previewed in November 2010, products from the extended collection have already been specified by several top-flight developers, such as Hill House Interiors, and a number of premium build projects including an exclusive boutique hotel.
Appropriately, the range was launched in at a private viewing of the Pre-Raphaelites and Italy exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Some 500 guests comprising clients, suppliers, and friends gathered to also mark the company’s 50th anniversary with a cocktail and canapé reception.
The range celebrates all that the company’s product portfolio represents – uncompromising quality and creative flair, outstanding value, exclusivity and a respect for the environment, with many tiles featuring ECOLABEL certification. It’s the end result of a sustained shift in Minoli’s buying strategy which has seen the company forging ever closer links with key producers in the region, so as to positively influence both design and specification.
Minoli, Advance Grigio, 45×90 cm – Wall, Advance Grigio Linea, 30×60 cm
Tiles like Style, Advance and Spark are testament to the company’s understanding of their clients’ needs – to create desirable developments with stunning, complimentary, flawless finishes.
With the collection now in plentiful stock, both corporate and private clients can now view the full range at Minoli’s Oxford showrooms or contact us for one of our stunning new brochures:
Minoli
Tel: 01865 778225
E-mail: info@minoli.co.uk
Posted by AK Ellern in Ashmolean, Italy, Minoli, 16th February, 2011
