It began as a boot-strapped operation in our founder's art studio. After working in a handmade tile shop in Minneapolis, MN, and refining her trade in Italy, Mercedes Austin knew it was time to forge her own path to mosaics. She scraped up enough money to buy her first kiln by selling her jazz CD collection and using her tax refund. From this first kiln and her entrepreneurial spirit she started creating her first works of handmade ceramic art. Mercury Mosaics started as one woman and has grown to many, inspiring artists everywhere to follow their dreams and getting rid of the idea that an artist should be starving.