Maker Monday: Carly Quinn Designs brings Sonoran Desert to life in ceramic tiles

Tucson artist Carly Quinn started her company, Carly Quinn Designs, in 2011, creating intricate, vibrant ceramic tiles with just a single kiln and her own two hands.

What started as a small, self-run business has grown to two Tucson locations and dozens of employees, and Quinn’s pieces can now be found in many Tucson businesses, as well as airports and national park gift shops across the country.

Quinn, originally from Burbank, California, moved to Tucson in 2005. While in college studying fine arts and graphic design, she was hired by Tucson artist Kris Selby, who specialized in hand-glazed tiles. That, she said, was the beginning of her love for tiles and ceramics.

“As soon as I walked into her studio, I thought, ‘Oh, this is what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life,’” Quinn said.

Even 15 years later, Quinn said she is still enamored with the artistic process.

“I love glaze,” she said. “I love all the colors, because nothing looks like it's going to until you fire it, and it's, it's really fun to see what comes out of the kilns.”

She said she is often inspired by things she experiences in daily life, whether that be a hike, a new place or the colors of other artwork.

“I'm very inspired by different cultures,” she said. “I was traveling in Oaxaca last year, and we went to a rug studio, and the rug maker had all of his dyes in these bowls on the floor, and it was the prettiest thing I've ever seen.”

Quinn uses a specific design technique known as Cuerda Seca to create her pieces, using wax as a barrier to make patterns with colored glazes. She said the method can be traced back to the 1500s.

All her designs start with a pencil sketch, which she then refines and reworks until it is ready to be put into Adobe Illustrator and turned into a silkscreen. Quinn said she has around 600 screens with two designs on each panel.

The outline of the design is then transferred onto the tile in wax using the silkscreen pattern.

“The wax keeps everything in place,” she said. “We apply the wax through those screens, and then once the wax is on the tile, I can start playing with colors.”

The glazed tiles are left to dry overnight and then put in the kiln the next day to be fired.

“The firing process takes about 18 hours or so,” Quinn said.

The wax burns off during firing, leaving only the colored glaze and finished design.

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Much of Quinn’s work features the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert, and her studio at 711 S. Sixth Ave. hosts a collection of her colorful tiles depicting cacti, hummingbirds, roadrunners and bright poppy blooms.

While prices vary depending on the size and design for each tile, 3-inch-by-6-inch tiles start at $20, and 3-inch-by-6-inch start at $34.

Out of all her pieces, Quinn said her more experimental works are some of her favorites.

“I'm doing some abstract pieces where I'm experimenting with glaze mixing, and those are my favorites right now, because when they turn out cool,” she said. “They're just incredible.”

Depending on the day, Quinn said there can be up to 20 artists working in her shop, screen printing, glazing and helping her fill orders.

Between Quinn and her employees, she said they can make about 500 pieces a day.

“We can fit 12 (tiles) on a tray, and an artist should be able to do one tray an hour,” she said. “An individual piece would only take 10 minutes.”

An 18-inch-by-36-inch mural, she said, would take a couple of hours from start to finish.

If you’re interested in making your own tile, you can attend one of the tile-making workshops at her second location, 730 S. Stone Ave., which are offered at least three days a week and cost $65.

“You end up glazing a six-inch tile and we turn it into a trivet for you,” she said.

As for what’s next for Quinn and her design studio, she said she is hoping to organize more traveling workshops for large groups.

“We are working with Los Milics,” she said. “Once every other month or so, they're gonna host us, and we're gonna do wine pairing and tile making.”

Quinn recently bought Hand-n-Hand Designs in 2025, and it has since been rebranded as Earth Tones as part of her business. She said she has a couple more expansions coming in the next few months, including the purchase of a California-based tile company, Pacific Blue.

She will also be debuting a new collection of tiles to be sold in Yellowstone National Park, showcasing elk, bison and the park’s iconic geysers and hot springs.

“I think that they are gonna place an order any day now,” Quinn said. “So those items will be on our website probably next week.”