The Timber Tiles workshop in Port Alberni was founded in 2020. The startup makes decorative, waterproof wooden tiles that can be used in kitchens, bathrooms and pretty much any other place you’d find traditional ceramic tiles. Mark Anson, architect and co-founder of Timber Tiles, said his company offers a compostable alternative to climate-harming ceramic tiles, which are manufactured through a carbon-intensive process and often end up smashed in landfills. “It’s about education and getting our story out there to designers and architects,” Anson said over the phone from Gibsons Landing, where he’s mid-construction on a home that will showcase Timber Tiles and be built to multiple green building standards. That story took a vital turn last year when Huu-ay-aht First Nations on Vancouver Island became majority owner of Timber Tiles, finding it a good fit with the community forest it manages on its territory.