Belstaff store in London's Regent Street

Contractors – Arcitile

Designers – Specific Generic

Supplied by Solus

Designers Specific Generic discovered Ketley quarry tiles at the Solus Tiles Showroom in Clerkenwell Design Week in 2022 where the tiles had been used to create “The Marl Pit” a wholly immersive installation based on the tiles and their manufacture.  Belstaff Manufacturing Ltd began making motorcycle clothing in Stoke on Trent back in 1924 and the designers realized this was very near to the Ketley factory and recognized the quarry tiles as a perfect fit for the flagship store.  “They became integral to the project” explains Maja Bernvill from Specific Generic.  “I found it really interesting that the tiles are made from burned earth, so we were able to bring in the metaphorical dust and dirt from the roads into the space in an elevated and sophisticated way”.  Maja was drawn to the subtle metallic shimmer of the Staffordshire blue tiles, “It reminded me of spilled oil on the garage floor” she says.

The tiles were laid by Arcitile over around two and a half weeks.  Tony Goodall, Operations Director at Arcitile explains,  “the floor was laid in its entirety, starting at the basement, then the ground floor and stairs, before a select few tiles were removed and replaced with the logo debossed accents.  The tile placement was marked up in the setting-out drawing, but we had to check if it would actually work in the space”. 

The Belstaff logo was debossed into the quarry tiles using a mould, created using a 3D-printed iteration of the motif with a tapered edge.  The motif was pressed into the wet clay and these special debossed tiles were arranged within the flooring so that visitors can discover them as they move through the space.