Building Moxie

I'm Bill Buyok, owner of Avente Tile and the primary contributor for the company's weekly blog, Avente Tile Talk. At Avente Tile, our passion is hand painted tile. First, thanks to JB for the opportunity to guest blog here. JB also provided a topic that he wanted to know more about: how my passion for tile evolved.

I started Avente Tile because I was looking for hand painted tiles with an old world design similar to some I had seen from Spain. I couldn't find any designs in local showrooms, tile stores, or online. Once I found the right tiles, I fell in love with them and decided I would start a company to sell them. I thought these niche tiles were ideal for a web-based company. I've always enjoyed learning about art and architecture, history and culture, and tile is a great connection.

I started the company in 2003 as way to share my enthusiasm about tile and especially artisan and hand-crafted tile. I believe that you need to love what you do.If you have a passion for something, you're bound to do it well. I spent ten years in corporate America working as a mechanical engineer. I did well; but, my heart wasn't in it. Passionate people love what they do; but, money is never the driver — it's the joy you get out of what you do. I probably work twice as hard as I did as an engineer; but, I enjoy every day and look forward to the challenges I face. I am surrounded by people I admire and respect and who respect me. Don't get me wrong we all encounter days filled with frustration or disappointment. The key is to find something you love (or let it find you) and make it your own.

So, you know about me and my love for tile.How has it evolved or changed? Or, perhaps the quintessential question, how do you maintain passion? Anyone who has been in a relationship for more than five years asks the same question. It's great to have that impassioned night of discovery; but, it can easily become a tepid relationship or chore. You have to learn to grow, change and embrace the differences. And of course, you have to share some common values. For me, tile started that way, it started as a passionate love affair with color, design, and pattern.But, the greatest joys often come from knowing how someone in Kansas used a few tiles for their backsplash. Or, discovering how a piece of clay is sculpted into a relief design and touched by the hand of someone in Guatemala or Mexico and finds its home in a wonderful bath in Beverly Hills. It's the story of legends and it happens every day.It makes me feel so connected to the world and people in a very special way. Amazing how an object, a piece of clay, makes us share this world in wonderful and unique ways.

That's really it. That's how my passion for tile started and how my love for it and life has grown. Never forget how much beauty there is in the world and enjoy it every day. May you also find your passion, cultivate it, and make it something you absolutely cherish and get the opportunity to grow.