Images in Tile's creative manufacturing makes mark nationally

Julius Erving. Walter Payton. Nolan Ryan.

The faces are unmistakable.

Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

Those are just a few of the names whose images Paul Whitehill’s Joplin company, Images in Tile LLC, has manipulated onto tile. More big names are on the drawing board – literally.

Whitehill works with Southern California artist Mike Sullivan, reproducing the artist’s works onto tile murals. The artist and manufacturer are embarking on a multiyear project to produce 25 murals of various athletes to hang in stadiums and other venues around the country.

Their business bond began in late 2004, just two years after Whitehill founded Images in Tile. Sullivan telephoned Whitehill about recreating a painting he did of former Arizona State University football player and fallen U.S. soldier Pat Tillman. The mural was to hang in remembrance of Tillman at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

At the time, Images in Tile was just getting going. It’s been on a wild ride since, most notably being featured for its residential work last fall on HGTV’s “I Want That!”

The latest news is that Images in Tile was selected for the 2006 Governor’s Small Business Award. Whitehill received a letter from the Missouri Department of Economic Development on June 6.

“We didn’t really believe it when we first got it,” said Whitehill, whose company did $1.2 million in 2005. “We’ve had to read it about 10 times now.”

Images in Tile will be recognized during the Governor’s Conference awards luncheon in September.

‘Bizarre scheme’

The notoriety and accolades have almost happened overnight. Though Images in Tile has been around since June 2002, it got off to a slow start.

Whitehill began the company with two partners and a production facility in Denver, but he quickly changed gears. Whitehill was selling the mural ideas while living in Joplin, and his partners were producing them in Denver.

“They didn’t quite have the same passion I did,” Whitehill said. “Starting a business is a tough road.”

Whitehill bought out his partners, shut down the Denver operations and opened up shop in Joplin.

“When I hatched this bizarre scheme about doing tile murals, I couldn’t get anybody to listen to me, so I went and did it on my own,” said Whitehill, who had four years of industry experience as a manufacturer’s representative for heat-pressing and dye equipment. “I used to teach people how to do what I’m doing.”

What he’s doing is a printing and 400 F heat-transfer process that enables Images in Tile to reproduce any image on tile – hard copy or electronic – turned over to Whitehill and his team of 10 employees, led by Art Director A.J. Wood and co-owner Mary McPherson.

Beyond murals, flooring, showers, kitchen backsplashes and signage, applications include tabletops, coasters, cutting boards and family portraits.

About 70 percent of the firm’s work is for commercial clients – many design firms and restaurant and hotel chains – while 30 percent is for individuals. Whitehill said Images in Tile has about 1,000 clients on its roster, including Disney, Hilton, Hooter’s Casino Hotel, Dan Marino’s restaurant, and Kroger supermarkets, “all from little Joplin, Missouri.” He said there are about 100 active accounts, and 10 percent of business is international.

Residential jobs

One of Whitehill’s early projects was a custom job in the home of Joplin dentist Randall Rohmiller. Whitehill created a sports-themed bathroom for the dentist’s two elementary-age sons and gave another bathroom a golf course view.

“He did a great job,” said Rebecca Rohmiller, the dentist’s wife and office manager. “(The boys) love it.”

The bathroom features a football field on the tile floor and a wall mural of various sports centered around the bulldog mascot from Carl Junction, where the Rohmiller boys will attend high school. The boys’ names also are printed on tile.

Rebecca Rohmiller said Whitehill and crew designed several concepts from which to choose, and they had the tile produced two weeks after talks began.

Since the appearance on HGTV, Images in Tile’s residential work has tripled to now comprise 30 percent of the business, Whitehill said.

“It opened up an area that we had been lacking in,” Whitehill said, adding that HGTV producers have notified him about another show. “They’re just waiting for the right applications. They want it to be big and flashy, something outrageous. So we’re waiting for ‘outrageous’ to show up.”

Business breakthrough

The Tillman mural has spawned another ASU Sun Devils project for the Whitehill-Sullivan team.

Through the licensee agreement with artist Sullivan, Images in Tile has “limited usage” rights to reproduce his canvas paintings.

Whitehill, who calls this work a breakthrough for his business, recently launched the Web site www.legend

sontile.com to display and sell the tile reproductions. The first available is a three-piece series of ASU’s Tillman, the Sun Devils’ helmet and the team’s mascot. Each sells for $495, with $25 going to either ASU’s Sun Angel Foundation for athletic scholarships or the Pat Tillman Foundation, Whitehill said.

The partners hope to duplicate that model with other universities and are finalizing talks with Notre Dame about a stadium mural of the university’s seven Heisman Trophy winners.

“We’re expecting the tile products … to be a big part of what we’re doing with the colleges,” Sullivan said, adding that during an ASU golf tournament in June, the Tillman tile mural fetched about $2,000 at auction.

Whitehill estimates that to date about $6,000 has been raised for the foundations. He’d like to localize the collegiate partnerships, mentioning Missouri Southern State University and Pittsburg State.

“It’s going to be a fun year,” he said.

Images in Tile LLC

Owners: Paul Whitehill and Mary McPherson

Founded: 2002

Address: 1520 W. B St., Joplin 64801

Phone: (417) 206-0252

Fax: (417) 206-0699

Web site: www.imagesintile.com

Products: Custom tile murals

2005 Revenues: $1.2 million

Employees: 10

Did You Know?

Mike Sullivan, whose paintings Images in Tile reproduces onto tile murals, has been dubbed the official artist of the “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”[[In-content Ad]]