Wender·Vista
Samarinda
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIndonesia
on the Mahakam River, deep in East Kalimantan on Borneo

Samarinda

— — a river city the rainforest still leans into.

— 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 capital of East Kalimantan, on a long bend of the Mahakam River, about forty kilometres inland from the Makassar Strait. Stilted Bugis houses, coal barges, and longboats share the water. The sarung Samarinda, hand-woven by Bugis families since the seventeenth century, is still made in Samarinda Seberang across the river. Equatorial rain falls most months. The light after a storm is the photograph everyone takes. — from the studio

from the studio
Samarinda
— bring it home

Samarinda, 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 Samarinda

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

Samarinda is the capital of East Kalimantan province, on the Indonesian side of Borneo. The city sits along both banks of the Mahakam River, roughly 40 kilometres upriver from the Makassar Strait. Population was estimated near 831,000 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city on the island of Borneo. The city was founded in 1668 by Bugis migrants from South Sulawesi who fled the Treaty of Bongaya. The Mahakam, the longest river in East Kalimantan at about 980 kilometres, runs through the centre and remains the working spine of the city.

— the water

Everything in Samarinda turns on the Mahakam. Coal barges from the upriver mines move downriver day and night. Wooden longboats called ces cross between the north and south banks. Stilted Bugis houses line whole stretches of the river edge in Samarinda Seberang, the south-bank quarter where the city was founded. The Mahkota Bridge, opened in 1987 and rebuilt after a 2011 collapse, is the city's central crossing. Tidal influence reaches Samarinda from the strait, so the river rises and falls daily even this far inland.

— the visit

Samarinda is reached by air via Aji Pangeran Tumenggung Pranoto International Airport, opened in 2018 about 25 kilometres northeast of the centre, with daily flights from Jakarta, Surabaya, and Balikpapan. By road, it is about 115 kilometres north of Balikpapan along the recently opened Balsam Toll Road. The climate is wet and equatorial: roughly 2,000 millimetres of rain a year, with no real dry season. The signature local craft is the sarung Samarinda, hand-woven by Bugis weavers in the Samarinda Seberang district and visible for sale along Jalan Bung Tomo.

— informed by Wikipedia — Samarinda
— where
Indonesia · Samarinda, East Kalimantan
— position
-0.5022° S · 117.1536° 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.
at the lake
Mahakam River
river
115 km S
Balikpapan
city
95 km SE
Nusantara
planned capital
38 km W
Tenggarong
river town
N
Samarinda
Mahakam River
Balikpapan
Nusantara
Tenggarong
— common questions

What people ask.

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

On the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo. The centre sits about 40 kilometres inland from the Makassar Strait and roughly 115 kilometres north of Balikpapan.

Estimated population was near 831,000 at the 2020 census, making Samarinda the largest city on the island of Borneo. It serves as the administrative capital of East Kalimantan province.

In 1668 by Bugis migrants from South Sulawesi who left after the Treaty of Bongaya. Their original settlement was on the south bank of the Mahakam, in what is now the Samarinda Seberang district.

The longest river in East Kalimantan, running about 980 kilometres from the central Borneo highlands to the Makassar Strait. It is the working spine of Samarinda, used by coal barges, ferries, and longboats called ces.

A hand-woven silk sarong made in the Samarinda Seberang district since the seventeenth century. The weaving tradition came with the Bugis founders and is still practiced in family workshops along Jalan Bung Tomo.

By air to Aji Pangeran Tumenggung Pranoto International Airport, about 25 kilometres northeast of the centre, with daily flights from Jakarta, Surabaya, and Balikpapan. By road, the Balsam Toll Road links to Balikpapan in roughly two hours.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers with ties to Borneo. Samarinda is a working river city, not a beach scene, and the tile reads that way. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note carries well.

The river greens, rust reds, and stilted-house silhouettes sit well in tropical-modern, jewel-tone maximalist, and warm-wood interiors. Reads better in lamplight than in raw equatorial sun.

Tropical-modern design is moving past beach motifs toward river and rainforest scenes with cultural specificity. This tile fits that shift: a Borneo river city rendered in painterly stained-glass tones.

Above a console, a single Large at 16x20 reads well. Above a sofa, step up to a 4-tile Mural; a 9-tile Mural is the right scale for a tall feature wall or a stairwell.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin finish for a soft sheen that resists scratches and steam, or the Matte finish for no sheen at all. Both handle humidity and daily wiping.

A dry microfibre cloth for dust; a microfibre dampened with water for anything stubborn. No solvents, no abrasive cleaners, no scouring pads. The colour lives in the surface and will not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made by our single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not licence the art and do not sell it through third parties.

— 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.