shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia

in central India's Chhattisgarh state

Bhilai

— — the city the steel plant built.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“The town grew up around the Bhilai Steel Plant, commissioned in 1959 with Soviet technical help and still one of India's largest integrated mills. Maitri Bagh on the plant grounds is a public park with a small zoo; Civic Centre marks the centre of the planned residential township. The Shivnath River runs north of the city. This is a working city, drawn for the people who know it.

from the studio

— bring it home

Bhilai, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Bhilai

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Bhilai is a planned industrial city in the Durg district of Chhattisgarh, central India. The city took its modern shape around the Bhilai Steel Plant, commissioned in 1959 and built in cooperation with the Soviet Union under the Indo-Soviet agreement of 1955. The plant is operated today by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and remains one of the country's largest producers of rails and structural steel. Greater Bhilai-Durg has a population near one million. Raipur, the state capital, lies about 30 kilometres east along National Highway 53.

— informed by Wikipedia, SAIL

— the stone

The Bhilai Steel Plant is the city's defining structure: blast furnaces, coke ovens, and the long roll lines that supply Indian Railways with most of its 260-metre welded rails. Outside the plant gates the township is laid out in numbered sectors, a planning grid uncommon in Indian cities. Maitri Bagh, meaning Friendship Garden, was opened in 1972 as a symbol of Indo-Soviet partnership and now holds the city's main zoo, a children's section, and a musical fountain that runs in the evenings.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the visit

The city is reached by road or rail from Raipur, with daily trains on the Howrah-Mumbai mainline stopping at Durg station. Swami Vivekananda Airport at Raipur is the nearest air link, about an hour east by road. Maitri Bagh and the Civic Centre sit inside the township and are open most days. The Shivnath River north of the city is a quiet half-day side trip; downstream, Sirpur's ancient brick temples sit about a two-hour drive east through the Chhattisgarh plains.

— informed by Wikipedia

— where

India · Durg district, Chhattisgarh

— elevation

297 m · 974 ft

— position

21.2100° N · 81.3800° E

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

8 km W

Durg

twin city

30 km E

Raipur

state capital

2 km N

Maitri Bagh

public park and zoo

Bhilai

Durg

Raipur

Maitri Bagh

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Bhilai — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

To anchor India's heavy-industry program after independence. The Bhilai Steel Plant was commissioned in 1959 under a 1955 agreement with the Soviet Union, one of three Soviet-aided steel mills built during the Second Five-Year Plan.

Steel. The Bhilai Steel Plant is one of the largest in India and supplies most of the 260-metre welded rails used by Indian Railways. The city itself grew as a planned company township around the mill.

A public park on the plant grounds, opened in 1972 as a symbol of Indo-Soviet friendship. It holds the city's zoo, a children's section, and a musical fountain that runs in the evenings.

In numbered sectors, in a planning grid uncommon in Indian cities. The Civic Centre marks the centre of the township; the plant lies west of the residential sectors, separated by a green belt.

By train on the Howrah-Mumbai mainline, stopping at Durg station, or by road from Raipur about 30 kilometres east. Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur is the nearest air hub.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The city has a strong identity built around the steel plant and the planned sectors; people who grew up there, or whose parents worked at BSP, often respond to a piece that names home directly. A Small or Medium carries well.

Industrial-modern, warm minimalist, and jewel-tone South Asian interiors. The piece holds against raw brick, aged metal, and dark wood; it also sits well in a room with marigold and saffron textiles.

The piece works in rooms where steel, concrete, and dark wood already speak. A Large reads cleanly above a leather sofa; a 4-tile Mural anchors a study wall above a desk.

A Large covers a standard sofa; a 4-tile Mural reads above a long console; a 9-tile Mural fills an entry wall. Vertical orientation suits a stairwell.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both finishes resist scratches and steam, and the colour lives inside the ceramic so humidity does not affect it.

— if this one stayed with you