Our Mission
Our Mission
Artnuvo Interiors is essentially a bridge between Turkish ceramic and natural stone producers and the customers in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Our customers vary from private individuals to big corporate driven projects, and also include retailers. Working on the Turkish side of our bridge is an experienced local exporter, which handles the logistics, quality control, price negotiations etc on site. This is by far the most cost-efficient and safest way to make sure that exactly what is ordered, gets delivered.
On the Nordic side of the bridge is the customer service, which works with the customers in the region and is the contact close by, to find solutions for all project specifications. We work in Finnish, Swedish, English and Turkish. Our flexible project-based working method, with dozens of partner companies, enables us to offer our customers more options for materials and designs, as well as the ability to have custom work done at reasonable prices. In addition to the selection available in our online store and our catalogues, we can source almost all other types of ceramic and natural stone products that are being manufactured in Turkey.
Why Turkey?
Both ceramic tile making and marble production have thousands of years of uninterrupted history in Turkey. The country has abundant natural resources, as well as cutting edge modern technology and innovative product development, that nowadays often surpasses those in Italy. Turkey’s products are steadily gaining more prestige worldwide, and deservedly so.
The producers in Turkey are usually specializing in either ceramic tiles or natural stone products such as slabs, mosaics or sanitary ware, and sometimes all of them. The biggest production locations for natural stone are Afyonkarahisar, Balikesir, Bursa, Denizli, to name a few. Famously, marble in all its’ varieties is the most important stone produced in Turkey, which is also its biggest exporter in the world. Ceramic productions are heavily concentrated to Kütahya, with smaller scale production in cities like Iznik, Bursa and Istanbul.
It is difficult to find another country in Europe or close by, that has as many options for products and manufacturers, compatibility with European standards, reasonable prices and a good location logistically. When we are working based in Turkey, we don’t need to compromise on any of the important criteria, to serve our customers in Northern Europe in an “All Inclusive” way.
Natural Stone
There are over 80 types and 400 different colors and patterns in Turkey. Main natural stone types quarried in Turkey are: marble, travertine, limestone, onyx, conglomerate, breccia, granite, andesite, basalt, serpentine, diabase and slate stone.
Following China, India and Italy, Turkey is the fourth country in the world in terms of the broadest natural stone production. In 2006, Turkey was ranked 5th in the world's marble exports whereas 2016 it was ranked first. In 2019 Turkey exported 1,8 billion dollars and performed 45.7% of world marble and travertine exports.
Turkey has the current production technology, methods, craftsmanship. Since the quality is the main factor, factories are able to produce commercially desired products with high quality standards.
We offer marble and other natural stone products in all its forms: slabs, countertops, tiles, mosaics, waterjet mosaics, fireplaces, bathtubs and sinks, tables etc. In Northern Europe, the use of materials such as marble, travertine or onyx is historically more limited than in Southern Europe, for obvious reasons of availability and familiarity.
However, these stone types are experiencing a surge in popularity also in our market area and possibilities for application are increasing. Compared to a few decades ago, a lot of new innovations have appeared from the industry and Turkey is a leader in their implementation. 3D tiles and mosaics, waterjet cutting, different surface finishes like leather effect, to name a few. When you browse our selection, you will find new ideas on how to utilize natural stone in high quality projects!
Ceramic Tiles
For ceramic tiles, we are specializing in handmade tiles of the highest quality. The manufacturing process can be totally handmade, or partly machine made. Typically most of our catalogue designs are partly machine made, meaning the clay brick is done by machine, whereas the glazing is done by hand. This process combines the best of both techniques.
Machine made tiles are dimensionally more accurate, while still having the appealing handmade artisan finish to them.
Many of the designs are three dimensional and have unlimited options for color and glaze finish. We mostly carry modern designs, but also traditional styles, such as the world famous hand painted Iznik tiles or Art Nouveau/Jugend-style tiles can be ordered through us for special projects.
The beauty of the Turkish tile production is that it is so vast and diverse, ranging from ultra modern to classic designs documented in art history. The Turkish manufacturers are open to new designs, not just from their own designers, but from the customer’s side too. Unlike many European producers, they are willing to make even small amounts of unique products for a customer.
The facilities we are working with are constantly absorbing new ideas, experimenting and innovating. This is probably due to a large number of small and medium sized companies competing in the field. In Turkey it is quite normal for an interior architect to create a unique tile design for a single project. Also private customers are often looking to customize their material choices, to give the home decor an individual touch.
