Jan. 23, 2025: Ceramic gift vouchers
Transform your gift-giving with our unique ceramic gift cards. Each piece features traditional Delft corner motifs, a unique QR code, and personalised redemption code. Perfect for weddings, birthdays, or any special occasion.
Jan. 22, 2025: New porcelain base options
We typically use a 132mm square glazed ceramic tile. It has a lovely uneven surface, but it's not suitable for outdoor use or for every arrangement. We're therefore delighted to offer two new surfaces, both made of harder-wearing porcelain and coming in two sizes: 10cm and 15cm.
Jan. 2, 2025: Spijkertegel: rare & polychromatic birds
Spijkertegel is Dutch for 'nail tile', and it is one of the most sought after Delft tiles. In honour of the spijkertegel from Gouda, and using the power of AI, we now offer infinite variations of this design.
Dec. 12, 2024: New style: small emblems without corner motifs
One of the most popular requests we have received from customers is for very small, very minimalist designs. They are really charming and full of miniature details - a tiny boat sailing past, a small bird in flight, or a delicate flower. These designs work particularly well in modern spaces where traditional Delftware might feel too ornate. Without the classic corner motifs, these tiles have a contemporary feel while maintaining the timeless blue-and-white aesthetic that makes Delftware special.
Nov. 19, 2024: New pattern workshop.
Announcing our Pattern Workshop: three classic Delftware styles reimagined through AI. Alongside our scenic designs, you can now generate tiles featuring gevlamd (flamed) patterns—the mesmerising marbled effects pioneered in the seventeenth century where no two pieces are alike—plus classic Dutch stippling with its subtle depth, and endless variations on traditional tulip motifs. Each style draws from authentic ceramic techniques while offering new possibilities for unique and custom designs.
Nov. 18, 2024: Two new styles: ox-head and polychromatic octagonal.
We're introducing two more styles of Delft tiles today. One is incredibly common: the ox-head (ossenkop) corner motif. This is a minimalist, spare one which is visually similar to our web corner motif styles. At the same time, we're also releasing a more specialised style which is based on eighteenth century polychromatic Baroque tiles. Try them out today!
Nov. 16, 2024: Three new styles: vine leaf corners and roundels with ox-head, and roundels with carnation corners.
We've added three new highly traditional styles of Delft tile today. Two are roundels, particularly common when showing landscapes, with ox-head (ossenkop) and carnation corner motifs. We also released one with vine-leaf corner motifs, showing the exchange between traditional Delft artisans and the forms of nature.
Nov. 15, 2024: Two new styles: balusters with fleur de lys and roundels with web corners.
Many Delft tiles have big, expansive scenes that stretch from one side of the tile to the other. That's especially true for some of our more minimal styles, like the one without any corner motifs at all. However, very commonly, historic artisans would wrap what they were depicting in some kind of frame. Two especially popular ones were circular roundels and Renaissance balusters. We are introducing today two styles on our AI workshop that feature these two frames.
Nov. 14, 2024: We're on Pinterest!
We've just launched a new Pinterest profile to share our designs over there. Check us out!
Nov. 12, 2024: AI-powered Delft tile variations.
Create subtle shifts in any design while keeping its Delft spirit. Whatever the subject, no tile ever needs to be the same again with our new variations feature. Vary a tile design of your choice either a little or a lot in our AI workshop today.
Nov. 2, 2024: We now sell gift cards!
Give the gift of creativity with a Not Quite Past gift voucher, now available for sale on our website. We deliver them by email, they do not expire, and they can be filled with any value you'd like. Perfect for the holiday season!
Nov. 1, 2024: New matching plain tiles.
We now offer matching tiles of the same size and glaze as our decorated Delft tiles. They're perfect for making a checkerboard or other geometric pattern, and are available in six colours: rose gold, teal, mint, royal blue, and plain white.
Oct. 28, 2024: New "Baroque Cartouche" style.
Delft tiles did not exist in separation from the cultural and artistic context of their times. Styles — including the Baroque that gripped Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries — profoundly impacted its progress. This style, like our Greek A style, was particularly inspired by the contemporary engravings of Daniel Marot. Each scene is framed neatly in an oval cartouche, and the overall style is playful and classical, while still retaining the classic Delft blue and white.
Oct. 27, 2024: New hoekmotif-free style + updated Early Delft style.
We have a range of tile styles in our AI Delft Tile workshop. Today, we've added one more style: a minimalist style without any corner motifs (or hoekmotief in Dutch). This is a minimalist, spare look that was present historically and is a perfect match for a more modern and less busy look than some other classic Delft tiles. As part of this update, we've also updated our existing polychromatic Early Delft style to provider richer, deeper colours and more prompt adherance.
Oct. 24, 2024: The Spectator: “Meet the founders of a company in Stoke-on-Trent using AI technology to mass-produce uncannily authentic Delftware tiles”
“In front of me is what appears to be an authentic Delft tile. The surface of the tile is mottled, and painted on to it is a picture of a man. The blue tones blur and fade into the edges. Delicate brush strokes are visible if you peer closely. It looks as though it were made many years ago. Except it wasn’t. It was designed this morning by artificial intelligence and created in a small factory near Stoke-on-Trent, using some of the most advanced printing technology available.”
Oct. 9, 2024: New manganese-inspired colour options.
