Unique Choices Makes Pittsburgh Ceramic Shop a Designer's Favorite

Although the name of Ceramiche Tile & Stone is derived from the Italian word for ceramics, the West End shop offers customers a selection of products that’s far from typical.

photos courtesy Ceramiche Tile & Stone
 

As Bob Krashna, the owner of Ceramiche Tile & Stone, can attest, the name of his business is one often seen throughout Italy. After all, Ceramiche means “ceramic” in Italian.

“A vast majority of tile is made in Italy, so every time people go to Italy, they come back and say, ‘I saw your name all over the place,’” he says.

But this particular ceramic shop, located in the heart of the West End’s business district along South Main Street, is anything but commonplace.

Opened in 2002 by Krashna and his wife, Tina, Ceramiche offers a variety of products, including a number of brands — such as Motawi, a line of arts-and-crafts tile — not commonly sold at big-box retailers.
 

“The majority of our customers come from the design field or construction,” Bob Krashna says. “We work with designers, architects and builders.”

Located inside a former church built in 1849, Ceramiche fills a space that itself is far from typical.

Krashna and his wife sensed potential in the building when they considered it for their business, even though it housed offices and bore an unflattering coat of burgundy paint at the time. It also was in their desired location — the West End and near the James Gallery, which is run by friends.

Krashna jokes that his wife, who wanted to open her own showroom after spending decades in the ceramic-tile business, favored the West End because it was close to home and because “she didn’t have to cross any rivers.” At the time, the couple lived in Green Tree. They now reside in the South Hills.
 

A former project manager for several Pittsburgh-area construction companies, Krashna says he spent six months remodeling the building, mostly on his own, before opening the business. Today, the 5,000-square-foot showroom is broken up into three parts, including sections for floor tiles, wall tiles and accent pieces and natural stone.
 

Ceramiche Tile & Stone
510 S. Main St., West End
412/922-5600, ceramichetile.com