We sat down with Mercedes Austin, the Owner/Founder/Mover/Shaker of Mercury Mosaics to talk about some of her favorite accomplishments this past year and what we can anticipate for the new year. Keep reading to get the inside scoop of all the exciting things happening!
As 2016 closes, what were the best accomplishments for Mercury Mosaics?
1. Our collaboration with MSP International Airport’s initiative to elevate travel experience was recognized as “America’s Best Bathroom” with our MN Landscape-Inspired Mosaic Murals!
2. Owner/Founder/Mover/Shaker – Mercedes Austin was recognized by NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) – accomplishing recognition as the “Achieve! Emerging Woman Business Owner” in the $Million + category.
3. Our production team gained new leadership from passionate makers that are exceeding all expectations and implementing one of the most efficient processes in house to date: LEAN MANUFACTURING – with this method as our standard, adopted practice, we’re able to make tiles with the same quality but in less time. A true victory for our team and our clients!
4. We posted a CFO who’s as passionate about numbers as he is about tile. This is basically rare. With this to hand we’ll not only be led by our passion and our incredible ideas, but we’ll be grounded by healthy numbers and building blocks to use to invest in our most valuable asset: OUR PEOPLE
5. FOCUS! We unified our entire team and created focus within the company to strive to make a few products the best they can be. It has resulted in stellar quality and excitement with increased morale and pride in craftsmanship which fuels marketing and gives us a lot more to talk about and share with our fans, clients and long term clients.
6. Our Founder was appointed to be Vice President of NEMAA (Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association) which means, as a company, we’re directly impacting and giving back to our surrounding community. Our studio is located in Northeast Minneapolis, recently named as America’s #1 Arts District. This means that Mercedes will be a key part of the leadership in this vibrant art community the new Executive Director she gets to work alongside, Dameun Strange, cites as his Mission: “I am here to define the soul of the community and illuminate it.” In summary, the success of Mercury Mosaics will now be channeled into the community to bring about more opportunities of magic!
7. Our work in the design community was recently recognized as a top business & listed in the Design Hall of Fame by Midwest Home Magazine!
Which are the most popular tile shapes?
Moroccan Fish Scales, Diamonds & Subway Tile!
What advice do you have for selecting tile?
1.) Have a sense of an overall goal for your space.
2.) Decide what 3 things are the big focus & work from those
3.) When choosing tile, ensure you’re placing importance on 1 & 2 and make your selections based on empowering those two important points.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Geometry, color, patterns, travel, coffee & dogs…. really, adorable dogs!
What are the largest changes coming up for Mercury Mosaics in 2017?
-Implementation of the metric system throughout our materials
-Massive expansion to service our growing demand: more details to come
-New designs
-Online purchasing experience
-Mercury Mosaics swag
What’s your favorite part about Mercury Mosaics?
That this was all invented from an artist’s imagination showing that anything is possible with passion, hard work, organization, team building, fun and unique collaborations!
Get to know the people behind the tile
Mercury Mosaics and Tile – Our Story from Mercury Mosaics & Tile on Vimeo.
Video created by Spoke 612 Productions
Work with Us
Inspired to start your project? We would love to make your vision become reality! Send us more information to get a free quote and talk to our designers about your specific project!
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for a chance to be featured in our gallery.