Delft is deservedly famous for its bright cobalt blue. There's a reason that it is sometimes simply called Delfts blauw after all! But traditional Delft producers used a range of pigments, including manganese which created rich, dark purple hues. We were inspired by that to create a new style in our AI workshop that lets users easily create designs in that colour, as well launching a new "edit" feature that allowed any of our existing tile styles to be converted to manganese purple.
Oct. 6, 2024: Spell it out in Delft with our new letter range.
We've gotten lots of requests over the past few months for Delft tiles that can be used to spell out a message with letters and numbers. We're happy to announce that we've just released a special section of our workshop that makes that easy. As ever at Not Quite Past, we've used AI to bring back some of the beauty of the past, in this case the deliciously wonky variations between every tile, even when depicting the same character. This should help you create something that is both beautiful and utterly unique.
Sept. 29, 2024: First five tile murals available for sale!
Since starting Not Quite Past, one of the first things that we wanted to release was show-stopping tile murals, traditionally known as tegeltableaus in Dutch. We've released five floral designs that can extended infinitely to any number of tiles.
Sept. 17, 2024: BBC: “Firm uses AI to mimic traditional pottery designs”
It was great to be featured on the BBC website for our innovative ceramic manufacturing. They quoted Keith Brymer Jones as liking the idea of printing ceramics, and quoted our Chief Art Officer Jack Marsh on how AI can work with traditional crafts.
Sept. 16, 2024: Tyler Cowen: “make your own Delftware using AI”
Tyler Cowen wrote about us over at his blog, Marginal Revolution.
Sept. 12, 2024: The Knowledge: Get your own “delftware”.
We were featured in The Knowledge, a British email newsletter on Thursday, September 12. They showed off some of our designs. Love it!
Sept. 12, 2024: BBC Midlands Today: AI is shaking up the Potteries.
With our tile supplier in Stoke-on-Trent, one of our co-founders Adam Davies sat down for a interview and factory tour with BBC Midlands Today. The segment aired on TV on Thursday, September 12. We went through the whole process — from prompting on our website to transferring and firing the designs — and discussed the implications AI could pose to design. Staffordshire is the traditional heart of the English ceramics industry, so it was great to speak about that legacy specifically.
Sept. 11, 2024: Financial Times: "AI is firing traditional tiles into the future".
It was great to be interviewed by Phineas Harper over at the Financial Times about our vision for interior design and about our Delft tiles specifically. "Perhaps Morris would have admired Not Quite Past’s democratising vision. A Socialist, he believed everyone had a right to “some pleasure for the eyes”, declaring: “I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.” A world where everyone can afford bespoke tiles would surely have resonated with his egalitarian instincts."
Aug. 13, 2024: New maiolica-inspired style.
Historic Delftware tiles were inspired by the Italian-Spanish Majolica tradition, and we've added a new style to our AI model that reflects that. This style is characterised by bright colours, ornate patterns, and restricted imagery, and it's perfect for those who want a more old-school or brighter look. The strong corners also create a lovely carpet effect when tiles are arranged together. This also shows the power of AI to precisely map out specific elements of a style and bring them to life.
Aug. 8, 2024: We've produced our first mural!
We've our first tile mural (or tegeltableau) for a client. It was a custom design based on the myth of Orpheus, and the surreal, dreamlike quality of the design was a perfect fit for the subject. It is a square made up of 25 tiles, measuring 66cm x 66cm. We're excited to make more murals in the future and are working on a new feature to make it easier to design them in the workshop.
July 30, 2024: New “web” corner motif.
We've just added a new style to our range, based on the specific web-like corner motifs of some Dutch Delftware. This style is now our default and is more consistent than our old spare default and generates consistently square tile designs.
July 17, 2024: New Greek A style.
We added a new style to our AI model: Greek A. This style is inspired by the De Grieksche A factory, which operated in Delft around 1700. The factory was known for its classicising style, often inspired by the engravings of Daniel Marot, and was collected abroad, including at Hampton Court in England under the reign of William and Mary. It's very baroque and symmetrical, with a lot of detail.
July 7, 2024: Featured by Bible of British Taste.
Some of our tiles were featured in a post by the Bible of British Taste, an Instagram page that celebrates the best of British craftsmanship and design.
July 4, 2024: Interview with BBC Radio Stoke.
Our co-founder & Chief Art Officer Jack Marsh sat down for an interview with BBC Radio Stoke to talk about AI, the history of ceramics, and Delft specifically.
July 1, 2024: Interviewed by Rock Badger Agency.
It was great to sit down with Calypso Newman from Rock Badger Agency to talk about the inspiration behind Not Quite Past and what we're all about.
July 1, 2024: Featured in The Knot.
Our tiles are made in Stoke-on-Trent, and it was great to be featured in an article in a Substack newsletter about good news in Stoke and Staffordshire. The area is the traditional home of British ceramics, and we're proud to be part of that tradition.
June 20, 2024: Added Chinese meander and fleur de lys styles.
We're adding two new styles to our AI model: Chinese meander and fleur de lys. These styles are inspired by the influence of Chinese porcelain on Dutch pottery and the French royal symbol, respectively. They're both traditional corner motifs but they retain all the AI-powered versatility of our default style.
May 29, 2024: We're live!
We are excited to announce the launch of Not Quite Past, reviving the tradition of Delftware tiles for the 21st century. Our specially trained AI model can generate whatever designs you want, or you can choose from our extensive library of pre-made designs. We can't wait to see what you create!