Amazing American Clay

hayley — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:19:27 +0000

Not too long ago, Alan and Sally Ramsay made the switch to American Clay and had nothing but positive things to say!

“We had been talking about having our interior walls painted as we were tired of our white walls throughout our home. [Our friend] Jay mentioned that he had discovered a new product called American Clay which he had recently applied in his own home…. He suggested we come over and see what it looked like.

“Well, we were more than a little impressed with the dramatic difference this product made compared with painted alone. We decided to have American Clay in every room in our home!! We chose colors from an array of sample chips and one of the three application styles we viewed on the American Clay website. Jay [our applicator and friend] told us that it would take a month to complete the job and we agreed not to view it until the job was complete.

“A month later we arrived at our home to find the most amazing and wonderful transformation from boring white to beautiful textured color with a depth and warmth that cannot adequately be explained!! Jay is a perfectionist and did a masterful job of application. Every time we arrive at our … home we marvel at the difference it has made.

“We highly recommend Jay to anyone considering American Clay product for their home. He has been a true artisan with the clay product. We are indeed two VERY SATISFIED CUSTOMERS. You have to see it to believe what a wonderful transformation from boring to beautiful our home became.”

Alan & Sally Ramsay
The Sea Ranch, CA

Videos Wanted!

hayley — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:27:52 +0000

Do you have a video showing an interesting American Clay application? If you’ve documented your work and wouldn’t mind showing it off, let us know! We would love to see what people are doing with American Clay as well as the process they go through to get such stunning results.

Send all information to hayley@americanclay.com.

American Clay’s Open House

hayley — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:48:21 +0000

Open House

September 4th, 2008

3:00-7:00PM

8724 Alameda Park Drive NE, Suite F
Albuquerque, NM 87113 · 1.866.404.1634

American Clay’s Albuquerque manufacturing facility will be having an open house to celebrate and show off our new place! Come tour our new facility, see our new showroom, view demonstrations and even play in the mud yourself!

Food and drinks will be provided, so come spend the evening with us!

Feel free to call us for more information and directions.

Certificate of Carbon Offsets

hayley — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:53:19 +0000

American Clay recently received a Certificate of Carbon Offsets from BeGreen and Green Mountain Energy for planting 200 trees via forest sequestration.

Just another step towards becoming the greenest company we can be!

Tips & Tricks – Cleaning Your Clay

hayley — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:56:00 +0000

A common concern we get from homeowners who are considering using American Clay is in regards to cleaning. “How do you clean a material that never sets up?” and “What if a wall happens to get stained?” are questions we get on a regular basis. Well the answer is simple and happens to be one of the greatest perks about American Clay.

Cleaning American Clay
Keep in mind that that’s mud on your walls and generally, mud doesn’t need much cleaning! If it doesn’t show soiling, a barely-damp sponge wiped with light pressure will remove most soiling.

Being a natural clay, American Clay doesn’t react with the environment the same way acrylic, which helps to eliminate static charge on walls. In turn, the clay doesn’t hold dust or particles to its surface. By naturally resisting this charge build-up, it keeps itself clean quite well and little to no regular cleaning is necessary.

The clay also absorbs oils over time, so fingerprints disappear. No more gunk around light switches and door jams!

As for stains, people have had soda, water and even dog pee on their walls, and the clay plaster simply absorbs, dries and is done. You can’t see it, and if streaks show up, a barely-damp sponge will rearrange the surface material to blend any marks away. Then finish the area with a trowel or sponge—whatever was used to achieve the final surface—so your repair blends into the wall.

It’s really that easy. But do remember that this perk only comes with an unsealed application. Once sealed, American Clay loses its ability to repel dust and absorb stains.

To read more about the negative ion charge in American Clay, visit our Products page. Also, for more tips and tricks, check out our collection of Common Questions on our website.

Ecologique: The Style of Sustainable Design

hayley — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:51:10 +0000

Eco-designer, Kelly LaPlante of Organic Interior Designs in Venice Beach, CA, recently released her new book, Ecologique: The Style of Sustainable Design. Highlighting eco-friendly spaces designed by LaPlante, the book “illustrates that green design is not a style but rather a standard,” LaPlante’s main focus when designing.

Included in the list of projects is Tiffany Thiessen and Brady Smith’s home, featuring American Clay!

This book is a must have for anyone interested in chic green design as well as seeing the variety of styles in which “green” can flourish.

Ecolgique can be purchased from LaPlante’s website here.

DEALERS!

hayley — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:14:05 +0000

Do you have a training class coming up? Well, let us know and we’ll add it to our Hands-on Workshops webpage.

Have some other cool event planned? Go ahead - toot your own horn - send us all the information - where, when, what time, and a sentence or two summarizing the event - and we’ll put it on the website and newsletter!

Proud Mama!

hayley — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:09:20 +0000

Deborah Hall from Hall’s Walls is surely one proud mama. Her son, Nicolas Ordahl, took home Art in the Streets‘ grand prize this year for his solar park bench. All of us here at American Clay would like to send out a much deserved, “Congratulations!” to both of them!The annual event in Colorado Springs, CO, draws artists from all over the country.
This year, artists were invited to create pieces inspired by the city’s slogan, “City of Sunshine.” But it was Colorado Springs’ own, Nicolas Ordahl, who won first place for his piece, “Day Break.”

Inspired by the power of sunshine, the bench is topped with solar panels, providing energy to light up the array of flowers throughout the piece. Ordahl focused on using recycled materials, even utilizing car windshields for the top.

“I realized the import of the piece when one of the contributors’ wives asked, ‘Where does it plug in?’ writes Deborah Hall. “For many of us, it is a paradigm shift to think of electricity coming from the sun.”

Again, from all of us at American Clay, Congratulations on such an amazing piece!

Hall’s Walls is an American Clay dealer located in Colorado Springs.

Photos provided by Deborah Hall

Where Have YOU Seen American Clay?

hayley — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:07:07 +0000

One of the most common questions we hear is, “Where in the area can I see American Clay?”

We try to keep up with the beautiful places that have American Clay on their walls - but we don’t know all of them. Do you have a great photo? Or know of an application somewhere?

If you answered yes, send us the location and a photo or two if possible.

Also, if you have a beautiful or unusual American Clay application in your home or business, we would love to hear about it and feature it as our Project of the Month in our newsletter.

Email all information and pictures to hayley@americanclay.com.

American… Koi?

hayley — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:25:38 +0000

Keren Navarro lives and breathes ideas. As president of Twig & a Feather, Inc., located in Carpentersville, Illinois, Navarro’s had a great deal of experience with American Clay and understands what it’s capable of doing.Treating American Clay like an artist treats his paints, Navarro is able to manipulate her medium into stunning works of art, her most recent piece featuring the Japanese Koi.The 4′ x 3.5′ piece displays the alluring Koi from above, swimming through a relaxed pond.Navarro used 8-10 different colors in Porcelina as well as some natural pigment mixed with water to create the black and brown eyes and then topped the whole piece with a protective wax finish.

The entire process took Navarro six hours to complete and resulted in a fascinating creation depicting the limitless possibilities of American Clay.