Thank you, I will check them out.

They won’t be priced like cheepchinesecrapola that flood the market. Better be sure your clientele can stand the price point of domestically produced materials.

No one makes trim. That’s what Schluter is for. Or a vast array of pencil tiles.

Your average $1.98 Houzz type shopper doesn’t care where things are made. They will outcheap anyone as a competition sport, and then cry about the result. Your upscale shopper does care, and is has the funds to for it. You have to know your market and your position within it.

Fireclay makes trim. Lotsa trim. You just have to be patient...

As others have posted, it really depends on what your client base will support.

I am buying tiles for my current remodel from Encore and Pratt & Larson. They are both based in Oregon (I think). These aren't cheap though but you can take a look at their websites.

My current and previous tile projects include these US based companies:

Pratt & Larson

Oceanside Glass Tile

New Ravenna

Stone Impressions

As Helen mentioned, these are not cheap.

Walker Zanger and Mission Tile West also have their own lines and will sell to other resellers.

If you are in the tile business wouldn't you go to the Trade Shows and be aware of the suppliers here in the US?

Tabarka also makes their own tile (also expensive).

Ann Sacks has their own line that they sell to resellers too.

Sonoma Tilemakers in N. CA

Very odd posting from a company that supposedly is a "Backsplash" distributor, no?????????????????????

Yes, what backsplash distributor hasn’t heard of Fireclay or Heath.

We are a tile install. very confused on the aggressiveness here on Houzz. I am looking into ways for our family business to expand beyond the local small tile stores we buy from and find a larger distributor. As the behind the scenes admin lady, was hoping to engage in helpful conversation on a professional site, and thank you to those who were helpful but what gives with the meanness? I would expect from Facebook but my gosh, on Houzz?

There are indeed some rude individuals who post because they can hide behind the internet and say things they wouldn't say to another person face to face.

However, I must admit I found your initial post confusing and did wonder why someone in the tile business wouldn't be familiar with tile suppliers. Perhaps if you had explained your business model more clearly, people would not have made the assumption that you were in the business of selling tile and therefore should be familiar with tile availability.

Helen, Thanks for explaining! Houzz was limited with option to choose the line of business.

We have local tile stores who send customers our way and we handle the custom installs. Customers want morr options lately than what wall tile they see at these stores. But we are outgrowing the local stores and looking for recommendations from those who have good relationships and experience with trusted suppliers.

Unfortunately we have two shows near our city, the Home Show St Charles and the one for St Louis. We were the only booth that had anything to do with tile, no connections made with any tile suppliers at either. So decided to post a question on Houzz, and OUCH

Interacting with fellow industry Pros is likely to get you more information than homeowners. Are you CTEF certified tile Pro’s? What trade organizations do you belong to? Are you on TleGeeks on FB?

There are a few grouchy people on these forums that can make the overall effect one of grouchiness. See if you can find the grouchy one on this thread!

It sounds as though you would probably be seeking higher end unique tiles that aren't carried by the local companies.

I am working with a designer in Los Angeles and she gets tile and man made stuff from Emser - I am not sure what their business model is but obviously they do sell to the trade - whether that works for you in terms of your business I am still not sure of. It seems as though you specialize in installing backsplashes and want to be able to supply more unusual tiles for more discriminating clients as opposed to actually selling tiles as a tile store.

If so, you are more of a contractor tradesperson than a tile store - i.e. people come to you for installation. If the local tile stores are as poorly stocked as it appears, you could well establish a good niche for homeowners seeking more unusual tiles at higher price points.

Take a look at Motawi Tileworks - their stuff is gorgeous and very expensive but could well work when used as accents in a backsplash.

Motawi

One of their showers was the inspiration for my master bath tile but I had to scale down a bit due to size of my master as well as cost :-)

You're getting the names of some very high end tile makers. What you may need is a company who has an extensive line with different price points. I would try Crossville as it's in TN and you could visit their factory. They distribute nationwide.

https://crossvilleinc.com/

Red Rock Tileworks in Nashville

Thanks for the Tennessee references!

Manufacturers sell to Distributors. There’s a Grand Canyon of service differences between being a local installer who buys from a distributor to becoming a regional distributor yourself. And a couple of million dollars of real estate, inventory investment, and additional employees as well.