Patterned Cement Tiles
Turkey has currently some of the best producers in the world, when it comes to patterned cement tiles, which are also known as encaustic tiles, hydraulic tiles or Moroccan tiles. In fact, “Moroccan tile” is an incorrect word for the cement tiles made with colorful clays by hydraulic press. This type of tile was developed in Spain in the 1850’s and became popular all over Europe and America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The production processes are typically more modern in Turkey than in Morocco, for example. The basic process is still the same, where the different color clays are applied individually by hand in a thick layer, through metal stencils over a single color clay brick. Cement tiles are not fired. There is no glaze layer on the surface of the tile. They get their durability from the combination of finely dehydrated Portland cement layer and a more coarse layer of sand and cement. The pigment layer is hydraulically pressed into the surface and becomes a part of the tile.
In Turkey only electric-powered hydraulic presses are used. They produce a consistently higher quality product compared to the hand operated presses, which produce inconsistent quality due to varying pressure. Our tiles come pre-sealed and can be ordered polished or non-polished and then polished on site (recommended for commercial applications).
Other quality factors are 1) the sharpness of pattern and color, which is affected by the skill and the component on the color layer 2) the thickness of color layer, which should be more than 2.5-3 mm, to prevent hair cracking on the surface and ensure a lot of surface wear over time, without losing the pattern. Our producers make tiles with twice as thick colored layer, meaning it is between 5-6 mm thick 3) the surface hardness of the color layer, which depends on the quality of the white clay, water absorption and the strength of surface tile.
Handmade Quality Meets Technological Innovations
Thanks to the handmade process, which is a standard for almost all our ceramic tiles, the production process is highly customizable and easily scalable to big and small projects. Starting from just one square meter, custom colors can be produced according to RAL-color chart. For orders exceeding 30 m2, special designs can be produced at no extra cost for development. This can also be a good option for small businesses, to get their original designs into production at a low cost.
Digital printing is one of the new techniques we are offering, which enables even very large areas to be covered with the customer’s chosen image, at a fraction of the cost of hand painting. 3D tile designs always catch our eye and we are striving to introduce as many original designs to our Nordic customers as possible.
3D surfaces are not unique to just ceramic tiles, but are also becoming a big trend in natural stone products. Especially marble, travertine and limestone are being worked to three dimensional tiles in large size or small mosaics. Both hand work and automated processes are utilized in the creation of 3D natural stone products.
Waterjet cutting is an innovation that has taken over in mosaics that require seamless precision cutting and freeform lines, which would be otherwise difficult and very time consuming to make. Unlike traditional cutting methods, waterjet cutting is a cold cutting method that utilizes a very powerful water jet. It causes no heating of the material being cut and makes virtually no cutting residue. In addition to the precise cutting result that is also environment friendly, another major advantage is that the method is endlessly adaptable to any design. It has been said that anything that can be designed with autoCAD, can also be cut into stone.
Ordering Process
There are several ways to get started on an order. You can browse our online store and catalogues. If you find a product that suits your requirements, place an order through the system. Once we receive the order, we will contact you, to confirm the delivery time and shipping cost & method. If there are several color or finish options available, we will confirm your choice. Our customer service will go through all the details with you, to make sure that they are correct.
If you do not find exactly what you are looking for in our catalogues, the materials and colors can be sourced for you individually. This applies especially to natural stone products, which are available in such abundance that it is impossible to bring all the options online. Also if you have a unique design for either ceramic tile or natural stone, it can be produced for you. Be aware that minimum order requirements apply to these. Large items, such as bathtubs or stone surface tables, are normally manufactured individually one by one, so there is no extra cost compared to the ready models.
Payment
For in stock products, full payment is required before shipping. For products that are made to order, 50% of the price is required to start production and the other 50% when the products are ready for shipping. Our prices are given in euros as default, but you can also choose to be billed in dollars. Our export prices do not include your own country’s VAT or customs fees, which vary from country to country.
Shipping options
The shipping will be calculated after you have placed your order online, or made an offer request. The price for shipping depends on your location and selected method of shipping, and you will receive an individual fixed rate quote, before the order is confirmed. You have the option of clearing the shipment yourself and paying all the fees, when it arrives to your country. This is the cheapest option, but requires some effort from the customer. We can also give you a fixed rate quote that includes all customs formalities and delivery to your door.