Donors supporting capital campaigns for schools, churches, museums and other public projects deserve to see their generosity acknowledged in a permanent and visible way. The “name brick” --or tile or plaque-- is the solution chosen by many fundraisers. The material might be a mechanically etched concrete brick or a bronze wall plaque. A warmer, more personal way to display supporters’ names is the hand inscribed clay paver or wall tile.
Clayworks Studio Gallery has produced tens of thousands of signature pavers and wall tiles. Each tile is inscribed by hand, and the result is a superb building material as well as a fitting honor for donors.The tiles are weatherproof, and can be used indoors or out.
One of the Studio’s most successful clients has been The University of Texas Ex-Students’ Association. The Texas Exes used Clayworks name tiles to raise well over a million dollars for a new building 15 years ago. The tiles are set into a spacious patio where fans gather before Texas home athletic events, and the popular tiles continued to sell after the completion of the original project. A similar campaign will fund the new Texas Cowboy Pavilion slated for completion this summer.
The project allows for many levels of participation by offering a range of more affordable prices for smaller tiles, with the more elaborate and larger tiles reserved for larger donors. The sizes and prices of Clayworks tiles are available at
http://www.clayworks.net/donor tiles.html. Photos of a number of completed projects are also available at the site.
Clayworks is an architectural ceramics studio in Austin, Texas, with specialties in handmade tiles and sconces. The showroom in downtown Austin is stocked with the studio's own Critter Line of decorative tiles, pierced clay light fixtures, and other creations, all made and fired on the premises since 1979.
