The Oceanside Glass & Tile Story
Our story began in the year 1992. Three artists and a young entrepreneur created a game-changing trifecta – tile, glass, and sustainability. Forging into uncharted waters to develop handcrafted tile made from recycled bottle glass, Oceanside Glasstile® was born…
These four amigos paddled into the uncertain waves that only dreamers can ride. An experimental business centered on craft and sustainability with a healthy dose of California beach mojo, this humble backyard operation grew its roots in Oceanside, CA. As the four glass makers broadened their horizons of artistic expression, and, partnering with customers who shared their vision for a renaissance of art tile, they helped pioneer a new era. The adventure was catalyzed by a boundless spirit of innovation as Oceanside made waves across the design and building industry.
"Long before the words “green building” were commonly used, Oceanside was up-cycling beer bottles into high-end tiles destined for beautiful homes. This plentiful raw material was and still is our primary glass ingredient"
Quickly outgrowing the original shop on Cleveland Street. In Oceanside, we expanded to a funky factory down Coast Highway in Carlsbad. The old barrio WWII era buildings were perfect for a glass production line. With homegrown equipment and a salvaged conveyor oven (lehr), the founders could feel the swell picking up. The housing economy boom, product desirability, and design trends all lined up to produce a perfect storm that propelled the team from a small shop to a more sophisticated enterprise. In 2001 with a continued commitment to innovate, the company bought a much larger building in Carlsbad, CA and outfitted a new manufacturing facility with state of the art equipment.
As the market matured and Oceanside wasn’t the only surfer attempting to ride these powerful waves, we faced some important long-term decisions. After 12 plus years of intense work creating a solid product category in our industry, we embraced the opportunity to dominate the high-end glass market and, again, built a larger factory across the border in Baja California.
"Our move down to Mexico was more than the next chapter, it defined a paradigm shift towards disciplined, world-class manufacturing and reinforced the company values that had been the foundation of our success. We became more focused on community philanthropy, sustainability — and our favorite tacos."
The lessons of change and agility were not lost on us as the economy stood still during the radical 2008 recession that disrupted so many lives and businesses. We remained true to our vision of tile, art, and glass despite pressure from all sides. In 2016, the world of art glass appeared to be on the verge of collapse. Renown manufacturers Spectrum Glass Company and Uroboros Glass Studios announced their closures resulting in devastation to the art glass community (including Oceanside Glass & Tile® who utilized their glass in many product lines). So, with fearless creativity and a hunger to keep art glass alive Oceanside Glass & Tile made a phone call that would change the history of art glass forever.
In 2017, we purchased the formulas and glass making equipment from both Spectrum and Uroboros and began incorporating those operations into our existing world class art glass tile manufacturing facility in Tijuana, MX. We currently manufacture sheet glass only in the “continuous ribbon” format, offering a complete line of glass products for all art glass applications under the Oceanside Compatible™ brand.