February 24, 2010

Horizon series

We've lowered the price on our Horizon series solid colors and glass blends! Horizon glass mosaics, with their sleek look and vibrant colors, are perfect for any modern décor. Tile is approximately 7/8" x 7/8" x 1/4" and mesh-mounted for easy installation.

February 17, 2010

Hakatai and GreenShipping.com

In June of 2009, Hakatai began a partnership with GreenShipping.com to provide carbon-neutral shipping on our FedEx Ground and Expedited orders. Green Shipping uses a carbon shipment calculator to determine the CO2 emissions generated by each shipment. Once the package has completed its journey and the calculations are complete, Hakatai purchases carbon offsets to neutralize the shipment's effect on climate change.

Hakatai’s carbon offsets are purchased from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The offset dollars are used to fund BEF wind power projects across the U.S. Besides reducing CO2 emissions, the projects also reduce other pollutants and help to create green jobs in the U.S. Any funds that are left over from these projects are reinvested in other BEF projects, such as renewable energy education programs for children and watershed restoration.


According to Green Shipping statistics, our carbon emissions reduced last year totaled 123,516.88 lbs! We are happy to have this opportunity to alleviate the environmental impact of our shipping practices and plan to expand our relationship with Green Shipping in 2010 to include all of our shipping methods.

To find out more, visit http://www.greenshipping.com/ and http://www.b-e-f.org/.

February 10, 2010

Deep in the Heart of Texas


Hakatai glass mosaic tile found a home “deep in the heart” of Texas when Urban Jobe Architecture specified the top-selling Classic series for the remodel of the kitchen and two bathrooms of a mid-‘80s Austin residence. After discovering Hakatai nearly five years ago during her own home remodel, Camille Urban Jobe, AIA, kept its mosaic glass tile collections in her “back pocket” until the need to add color and texture arose for the remodel of a young couple’s home.

Urban Jobe, who holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley, had her clients visit the Hakatai website and select all the colors they liked from the Classic series. She then designed all three spaces, including materials and appliances, around the glass mosaic tile colors they chose. With a minimalist, neutral theme in mind, Urban Jobe added texture to the kitchen space with a Classic Oak Blend backsplash in two different sections of the open design kitchen in the center of the home. The ¾” x ¾” glass mosaics helped create an entirely new look and style for the kitchen, which she describes as “crisp and handsome.”


For the master bath, Urban Jobe created a beautiful new space with glass mosaics in the colors Teak and Hail. She created a custom blend using Hakatai’s online custom blend tool for the shower interior and a decorative half-wall, which is complemented by solid color tile in the tub surround, vanity, and soap and shampoo niches.


The young Austin homeowners had one small child and another on the way during the remodeling of the home, so Urban Jobe designed the second bath with children in mind. The resulting bathroom is equally as breathtaking and interesting as the master bath. Bursting with clean, refreshing color, Urban Jobe created a full wall with glass mosaics in the color Ice Blue, that runs directly into the tub and shower walls. With water-inspired colors as the theme, she made the room pop with Classic Light Blue/Ice Green Blend tile for the shower niche. This playful accent serves to highlight the smooth-looking, solid color that covers the rest of the room.


“I had used Hakatai about five years ago when remodeling my own home,” said Urban Jobe. “I don’t have any complaints at all. They have a wide range of colors available and the tiles are always very regular in size, which makes it very flexible and a lot of fun to design with. They have a lot of great sales, and most of Hakatai products come mesh-mounted which the installers find much easier to work with.”

Thank you to Casey Woods Photography for the fantastic photos!

February 3, 2010

Society of American Mosaic Artists

Hakatai is proud to be a corporate member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA). SAMA is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating, inspiring, and promoting excellence in fine mosaic art.  We have been members since 2003 and appreciate this opportunity to support the creative work of the talented U.S. mosaicist community. Visit www.americanmosaics.org to find out more about the organization.