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Go Back (to archives)The title of this article is one I created to use in another context. When doing a study on etymology once, I discovered the following history for the word toilet. At one time in France women's dressing tables had covers made from a decorative fabric with small stars woven into it. The French word for star is etoile, and ette means little, so the fabric was called etoilette--little star fabric. By a linguistic process known as transference, the name for the fabric became the name for the dressing table itself and then for the cosmetic rites performed there. When the word was adopted by the English, the initial e and the final te were dropped off to make it more comfortable for English speakers to pronounce. Then by another linguistic process called euphemism the place for taking care of one's excretory functions was given the name toilet, a more pleasant-sounding description. The phrase "to powder my nose" is a modern example of the same tendency. I've always found it exciting to discover these older meanings buried (or submerged) in contemporary words.
I was reminded of this the other day when we paid a visit to Expo Tile, a new store in Puerto Penasco on Av. Alcantar, just on the right as you're driving out of the old port. I saw a couple of white toilets out front as we pulled up and got out. "Ho hum," I thought. I grant you they're necessary, but what can be more boring than a toilet? How wrong I was.
The first thing that caught my eye as we stepped inside was a pair of bathroom sets, matching toilets and wash basins decorated in Talavera style. One set had a blue background on both appliances with a moon and stars painted in yellow on each. The other was decorated in a delicate blue and white allover design. Looking beyond I saw yet another toilet, this one painted with a light green backgound through which swam brilliant tropical fish. They were all over the utensil, not only the outside of the bowl, but the tank and the inside as well. Moreover, there were matching bathroom accessories mounted on the wall above: a soap dish, a toilet paper holder, a ceramic hook for hanging up a towel or robe. The fish were beautifully painted and very decorative. While I'm not sure I'd want to have that much decoration in my bathroom, it certainly shows that something interesting can often be found in even the most utilitarian object, just as I found the star in the word toilet.
But there was much more to come. Expo is a big store, and it has a wide range or merchandise. I wandered around just looking at everything. Part of the charm was in the presentation. Each corner of the room has an exhibit showing a possible use for some of the tile. One corner had a large barbecue grill set into a counter. The middle part of the counter was at a 45 degree angle to the corner. Then it had two wings that were lined up with the walls. The top was tiled in a beautiful coral color. Over it was a concrete hood painted the same color with hand-painted tiles bordering the opening. Talavera bowls with large calla lilies in various colors stood on the counter, and while they might be in the way if one were actually barbecuing a steak, they certainly looked goregous standing there.
In another corner was a tiled countertop with a stove set into it. This tile was yellow, and not only the top but the whole front of the counter was covered with it. At intervals decorated tiles were interspersed with the plain colored ones. The backsplash behind the stove consisted of a picture of a basket of fruit executed on several tiles set into a square frame. This counter too had calla lilies in Talavera vases and Talavera bowls sitting on it.
The third corner showed a green bathtub set into a matching tiled surround. Beside it a fanciful giraffe statue in an antique brass color was kneeling with its back to a mirror framed in the same antique brass color and decorated with raised motifs of sun and moon. It was a very unusual and striking effect.
The fourth corner was the customer counter, so no displays were set up there, but along the front were several bathrooms showing fixtures installed against tile walls in various colors. One I particularly liked consisted of black fixtures against a black tile wall with a decorative border of black and gray zigzag tiles about halfway from floor to ceiling.
There were displays of beautiful floor tiles in subdued designs,
and decorative wall tiles in all kinds of colors and patterns: raised starfish,
seashells, and sea horses on glossy black, delicate semi-abstract line drawings
on pale gray, a pink and gold leaf and berry design, tiny rows of ivy leaves
alternating with green stripes, flowers, hand-painted fruits, abstract designs--I
could go on and on.
While we were waiting to talk to the manager, one of the clerks,
a young woman named Maritza Noyola, told us a few things about the storeand
her job there. It has been open since November. She has worked there only a
month, but her beautiful smile and her helpful manner indicate that she will
be very successful. She told us that she is from Puerto Penasco, was born here.
We talked to the manager, Julio Cesar Castaneda, and he was very
helpful and informative. He's obviously a very capable and efficient manager.
He told us that the store orders its products directly from the factories and
so can offer lower prices than those that have to deal with an intermediate
supplier.
Expo Tile in Puerto Penasco is one of five stores. There are three in San Luis Rio Colorado, one here, one in Sonoyta, , and one soon to come in Mexicali. Julio himself is from San Luis. His wife Denisse and 6-year-old daughter Alessia, are still there. Since he is likely to be sent to another location whenthe start-up is complete and this store is operating smoothly, it makes better sense for them to stay there. It's only three hours away.
The parent organization of Expo Tile is 8 years old. It is a group of corporations with 200 employees. The Puerto Penasco store has 7 at this time. We asked Julio who was responsible for the displays, and he said the company had a professional designer from Puebla do them.
The factories that Expo Tile gets its products from are Vitromex (from Saltillo, Coahuila), Lamosa, Cesantoni, Dalmonte (DalTile), Santa Julia, Orion, Rocersa (in Spain), and Ideal Standard (in the U.S.). The company also gets glass blocks from China.
So if you see some plain white toilets in front of the store, don't assume that's all there is. Step inside and see if you can find your own personal star.
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