How to Tell if Your Historic Tile Installation is Pewabic or Flint Faience
Over the years, we've received numerous inquiries from homeowners and enthusiasts trying to identify historic tile installations across Metro Detroit and beyond. Often, Pewabic tiles are mistaken for those produced by Flint Faience (pronounced: fy-AHNS) Tile Company, a decorative tile company previously owned and operated by General Motors from 1921 to 1933.
To help you determine whether your tile work is from Pewabic or Flint Faience, here’s a brief guide outlining key identifiers, as well as an overview of Flint Faience's history and design.
Distinguishing Pewabic Tile from Flint Faience
The main difference between Pewabic and Flint Faience tiles lies in their craftsmanship. Flint Faience tiles typically have a more uniform, industrial look, resulting from a highly mechanized production process. In contrast, Pewabic tiles, made by hand, have a more organic, imperfect quality.
When comparing the two, you'll notice that Flint Faience tiles tend to have sharper edges and a more precise profile, while Pewabic tiles display a softer, more irregular finish.
A page from Flint Faience’s 1926 catalog highlighting their raised-lined process. You will notice a continuous pattern made up of various 6x6 tiles. The handmade process of Pewabic tile-making prohibits this level of precision.
A Flint Faience tile installation with continuous, patterned tiles. Notice how the glaze colors differ from Pewabic’s historic and contemporary glaze offerings.
Both Pewabic and Flint Faience tiles were sometimes used together in the same installation, making identification more challenging. However, you can usually spot the differences by focusing on the glaze surfaces, embossed symbols, and edges. Flint Faience's industrial approach is evident in its sharper lines and consistent finishes, while Pewabic’s handcrafted methods produce more variation.
An example of Flint Faience-tiled floor at the Nativity of Our Lord Church in Detroit, Michigan
Historic Pewabic-tiled floor at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan – Photo by Jim Haefner
A Brief History of Flint Faience
Flint Faience Tile Company, born out of General Motors in the early 1920s, was initially conceived to make use of idle kilns at a GM spark plug factory. The company began after Albert Champion, founder of the Champion Ignition Company, moved operations to Flint to supply Buick with spark plugs. As GM's demand for spark plugs grew, so did the need to fully utilize the kilns that fired them. This led to the idea of producing decorative tiles during non-peak hours, giving birth to Flint Faience.
The company’s production was led by Carl Bergmans, a ceramic expert who had previously worked with tunnel kilns, and Mexican-born designer Julio Haro, whose artistic vision shaped much of Flint Faience’s unique tile designs. Their tiles featured a wide variety of shapes, from geometric forms like squares and hexagons to more artistic designs, including fruits, animals, and human figures.
Flint Faience tiles were commonly used in large-scale projects like Detroit’s Masonic Temple, where their precision and detailed designs are still visible today.
The End of Flint Faience Production
Despite the success of its tiles, Flint Faience’s production was short-lived. As the Great Depression eased and GM's vehicle production surged in the early 1930s, the company needed more kiln time to meet the increasing demand for spark plugs. By 1933, General Motors consolidated its operations and repurposed the kilns, ending Flint Faience’s tile production.
If you’re still unsure about the origins of your tile, we encourage you to reach out to our archivist by filling out this form. While we can’t offer valuations, resources like DuMouchelle’s or LiveAuctioneers can help you research the market value of similar historic pieces in your collection.
If you would like to learn more about Flint Faience, we encourage you to read Jeffrey D. Brasie’s comprehensive article When GM Was in the Decorative Ceramic Tile Business.
