Welcome to the first ever Granada Tile blog. I have agonized about where to start. Should I show you pictures of the glorious floors of Granada, Nicaragua that inspired us to revive the fine art of cement tiles? Or should I regale you with exciting modern installationsof our tiles in homes and restaurants and hotels? Should I profile the designers and architects and homeowners we have worked with? I finally realized that we would get to all of that in due course, but for now, I should begin at the beginning. Marcos Cajina started Granada Tile in 2001 when he built a hydraulic press in his basement while living in Los Angeles and running an adult literacy organization. He spent several months learning how to replicate the tiles by experimenting with a variety of methods and materials. Soon, the ever-adventurous Marcos and his wife Melanie Stephens set off to France to further research the origins of the tiles. They visited public buildings and old estates to see the works of art in person and dug through specialty libraries to find texts about the origins of the cement tile production process. In 2004, Marcos set up production in Managua, Nicaragua with his nephew and hired skilled master craftsmen to create the Echo Collection.
