Custom Hand Made Brick Tiles - A Family Labor Of Love
A Family Business
Inglenook Tile Design started with the vision of a mother and daughter, Julie Good-Kruger and Emily Kruger.
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Inglenook Tile is a family owned, custom hand made thin brick tile company, inspired by a love of history, antiques, architecture and the natural beauty of hand-made building materials. It is a family labor of love. The idea for Inglenook's thin brick tiles began to form about two decades ago, when Inglenook Tile co-owner, Julie Good-Kruger, decided she needed bricks in the front foyer of her 1790's mill. That year, Julie and her young daughter, Emily, visited the Wright's Ferry museum, a historic home in Columbia, PA. There, Julie admired the soft gleam of the waxed bricks in the home's entryway and knew that she wanted bricks in the same herringbone pattern in her own home. The Kruger's home, however, had utilities under the sub-floor of the foyer and could not be dropped further, making full-sized antique bricks unfeasible.
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Thus began the search for historic-looking brick veneer.
Years later, after much search and inquiry, Julie had yet to find a thin brick that matched her rigorous standards for authentic look and durability. Frustrated that they could not find a suitable brick veneer and tired of living with sub-floor of the mill's entryway for six years, Julie and Emily decided they would make the antique brick flooring tiles themselves. Julie's background as an artist and her love for antiques and historic architecture guided them through the process, and, finally, a brick veneer that truly replicated the look of antique bricks was born.
After making and installing the brick tiles in their historic mill, Julie finally had her herringbone brick foyer. She also had the idea for a business. Surely, others shared her high standards for a brick tile flooring and would jump at the opportunity to have authentic-looking antique thin brick tile in their homes.
In 2004, Julie and Emily incorporated as Inglenook Tile Design, LLC and set out to sell their brick tiles to offset the cost of Emily's college expenses. Shortly thereafter, Julie left her design job in the collectibles industry and began devoting her life full-time to Inglenook Tile. Since 2004, Inglenook Tile has been based on Julie and Emily's commitment to historic homes and timeless building materials.
OUR PRODUCTS AND OUR VISION:
Today, Inglenook Tile offers range of antique brick and tile styles, each unique and handcrafted. With the help of workers from the non-profit, Vision Resources), we make every tile by hand, using molds made from old weathered antique bricks. The tiles then dry on racks and fire to over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit in one of our kilns to create a vitrified, durable product. We are proud to partner with Vision Resources . Learn more about our work with Vision Resources.
Tested by the Tile Council of America, Inglenook tiles have a rupture strength that exceeds the American national standard for flooring by four times. The tiles have also passed freeze and thaw lab tests without damage.
The result is the perfect brick tile, combining durability and strength with unsurpassed aesthetics, to transform your space into an historic treasure. To find out more about Inglenook Tile's product line, visit our product pages, take a look at some of our beautiful installations, and contact us to plan your project with Inglenook brick tiles.
Years later, after much search and inquiry, Julie had yet to find a thin brick that matched her rigorous standards for authentic look and durability. Frustrated that they could not find a suitable brick veneer and tired of living with sub-floor of the mill's entryway for six years, Julie and Emily decided they would make the antique brick flooring tiles themselves. Julie's background as an artist and her love for antiques and historic architecture guided them through the process, and, finally, a brick veneer that truly replicated the look of antique bricks was born.
After making and installing the brick tiles in their historic mill, Julie finally had her herringbone brick foyer. She also had the idea for a business. Surely, others shared her high standards for a brick tile flooring and would jump at the opportunity to have authentic-looking antique thin brick tile in their homes.
In 2004, Julie and Emily incorporated as Inglenook Tile Design, LLC and set out to sell their brick tiles to offset the cost of Emily's college expenses. Shortly thereafter, Julie left her design job in the collectibles industry and began devoting her life full-time to Inglenook Tile. Since 2004, Inglenook Tile has been based on Julie and Emily's commitment to historic homes and timeless building materials.
