The Tile Works is very cool for families, teens and Adults. The movie is very interesting and informative. It;s a great place to visit on a lazy Sunday. Stroll the grounds too, they are beautiful.
We did not take the tour through this venue, but we did go in the gift shop which had mostly all tiles of varying sizes and prices. The gift shop itself was interesting to look at. Also the property has bathrooms - they appear to be in converted horse stalls, which fascinated my kids. This is a walk down the driveway from Fonthill.
We caught the last tour of the day and had the place to ourselves. It was interesting to see all the different tiles and the factory that Mercer created. A good short museum trip, and lots of coveting of tile still made on site in the gift shop.
History in ceramics, presented in beautiful little tiles you can take home after you tour the studio factory.
This is a great place to visit if you enjoy handcrafted arts and crafts. The tour is quite minimal – a hard-to-hear videotape played on a TV in the Great Room. But the history of the place is a fascinating story. The 3-story Great Room is an eclectic collection of furniture, tools and odds and ends hanging on the walls. Much of it was so high that you could not really examine it. The walk-in fireplace had cool tiles on its perimeter. We saw brick ovens and many examples of tiles produced at the factory. We met an intern / apprentice in the basement who explained what he was working on and he showed us the special clay that was stored in bags in the damp cellar. He said there were apprenticeships available for people who wanted to learn first-hand.
After visiting fonthill next door we went to visit the tile works which was interesting to see but the employee we met there ruined the whole experience and should not work with the public as she obviously dislikes them! We arrived at the showroom sales area at 3:30 to 4:30 pm and the noted a flyer on the counter advertising free tours for the holidays being held the next day! I asked the lady behind the counter about revisiting then and she cut me off saying I can't talk to you now I am doing some paperwork. I apologized and went on to look at the tiles for sale I saw the sales women walking in the store so asked her if there were tours still available and she very rudely said No we stop tours at four NO tours now! Okayyyyy I picked a tile to purchase the went to the counter and waited until the woman in front of me was done paying and the saleswoman was wrapping her purchase before I again inquired about the free open house the next day only to be curtly and I do mean curtly told "I can't talk to YOU until I am finished with this customer at which the customer raised her eyes in shock at the saleswoman and gave me the "are you kidding me?"Look . She couldn't believe how nasty this sales person was sounding. When I then purchased my item I said sympathetically "this is probably been a long day for you? You seem a little stressed?" I'm not stressed she barked then she back tracked and told me If I had looked in the paper I would have seen adverts regarding the open house! I told her as I was from another state visiting as a tourist I don't get local Pennsylvania newspapers.She then gave me a small spat of information about the following days event and what you would see on a typical tour. Overall she made a pleasant day ruined with her attitude and I will not return
The tile works is a concrete structure built to house a tile works business. It was interesting to learn about this early craft. If you ever tour old homes in Bucks County, Philadelphia or NJ you will start to notice the tiles from the Mercer tileworks.
Located on the same land as Fonthill Museum, Moravian Tile Works is an interesting place to view tiles being made by hand. These are the same tiles that are in the floor of the State Captial building in Harrisburg, PA. A 20 minute movie at the beginning of the tour explains the history of the building and trade. You walk thru at your leisure and view very old kilns and also new tiles being made and also those drying before going into the kiln. Walking and steps are put of the self guided tour. If you plan an entire day, you can also visit the Fonthill Museum which has many old tiles from this tile works and also from around the work. You can finish up with a trip to Mercer Museum, just a short drive away.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works. A unique collection of handmade decorative tiles, made the same way Mercer made them over 109 years ago. A video introduction sets the stage for a self-guided tour of the entire process. Beautiful tiles and helpful staff make for a educational and visual treat.
This was a lot more than expected. It was the least part of our trip (pilgrimage, actually) but it turns out to be surprisingly impressive and educating thing to do, especially if you have children (well, maybe not toddlers but teens who are still developing their values). I was amazed at intelligent modern technology Henry Mercer created and incorporated in such old age, his appreciation for the hand labors and frugality (re-use of beds from local hospital, rather than elaborate and expensive ones, which he could have afforded) and his dislike of wars. He's done what some of us are trying to do nowadays - self-sustainability! Only he had more. Brilliantly advanced and creative! We could learn a lot from his philosophies which he exercised in his own life. I want my children to come with me next time. My advice is that you make a reservation for the tour (you are not allowed to tour without a tour guide). You'll also find out about the different fee options. We paid the highest and visited only the castle but it was really worth it.