Wender·Vista
Oshawa
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileCanada
on the north shore of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto

Oshawa

— — the city the assembly line built.

— 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 working city on the north shore of Lake Ontario, about sixty kilometres east of Toronto, that grew up around the McLaughlin carriage works and the General Motors plant that followed it. The lakefront at Lakeview Park is older than most people expect. Parkwood Estate, R. S. McLaughlin's twelve-acre Edwardian house, still holds the high ground above the city.

from the studio
Oshawa
— bring it home

Oshawa, 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 Oshawa

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

Oshawa is the largest city in Durham Region, on the north shore of Lake Ontario about sixty kilometres east of downtown Toronto. The 2021 Canadian census recorded a population of 175,383, with the broader Oshawa census metropolitan area at around 415,000. The city sits at the mouth of the Oshawa Creek and is anchored by the Highway 401 corridor, the GO Transit line, and Ontario Tech University. Its modern form is shaped by the carriage works that became McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907 and General Motors of Canada in 1918.

— informed by Wikipedia, City of Oshawa
— the stone

Parkwood, the twelve-acre estate of Robert Samuel McLaughlin, sits on the rise above downtown Oshawa. The main house was completed in 1917 to a design by the Toronto firm Darling and Pearson, with the formal gardens laid out by John Lyle and the Dunington-Grubbs of Sheridan Nurseries. The property was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989 and is preserved as a house museum with most of its original interiors, gardens, greenhouse, and conservatory intact and open to public visit.

— informed by Parkwood Estate, Parks Canada
— the visit

Oshawa is reached from Toronto in roughly an hour by GO Transit on the Lakeshore East line, with frequent trains to Oshawa Station, and by Highway 401. Parkwood Estate is open for self-guided and docent-led tours from spring through autumn, with a winter schedule built around holiday house programmes. The Canadian Automotive Museum on Simcoe Street holds the country's principal collection of early Canadian-built cars. Lakeview Park along the waterfront is open year-round at no charge.

— where
Canada · Durham Region, Ontario
— elevation
91 m · 299 ft
— position
43.8971° N · 78.8658° 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.
10 km W
Whitby
town
20 km E
Bowmanville
town
60 km W
Toronto
city
N
Oshawa
Whitby
Bowmanville
Toronto
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Oshawa is on the north shore of Lake Ontario, about sixty kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is the largest city in Durham Region and the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area, reached by Highway 401 and the GO Transit Lakeshore East line.

The 2021 Canadian census recorded a city population of 175,383. The broader Oshawa census metropolitan area, which includes Whitby and Clarington, holds around 415,000 residents and continues to grow steadily.

The McLaughlin Carriage Company began building automobiles in Oshawa in 1907 as the McLaughlin Motor Car Company and was sold to General Motors in 1918, becoming General Motors of Canada. The plant has remained central to Canadian auto manufacturing for over a century.

Parkwood is the twelve-acre Edwardian estate of R. S. McLaughlin, founder of GM Canada. The 1917 house was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989 and operates as a house museum with original interiors and formal gardens.

The museum on Simcoe Street South holds Canada's principal collection of early Canadian-built automobiles, including McLaughlin and early GM models. It was founded in 1961 and remains one of the few dedicated automotive history museums in the country.

Yes. Lakeview Park sits at the foot of Simcoe Street on Lake Ontario, with beach, marina, and the Oshawa Museum's three historic houses. It is open year-round at no charge and is a ten-minute drive from downtown.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with roots in Durham Region. Oshawa is a working city with strong local identity, and the artwork honours that without falling into auto-plant cliché. A Small or Medium with a note from the studio.

The palette runs lake blue, brick red, and Edwardian-house cream. It sits well with Modern-traditional, Canadian Cottage, and warm Mid-century interiors. It also reads cleanly in a home office or a den.

Yes. Modern-traditional has carried strongly across Canadian interior design for several years, and a recognisable Ontario city fits the look without leaning on the more obvious Muskoka references.

A single Large reads well above a console table. Above a sofa, a four-tile Mural carries the lakefront line at room scale. A nine-tile Mural makes the city the focal wall of the room.

Yes. The Dura Satin and Matte finishes are rated for vertical wet-zone use, including backsplashes, shower walls, and powder rooms. The Glossy finish is reserved for dry framed wall art.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water for routine dust. For fingerprints on Dura Satin or Matte surfaces, add a drop of mild dish soap. Avoid abrasive pads and solvent-based cleaners.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted by Reid Wender and hand-finished in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no third-party licensing and no stock imagery in any tile we ship.

— if this one stayed with you

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