From Porto to Your Front Door: The Story Behind Our Ceramic House Numbers
We've always believed that your home's entry deserves the same intentionality as its carefully curated interior. We seek high and low for just the right craftsmanship; because a product doesn't earn its place in our collection just by looking beautiful. It has to be beautiful... all the way to is origins. When it came to ceramic house numbers, that search led to Porto, Portugal.
Where contemporary aesthetics merge with ancient technique, comes a family-owned company called New Terracotta. Founded in 2014, New Terracotta began with local clay shaped by just two artisans with simple tools in a small workplace. In the decade since, they still handcraft each and every tile, making them truly one of a kind investments.
A Walk Through The Craft
Every ceramic house number in our collection begins the same way it has for generations — with hands and clay. At New Terracotta's studio in Portugal, the process is unhurried and intentional, guided by artisans who understand that a piece made this way cannot be replicated by a machine, and shouldn't be.
It starts at the source: raw clay, shaped by hand into each mold. There's no shortcut here, no automated press churning out identical forms. Each number is hand-molded, which means subtle variations in texture and dimension are not flaws... There are fingerprints. Evidence that someone made this.
From there, the pieces move to the kiln — not once, but twice. That double firing is the step that separates a beautiful object from a lasting one. The first firing hardens the clay body, setting its structure. The second locks in the glaze, deepening the color and creating a surface that's as weather-resilient as it is visually rich. It's a slower, more demanding process, but it's what gives each number its density and its depth.
The final step is perhaps the most personal: every number is painted by hand. A single artisan, a single brush, a single piece. The result is color that feels alive rather than printed, with the kind of quiet variation that only a human hand can produce. No two pieces will ever look exactly alike.
What arrives at your door isn't just a house number. It's the end of a process that a craftsperson saw through from raw clay to finished glaze — and that kind of making leaves a mark you can actually see.
The Key to Curation
Anyone can sell a house number, but we take care to find one that is made to the standard we set on our own front porch and inside our homes. We value family-made, and the traditions behind the craftsmanship.
Our Portuguese House Numbers bring warmth to any porch. An exclusive collaboration with artist Riley Sheehey, the tiles are hand-painted with delicate digits, in a style that is both fresh and observant of the country’s artisanal legacy.
Our Greek Key House Numbers are the perfect architectural choice, with rich cocoa brown, hand-painted, graphic numbers. An exclusive collaboration with designer Katie Lindquist, this collection reflects her eye for thoughtful, layered design and our shared appreciation for traditional craftsmanship.
Because first impressions start at the door
Your entry is your first point of connection with the world. A handmade ceramic number isn't just an address market, it's a small lasting signal of the care you bring to your home – both inside and out. Curate your own one-of-a-kind pieces.