OUR PRODUCTS AND OUR VISION:
Today, Inglenook Tile offers range of antique brick and tile styles, each unique and handcrafted. With the help of workers from the non-profit, Vision Resources), we make every tile by hand, using molds made from old weathered antique bricks. The tiles then dry on racks and fire to over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit in one of our kilns to create a vitrified, durable product. We are proud to partner with Vision Resources . Learn more about our work with Vision Resources.
Tested by the Tile Council of America, Inglenook tiles have a rupture strength that exceeds the American national standard for flooring by four times. The tiles have also passed freeze and thaw lab tests without damage.
The result is the perfect brick tile, combining durability and strength with unsurpassed aesthetics, to transform your space into an historic treasure. To find out more about Inglenook Tile's product line, visit our product pages, take a look at some of our beautiful installations, and contact us to plan your project with Inglenook brick tiles.
JULIE GOOD-KRUGER
Julie Good-Kruger and her late husband, Tim Kruger, started a collectibles business (Good-Kruger Dolls, Inc.) directly out of college, imagining that it would pay for graduate school. Instead, they operated and grew the business for over 20 years, then sold it to the Boyds Collection Ltd. in 2000. Julie stayed with the business for 4 years, in design and product development. Over 25 years, Julie was a freelance designer for companies like Silvestri, Ashton-Drake Galleries and the Danbury Mint. She has been featured in numerous magazine articles and on covers and has appeared on live HSN and QVC shows. She has been a guest artist at annual Disney conventions, and her design work has earned her many international awards. In 2009, Julie won Business Development Award for Inglenook Tile Design from SCORE, a Lancaster PA based small business mentoring association. She continues to do freelance sculpture and design and is represented by The Buffalo Works. Julie has a B.A. in Classics, and an MDiv. She lives and works in Lancaster County, PA, and uses her home (Wimer's Mill) as a small event venue and Airbnb, as well as hosting woodland weddings. She enjoys walking over the original Inglenook tile brick foyer every day as she comes and goes from her home office. Julie is working on a book about her life as an entrepreneur. Stay tuned!
EMILY KRUGER
Emily Kruger received her B.A. from Yale University, with double-majors in Environmental Engineering and East Asian Studies (Chinese). Outside of Inglenook Tile, Emily has worked with the Boston Consulting Group, Parallels, Bit Titan, and Odin (a leader in cloud services enablement software) where she ran the product management team. She is presently working for Amazon. Emily helps with Inglenook Tile Design remotely from Seattle, WA, focusing on web design and marketing. Emily is a distance runner, and enjoys not only running on mountain trails, but participating in ultra-marathons.
Julie Good-Kruger and her late husband, Tim Kruger, started a collectibles business (Good-Kruger Dolls, Inc.) directly out of college, imagining that it would pay for graduate school. Instead, they operated and grew the business for over 20 years, then sold it to the Boyds Collection Ltd. in 2000. Julie stayed with the business for 4 years, in design and product development. Over 25 years, Julie was a freelance designer for companies like Silvestri, Ashton-Drake Galleries and the Danbury Mint. She has been featured in numerous magazine articles and on covers and has appeared on live HSN and QVC shows. She has been a guest artist at annual Disney conventions, and her design work has earned her many international awards. In 2009, Julie won Business Development Award for Inglenook Tile Design from SCORE, a Lancaster PA based small business mentoring association. She continues to do freelance sculpture and design and is represented by The Buffalo Works. Julie has a B.A. in Classics, and an MDiv. She lives and works in Lancaster County, PA, and uses her home (Wimer's Mill) as a small event venue and Airbnb, as well as hosting woodland weddings. She enjoys walking over the original Inglenook tile brick foyer every day as she comes and goes from her home office. Julie is working on a book about her life as an entrepreneur. Stay tuned!
EMILY KRUGER
Emily Kruger received her B.A. from Yale University, with double-majors in Environmental Engineering and East Asian Studies (Chinese). Outside of Inglenook Tile, Emily has worked with the Boston Consulting Group, Parallels, Bit Titan, and Odin (a leader in cloud services enablement software) where she ran the product management team. She is presently working for Amazon. Emily helps with Inglenook Tile Design remotely from Seattle, WA, focusing on web design and marketing. Emily is a distance runner, and enjoys not only running on mountain trails, but participating in ultra-marathons.