Wender·Vista
Coquitlam
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCanada
in Metro Vancouver, between the Fraser River and Burke Mountain

Coquitlam

— — a city the mountain holds at its back.

— 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

“A city of about 150,000 in the Tri-Cities of Metro Vancouver, set between the Fraser River, Burrard Inlet, and the long ridge of Burke Mountain. The Coquitlam River runs out of the lake by the same name and through town to the Fraser. SkyTrain reaches Lafarge Lake; from there the trails climb fast into second-growth fir and cedar. from the studio

from the studio
Coquitlam
— bring it home

Coquitlam, 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 Coquitlam

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

Coquitlam is a city of about 148,000 in the Tri-Cities district of Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. It sits on the north bank of the Fraser River and reaches up to Burke Mountain and the southern edge of the Coast Mountains. The city covers roughly 122 square kilometres and forms one of the three core municipalities of the Tri-Cities with Port Coquitlam and Port Moody. The Coquitlam name comes from the Halkomelem kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, the home language of the Kwikwetlem First Nation, whose traditional territory the city occupies.

— informed by Wikipedia — Coquitlam
— the water

The Coquitlam River drains 230 square kilometres from the southern flanks of the Coast Mountains, flowing about 22 kilometres from Coquitlam Lake to its mouth on the Fraser River at Port Coquitlam. The upper river holds spawning runs of pink, chum, and coho salmon, and the watershed reservoir supplies drinking water to much of Metro Vancouver. Burrard Inlet reaches the city at its western edge, where Port Moody opens onto the Pacific. Heavy autumn rain regularly raises the river by more than a metre overnight.

— the air

Coquitlam sits in the wet maritime belt of the south coast, with annual rainfall near 1,800 millimetres at the foot of Burke Mountain and over 3,000 at the upper watershed. The air carries the smell of cedar and rain off the slopes for most of the year. Snow falls reliably on Burke Ridge above 600 metres from December into March, while the Fraser flats below see only a handful of snow days a season. Summer afternoons clear to long views of Golden Ears and Mount Baker.

— where
Canada · Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
— position
49.2838° N · 122.7932° 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.
5 km W
Port Moody
city
4 km E
Port Coquitlam
city
12 km SW
Burnaby
city
25 km W
Vancouver
city
N
Coquitlam
Port Moody
Port Coquitlam
Burnaby
Vancouver
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Coquitlam is in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, on the north bank of the Fraser River. It forms one of the three core Tri-Cities municipalities with Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, about 25 kilometres east of downtown Vancouver.

Coquitlam covers about 122 square kilometres and has a population near 148,000 at the 2021 census, which makes it the sixth-largest city in British Columbia and one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Metro Vancouver.

The name comes from the Halkomelem kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, the language of the Kwikwetlem First Nation, on whose traditional territory the city sits. The word is sometimes translated as 'red fish up the river' for the sockeye run.

Burke Mountain rises on the northern edge of the city to about 1,500 metres at its summit, with Pinecone Burke Provincial Park covering its upper slopes. Mount Coquitlam stands further north within the same range.

The Millennium Line's Evergreen Extension opened in December 2016 and runs from Burnaby through Port Moody to Lafarge Lake–Douglas station in central Coquitlam, connecting the city to the regional rapid-transit network.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with Tri-Cities roots. Burke Mountain and the Coquitlam River are quiet markers of home rather than tourist landmarks, and a Small or Medium with a handwritten note reads as a knowing gesture.

The cedar greens, river greys, and quiet mountain blues sit well in Pacific Northwest modern, biophilic, and warm minimalist rooms. The palette holds a wall without competing with linen, oak, or unpainted concrete.

It reads cleanly in the current Pacific Northwest and biophilic direction, where muted forest tones and painterly art replace high-contrast graphic prints. A Medium or Large holds the room without dominating it.

Above a standard sofa a single Large or a 4-tile Mural carries the ridge line across the wall. A Medium is usually the right scale above a console; a Keepsake suits a desk or bookshelf.

Yes, in either Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-stable, so the tile reads the same on a backsplash or shower wall as it does framed in a hallway.

A microfibre cloth with plain water. The colour lives slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin glossy finish, so there is nothing to lift off.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.