Wender·Vista
Medellín
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileColombia
in the Aburrá Valley of Colombia's Antioquia

Medellín

— the spring the valley refuses to leave.

— 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

“Colombia's second city, set in a long green valley a mile above the sea where it stays April most of the year. Cable cars climb the eastern comunas. Botero's bronze figures hold the old plaza. In August the flower farmers walk silletas of geraniums and chrysanthemums down from Santa Elena, and the city turns to look.

from the studio
Medellín
— bring it home

Medellín, 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 Medellín

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

Medellín lies in the Aburrá Valley of Colombia's Antioquia department, with the city floor at roughly 1,495 metres above sea level and the Central Cordillera rising sharply on either side. The city holds about 2.5 million people, the metropolitan area closer to four million, second in Colombia only to Bogotá. The Aburrá River runs the length of the valley. The Medellín Metro opened in 1995, the only urban rail system in the country, and the first Metrocable line in 2004 made it the first city in the world with cable cars in regular commuter service.

— the air

Medellín is called the City of Eternal Spring for its remarkably even climate. The valley's elevation and its position 6.2 degrees north of the equator give an average daily temperature near 22°C in every month, with daytime highs in the low 20s and nights in the high teens. Rain falls in two wet seasons, April-May and September-November, more an afternoon habit than a storm. Mornings come up clear out of the cordillera; by late afternoon, cloud often sits on the upper ridges and the comunas above San Javier wear a soft grey ceiling.

— the year

The Feria de las Flores has run every August since 1957. The signature event is the Desfile de Silleteros, when about 500 flower farmers from the corregimiento of Santa Elena, in the eastern hills above the city, walk a parade route carrying silletas, wooden frames of cut flowers often four to six feet across, strapped to their backs. The tradition began with the silleteros who brought flowers down the trails to market. The fair also runs the Cabalgata, a parade of more than 6,000 horses.

— where
Colombia · Medellín, Antioquia
— elevation
1,495 m · 4,905 ft
— position
6.2442° N · 75.5812° 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.
14 km E
Santa Elena
flower-growing corregimiento
80 km E
Guatapé
lake town, El Peñol rock
6 km W
Comuna 13
hillside neighbourhood
N
Medellín
Santa Elena
Guatapé
Comuna 13
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Medellín is known as Colombia's City of Eternal Spring for its steady 22°C climate, its Metrocable cable cars over the comunas, Fernando Botero's bronze sculptures in Plaza Botero, and the August Feria de las Flores.

Medellín sits in the Aburrá Valley of Antioquia, in northwest Colombia, roughly 1,495 metres above sea level. The metropolitan area holds about four million people, second only to Bogotá.

The valley's elevation near 1,500 metres and its position 6.2 degrees north of the equator hold the average daily temperature close to 22°C in every month of the year.

A network of aerial cable-car lines integrated with the Medellín Metro, opened in 2004. It carries comuna residents on the steep eastern and western slopes into the valley-floor rail system as regular commuter transit.

Medellín's signature festival, held every August since 1957. The centerpiece is the Desfile de Silleteros, when flower farmers from Santa Elena carry frames of cut flowers, called silletas, in a long city parade.

A neighbourhood in western Medellín known for its outdoor escalators, installed in 2011 to connect a steep hillside community to the city below, and for its dense graffiti street-art tradition along the staircases.

— about the piece in your home

It's been a meaningful gift for many customers with Antioquian roots. The green ridges and the flower colour read instantly to anyone who knows the valley. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note travels well.

The piece works in Tropical-modern, Jewel-tone Maximalist, and plant-forward biophilic rooms. The deep greens and flower amber sit comfortably beside warm wood, terracotta, and woven fibre. It also reads well in a sunroom.

Yes. The valley greens and the flower-fair palette carry the plant-forward feeling without needing more plants. A Large over a wood console grounds the room in colour the same way a fiddle-leaf does in form.

For a standard sofa, a single Large or a 4-tile Mural holds the wall. Above a console, a Medium reads cleanly. Larger walls take a 9-tile Mural.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it holds up to steam and splash. Glossy is for dry rooms.

A microfiber cloth with water is all it needs. Avoid abrasive pads and bleach-based cleaners; the satin and matte finishes wipe clean and the colour lives in the surface, not on top.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the atlas and the art is hand-finished in-house. No stock imagery, no licensing.

— if this one stayed with you

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