Disney for Tile and Associated Products!

For a first-time visitor to Coverings like Carlos Jimenez, Warehouse Manager for Tile Outlets of America and Porcelain Concepts, it's like Disney for tile and all of the products associated with tile!

In this article, we'll detail what Carlos found so exciting about this major tile and stone trade event exhibition.

What Makes a Tile and Associated Products Trade Show So Disney-Like? 

Coverings is truly an international experience with exhbitors from around the globe showcasing beatiful tile and stone products, and ground-breaking tool and materials. You'll find tools that increase the efficiency of installing tile and stunning materials that demand that you surround yourself with them. 

Yes, it's that amazing!

>> See Innovation in Tile Tool Technology

>> Stone Looks, Gauged Porcelain Panels, Tools and More at Coverings

>> Discovering New Products at Coverings

The images below offer you a tiny sense of the range and scale of the products highlighted. Below, you see gauged porcelain panels and large format tiles that beautifully capture the veining and patterning of natural stone.

Carlos, was this your first Coverings?

First time!

What were your overall impressions of this trade show?

I was blown away by the sheer size and number of vendors! It was definitely Disney for tile and associated products!

This next image shows you another large scale porcelain panel highlighting a travertine-like look.

Carlos, what were your expectations? Did Coverings meet them? 

Since this was my first time, I’m not sure what I was going to see. I’ve been to other trade shows for unrelated products, and this was a whole different animal.

The number of vendors, organized by country of origin, was very cool to see.

Look at the detail of the veining pattern in this next image of a very large gauged porcelain panel. The large panel size means that you have a very large, uninterrupted realistic-looking stone pattern.

Carlos, what were the most interesting tile products you saw and why?

I definitely was interested in the huge selection of large porcelain panels.

We’ve carried them at Tile Outlets of America for about a year but seeing how many vendors now are carrying the large porcelain panels showed me how popular they’ve gotten.

There seemed to be more vendors who carried the panels then not. The variety of finishes, textures, pattern, were amazing to see!

Carlos, what surprised you?

The quantity of matching products.

What I mean by that is vendors carried a large porcelain panel, a 48x48, a 24x48, a deco, and mosaic in all the same product.

Also, the amount of smaller decorative tile which seems to be making a comeback.

Below, you see more traditional tile sizes, squares and brick shapes in different installation patterns.

What tile trends did you notice?

Outside of large porcelain panels being very popular and coming in an assortment of different finishes and textures, the smaller decorative tile seems to be making a comeback.

The 70s colors were very popular; almost every vendor of tile had a couple of these on display. A lot of oranges, blues, browns, yellows in smaller formats like 8x8.

Beyond decos, there seemed to be a lot more tile with textures suitable for outdoor use.

In the image above, notice the range of tones: from creams and greys, to blues and taupes.

And below, you see an example of 70s-inspired orange tones in smaller tile sizes.

What differences did you notice between the Italian, Spanish, American, and other pavilions? 

The country pavilions that stood out to me were the Turkish booths. They were breathtaking. 

Carlos, how does attending a tile event like Coverings help you with your role  at Tile Outlets of America?

Being at Coverings helps me see the trends that are coming and helps sell the large porcelain panels given how popular they are.

I also was able to see what possible panels we can special order as we can’t have every panel out there in stock.

Any other observations you'd like to share about being at a Disney for Tile and Associated Products?

I really enjoyed myself and would love to attend Coverings in the future!

What do you find most interesting about these images and the Coverings event? We'd love to hear.

Thanks for reading!

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