Ernest Batchelder

Ernest A. Batchelder was the founder of the Batchelder Tile Company, a firm whose Arts and Crafts-inspired tiles ushered in the golden age of California tile making. His distinctive design aesthetic influenced numerous other tilemakers and artists. Today, Batchelder tiles can be found in homes, civic and commercial buildings, and gardens across the country. He was born January 22, 1875 in New Hampshire to a family of bricklayers and carpenters. He trained as an art and design teacher at the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston, graduating in 1899. His ideas of design were heavily influenced by those of Harvard design theorist, Denman Ross, for whom he briefly worked.

In 1909, Batchelder purchased a plot of land on the banks of Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco. He had a modest two-bedroom bungalow constructed to his own design, with a studio in the back garden. He immediately announced plans to form a “School of Design and Handicraft,” which formally opened in February 1910 with a display of work by the teachers of the school.

Batchelder recruited a diverse group of artisans to teach embroidery, pottery, jewelry-making, metalwork, and more. Although his school lasted less than a year, the teachers all stayed in the area and, for the most part, went on to careers of renown both as artists and educators. Batchelder’s influence on the next generation of artists, designers, and educators is an important legacy.

In 1910, Batchelder began to produce tiles in the backyard of his home on the banks of the Arroyo Seco. The 1912 tile catalog stated that “This industry started as a back yard experiment, with a portable kiln having a capacity of one hundred and fifty 6×6 tiles.”In 1912, the firm was incorporated as Batchelder & Brown, Inc. In addition to Frederick L. Brown and his son, the other investors were local banker Holloway Stuart and Procter & Gamble heir, David B. Gamble, each of whom put up $100. The new firm secured larger premises at 769 South Broadway (now Arroyo Parkway).

Their first catalog, which was issued in 1912, contained a wide range of tile designs, from biblical to medieval to Renaissance to Art Nouveau, many based on the illustrations in Batchelder’s books. The distinctive look of Batchelder tiles soon became popular, and the young company outgrew the backyard kiln.

SOURCE - https://pasadenahistory.org/batchelder-part-1/ (Aug, 2025)