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Innovating By Design Tara Weiss, 09.29.06, 12:15 PM ET Portland, Ore. - Ann Sacks didn't set out to be one of the biggest names in the tile and stone industry. But when she saw a demand, she decided to fill it. The onetime middle school teacher and social worker was at a Portland dress boutique in 1980 when she spotted a basket of hand-painted Mexican tiles by the cashier. They were just being sold as trivets. Sacks asked the store about selling them in large quantities as bathroom and kitchen tile. The owner wasn't interested, but Sacks went on to sell those Mexican tiles to homes throughout the Portland metro area. Not long after, Sacks began finding and selling custom tiles for designers around the U.S. At a time when most homeowners were selecting from six or so colors of tile from Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ) or Lowe's (nyse: LOW - news - people ), Sacks was setting up high-end tile boutiques in Seattle, New York and Vancouver, B.C. Her success caught the attention of kitchen and bath giant Kohler, which bought her company in 1989. Sacks stayed on board after the buyout and continued to run her tile company for 14 years. The consummate entrepreneur, Sacks created an eyeglass company in 2004, Amy Sacks Eyewear (named for her daughter) and last year started Design and Direct Source, a tile and stone company that only deals in large projects like condo buildings and museums. At age 57 with two grown children, Sacks lives with her husband Robert, an attorney-turned-real estate developer, in a building of their own design located in the artsy Northwest district of Portland. Their duplex apartment has panoramic views of the city and is, predictably, clad in the refined, elegant stone and tile that bear her name. But Sacks has an eccentric side too: A larger-than-life Bob's Big Boy statue that she had shipped from a colleague in Chicago graces one of her terraces. Over homemade blueberry cake, Sacks discussed how she transformed good taste into a great business and how her design and marketing innovations ended up in homes across the U.S. Forbes.com: When you first started out, there were not that many tile options. What made you think anyone would want more than standard white kitchens and baths? Ann Sacks: When I started in the tile business, I didn't have any information about what interior designers did and who used them. I talked to a friend who knew an interior designer, and she let me go through her sample room. I noticed big rings of Formica chips, but at the time, there were only about six colors of tile you could chose from. If the colors didn't match … sorry. Around that time, that designer was having a problem with a complicated set of bathroom designs. She had selected eight different very subtle hues, from taupe to cream, and she [bought] custom-colored plumbing fixtures to match. But the New York manufacturer had discontinued the tiles she'd based her design on. She was about to call the owner with the bad news when I said, "What if I can match the tiles?" She goes, "I'd be really happy." I didn't know I could do any of it. But I went to every gallery in Portland and found someone willing to do it. I bought the equipment. We made the job. It was huge. I realized people were willing to pay a great deal to have something custom.

[Forbes News] Innovating By Design