Handmade stove and fireplace tiles: rumpa forming, glaze painting

I start with the stove itself: I measure every face, then lay out the rows on paper so no narrow slivers end up at the edges. Only then do I carve the model and press each tile by hand, with the rumpa - the hollow box on the back that locks the tile into the lining. The raw tiles dry slowly for several days, go through the first (biscuit) firing, and then I paint them with cobalt or coloured glazes, either my own designs or traditional motifs. The second firing changes the colour: cobalt deepens, greens and ochres shift, so I always fire a sample before the main batch and we approve the tone together.

One thing I say plainly: I make the tiles and clad the stove with them, but the stove body, firebox and chimney are built and checked by a stove mason. Draught, flue channels and fire clearances are his call, not mine. I set the tiles on heat-resistant mortars and leave room for thermal expansion, otherwise a row will crack within one heating season. A fine crackle network in the glaze is normal for this technique, and on a working stove the joints need an inspection now and then.

Timing is honest rather than fast: each firing cycle includes slow heating and cooling, and rushing it ruins the batch.

— measuring the stove and planning rows without thin edge cuts
— hand-pressed tiles with a rumpa, corner and cornice elements
— painting in cobalt or coloured glaze, sample before the batch
— installation with bonded rows, filled rumpas and grouted joints
— replacing a few cracked tiles on an old stove with matched tone