Wender·Vista
Malegaon
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndia
on the Mausam river in northern Maharashtra

Malegaon

— — a loom city that makes its own movies.

— 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

“An old weaving town on the Mausam river, north of Nashik, where roughly half a million people live alongside tens of thousands of powerlooms. The cloth has moved through here since the 19th century. So has a homemade film industry, often called Mollywood, that shoots parodies of Bollywood blockbusters on neighborhood budgets. A working city, not a tourist one. — from the studio

from the studio
Malegaon
— bring it home

Malegaon, 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 Malegaon

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

Malegaon is a city in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, in western India, on the Mausam river near its meeting with the Girna. It sits roughly 280 km northeast of Mumbai and 110 km north of Nashik. The 2011 census recorded a population of about 471,000, making it one of the larger cities of the state outside the Mumbai-Pune corridor. The climate is hot semi-arid, with the monsoon arriving in June.

— informed by Wikipedia — Malegaon
— the visit

Malegaon is reached by road from Nashik in about two and a half hours via NH 60, or from Mumbai in five to six hours. It does not sit on a major rail trunk; the nearest large stations are at Manmad, about 30 km south, and Nashik Road. The Mausam river runs through the centre of town. Travellers usually come for business in the textile market rather than tourism.

— the year

Malegaon is known for two things at once. The first is its powerloom industry, which has run since the late 19th century and today employs tens of thousands of weavers producing inexpensive cotton cloth for the domestic market. The second is its homemade film industry, often called Mollywood, that has shot low-budget parodies of Bollywood films since the 1990s. The 2008 documentary Supermen of Malegaon brought the scene to wider attention.

— where
India · Malegaon, Nashik district, Maharashtra
— elevation
438 m · 1,437 ft
— position
20.5579° N · 74.5287° E
— 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.
110 km S
Nashik
pilgrimage city
30 km S
Manmad
railway junction
70 km N
Dhule
district city
N
Malegaon
Nashik
Manmad
Dhule
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Malegaon is a city in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, India, on the Mausam river. It lies about 280 km northeast of Mumbai and 110 km north of Nashik, in the hot semi-arid plains of northern Maharashtra.

Malegaon is known for two things. Its powerloom industry, which has run since the late 19th century, and its homemade parody film industry, often called Mollywood, which has shot low-budget Bollywood spoofs since the 1990s.

It is the nickname for the city's homegrown film scene that produces low-budget parodies of Bollywood blockbusters on shoestring neighborhood budgets. The 2008 documentary Supermen of Malegaon brought it to wider audiences.

The 2011 Indian census recorded a population of about 471,000. That makes it one of the larger cities in Maharashtra outside the Mumbai-Pune corridor, with the population estimated higher in current counts.

The Mausam river runs through the centre of the city and meets the Girna river just south of town. Both are tributaries of the Tapi river system that drains western Maharashtra.

By road from Nashik in about two and a half hours via NH 60, or from Mumbai in five to six hours. The nearest major rail stations are at Manmad, 30 km south, and Nashik Road.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for our customers with Maharashtrian and powerloom-family ties. Malegaon is rarely commemorated in art and that scarcity matters. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio travels well.

The warm ochres, indigo blues, and stained-glass treatment sit well with Indo-modern, Heritage-textile, and warm Maximalist rooms. The piece reads as a working-city portrait rather than a tourist postcard.

Yes. The current Indo-modern direction favours art rooted in specific regional cities over generic North Indian landscapes. A named powerloom town reads as considered and personal.

A single Large (24x24 inches) anchors most sofas and consoles. For a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural broadens the river scene; a 9-tile Mural is for a feature wall in a living room or stairwell.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for moisture-prone rooms. Both are scratch-resistant and read softer than the Glossy show-piece finish meant for framed wall art.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it will not lift or fade with normal household cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is original to our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no licensing and no third-party imagery; Reid Wender is the curator and the eye behind every piece.

— if this one stayed with you

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