Tile Brands Debuts Hemingway Line

McAllen, TX, May 12--After mourning the loss of Ernest Hemingway for more than four decades, it's almost startling to note that the literary giant's crisp style is back on the forefront, according to the McAllen Monitor. But this time it's not in the form of a best seller or a coveted short story. It's home furnishings. A tangible piece of his hearty lifestyle is unfolding locally with the Hemingway estate's licensed division of Tile Brands International, a McAllen-based company that recently debuted its line to the flooring industry during the Coverings tradeshow last month in Orlando, Fla. Tile Brands is one of at least a dozen licensed companies working to recreate Hemingway's lifestyle with objects--including furniture, art, lamps and mattresses--that mimic things from his life and times. Three years ago, David and Delores Thompson begin to research the tile business. They wanted to create a high-end tile brand. The Thompsons considered joining forces with Ralph Lauren, Pablo Picasso, Kathy Ireland and Ernest Hemingway. "We chose Hemingway because he had the most appeal," Delores Thompson said. "He's definitely someone we want to be because he's so much bigger than life. Every man wanted to be him; every woman wanted to be with him," said Tile Brands designer Elias Olivarez. "This man has places dedicated to him. He made contemporary writing what it is today." While tile is not a business foreign to the Rio Grande Valley, making brand-name tile on a national level is. The difference between Tile Brands and the rest of the industry is "we are not just selling tile, every piece we are selling has a story," Delores Thompson said. "It's a lifestyle." The tile business is in Delores Thompson's blood. Her family owns Alfredo's Tile Inc. of La Joya, Pharr, Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Laredo, but her company, Tile Brands International, is not connected to the family business. To formulate lines for Tile Brands, she combined her knowledge of tile with her husband David's research skills and marketing expertise. After three years of research, the Thompsons put close to $1 million into purchasing a license from the Hemingway estate and starting the company. "The story here is to let people know that it's possible to start up a new business in South Texas that operates on a national level," Delores Thompson said. Tile is designed in the Rio Grande Valley. TAU Ceramica of Spain is manufacturing the first two of the seven lines planned. Other lines that follow will be based on Hemingway's experiences in Kenya, Africa; Ketchum, Idaho; Havana; Paris and Windemere, the family vacation home in northern Michigan.

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