Dezeen Magazine

Faye Toogood turns lava stone into fiery Magma tile collection

London designer Faye Toogood has glazed lava stone in a range of fiery colours for her tile collaboration with ceramics brand Made a Mano.

The collection – which was unveiled at the London Design Festival – is made from stone taken from Sicily's Mount Etna.

Its "volcanic fury" prompted Toogood to cover the tiles in layers of bright red glaze, adding subtle colour variations to each.

LDF: Magma tiles by Faye Toogood for Made A Mano

The designer created the tiles in several different size variations, including square and long rectangular versions, and with simple geometric shapes on the surface. Contrasting gloss and matte sections emphasise the patterns.

Toogood also created white, grey and brown versions of the tiles, to represent the different colours of lava as it cools down. The stone is burnt in an oven at temperatures reaching 2,000 degrees Celsius to fuse it together with the glaze – a process that can take up to ten days.

LDF: Magma tiles by Faye Toogood for Made A Mano

To accompany the collection, she designed a trio of installations – echoing each of Etna's three craters. Supported by large pieces of lava stone, the pieces function as tables and are topped by a large, square glazed slab, which has been punctuated by three geometric indentations.

The shapes have been filled in with glazing, adding high shine and emphasising the varying textures – designed to evoke the "distorted craterscape of the volcano".

LDF: Magma tiles by Faye Toogood for Made A Mano

Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble also unveiled a burnt range of tiles at London Design Festival – a ceramic collection that had been "smoked" in a BBQ to create unique patterns.

London design label Darkroom took a more stripped-back approach, showing a range of handmade tiles patterned in simple geometric shapes.