Wender·Vista
Barrie
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCanada
on Kempenfelt Bay, ninety kilometres north of Toronto

Barrie

— — a bay the city wraps its arm around.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The deepest finger of Lake Simcoe curls west into the city, and Barrie sits along it. In winter the bay freezes hard enough for ice huts; in summer the waterfront fills with sailboats and the long boardwalk along Centennial Beach. Ron Baird's tall steel Spirit Catcher sculpture, brought home from Expo 86, stands by the water and turns with the wind off the lake. — from the studio

from the studio
Barrie
— bring it home

Barrie, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Barrie

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Barrie is a city of roughly 150,000 in central Ontario, set along the western shore of Kempenfelt Bay, the deepest arm of Lake Simcoe. It sits about 90 kilometres north of Toronto along Highway 400, the main weekend route to cottage country. The bay reaches depths over 40 metres, unusually deep for a southern Ontario lake, and shaped the city's grid: downtown curves to follow the water. Named for Commodore Sir Robert Barrie of the Royal Navy, the city was incorporated in 1959 and now anchors Simcoe County.

— the water

Kempenfelt Bay is the centre of daily life. The waterfront runs continuously for several kilometres, from Centennial Beach past the marina to Tyndale Park, with a paved trail along the whole length. Local folklore holds that a creature called Kempenfelt Kelly lives in the deep middle of the bay; sightings have been reported since the 1880s. In February the bay supports one of the largest ice-fishing communities in Ontario, with hundreds of huts set out on the ice for perch and lake trout once it's measured safe.

— the season

The city runs on a sharp four-season cycle. Summer brings sailing regattas, the Promenade Days street festival downtown, and the Barrie Waterfront Festival. Autumn turns the surrounding hardwood ridges of the Oro Moraine yellow and red. Winter is the long season: Snow Valley and Horseshoe Resort, both within twenty minutes, draw skiers from across the GTA, and the bay freezes by mid-January in most years. Spring is short, with thaw beginning in late March and the ice off the bay by mid-April.

— informed by Tourism Barrie
— where
Canada · Barrie, Ontario
— elevation
252 m · 827 ft
— position
44.3894° N · 79.6903° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km E
Lake Simcoe
lake
20 km N
Horseshoe Resort
ski resort
90 km S
Toronto
city
N
Barrie
Lake Simcoe
Horseshoe Resort
Toronto
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Barrie — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Barrie is in central Ontario, Canada, on the western shore of Kempenfelt Bay, Lake Simcoe. It sits about 90 kilometres north of Toronto along Highway 400 and serves as the seat of Simcoe County.

Roughly 150,000 residents within the city, with a wider commuter region drawing on the Greater Toronto Area. Barrie was incorporated as a city in 1959 after a long run as a town and military depot.

A 21-metre steel sculpture by Brantford artist Ron Baird, built for Expo 86 in Vancouver. It was bought for Barrie's waterfront and reassembled there in 1987, where it remains a landmark.

Kempenfelt Bay is a glacially carved trough, reaching over 40 metres deep, deeper than most southern Ontario lakes. The depth supports a year-round fishery for lake trout and whitefish alongside the seasonal perch run.

Local folklore tells of Kempenfelt Kelly, a creature said to live in the bay's deep middle. Sightings have been reported in local newspapers since the 1880s and the name is still used affectionately around town.

Barrie was incorporated as a city on January 1, 1959, having grown from a 19th-century military depot and lumber town named for Royal Navy commodore Sir Robert Barrie of Kingston station.

— about the piece in your home

It tends to. Many of our customers buy it for parents who raised kids on the bay, or for friends who left Barrie for jobs in Toronto or Calgary. A Small or Medium travels well in a card.

Cottage-modern, cabin-traditional, and Canadian-Coastal rooms take it well. The blue palette also sits cleanly in Scandi and Japandi interiors that lean on cool neutrals and unfinished wood.

Yes. It fits the lake-house and cottage-revival trend that's grown in southern Ontario and the upper Midwest since 2023, especially as Lake Simcoe waterfront properties pass to a new generation.

Above a standard three-seat sofa, the single Large reads cleanest. A 4-tile Mural opens the wall for a wider sectional; the 9-tile Mural is right for a great-room above a fireplace.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash. The Glossy finish is best kept for dry wall art away from the sink.

A microfibre cloth and clean water. Avoid abrasive sponges, household solvents, and ammonia-based glass sprays, which can dull the surface over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license the work to third parties and do not reprint other artists.

— if this one stayed with you

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