Over the course of many months while sourcing various materials for the house, I came across a Mexican tile supplier located in Austin, Texas - Clay Imports Artesanal (http://www.clayimports.com/). What a great find! Clay Imports offers authentic Talavera (hand-painted) tiles, sinks and accessories in addition to Saltillo floor tiles. They work in partnership with a family in Dolores, Mexico located in the Guanajuato region.
View of Guanajuato
At the suggestion of the owner of Clay Imports, in September 2009, Shannon and I took a trip to Dolores to tour their factory and to visit some of the nearby towns (San Miguel Allende and Guanajuato - "World Heritage" city) known for their exquisite Talavera work and absolutely incredible 16th/17th C Spanish architecture. We met up with Nick Barriero from Clay Imports who travelled 16 hours from Austin to meet with us and guide us around. He does the trip several times a month. We were also introduced to the owners of their factory, Hugo and Angelina. They are the real deal. Great people!
Cobblestone street in San Miguel Allende Our hotel room in San Miguel
Nick - after a few shots of unbelievable Tequila
Shannon and her really old friend
Clay Drying Pits
Light Fixture for the Dining Room
Tile Factory
Each tile is hand-painted
What is really cool, Clay Imports will let you customize the colors for any of their tile patterms. So we've each come up with our own scheme. Here are some examples. 
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