Wender·Vista
Christchurch
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew Zealand
on the Canterbury Plains, where the Avon runs out to the Pacific

Christchurch

— — a garden city still putting itself back together.

— 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 largest city on New Zealand's South Island, set on a flat plain between the Southern Alps and the Pacific. The Avon River runs slow through Hagley Park and the central grid. A decade and a half after the 2011 earthquake the city is still half rebuild and half garden, the new buildings low, the trees old.

from the studio
Christchurch
— bring it home

Christchurch, 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 Christchurch

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

Christchurch is the largest city on New Zealand's South Island, with around 380,000 residents on the Canterbury Plains east of the Southern Alps. The Avon River runs through Hagley Park, 165 hectares of open green at the centre of the city, and out to the Pacific at the Avon-Heathcote Estuary. The city was founded in 1850 as a planned Anglican settlement, named for Christ Church College at Oxford, and laid out on a grid around Cathedral Square. The port of Lyttelton sits on the far side of the Port Hills.

— the stone

On 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck beneath the city, killing 185 people and damaging or destroying most of the central business district, including the spire of ChristChurch Cathedral. Reconstruction has reshaped the centre: the Transitional Cathedral by Shigeru Ban, completed in 2013, is built largely of cardboard tubes and serves as the working Anglican cathedral while the stone original is slowly restored. The 185 Empty Chairs memorial sits a block east. The new low-rise grid keeps the Southern Alps in sight from almost every street.

— the water

The Avon, called Otakaro by Ngai Tahu, rises from springs near Avonhead and runs about 14 kilometres east through Hagley Park, the Botanic Gardens, and the central grid before reaching the Pacific at the Avon-Heathcote Estuary. The current is slow enough for punting; flat-bottomed boats run from the Antigua Boat Sheds, in continuous operation since 1882. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, founded in 1863 inside the river's loop, hold 21 hectares of established trees, including some of New Zealand's oldest English oaks.

— where
New Zealand · Christchurch, Canterbury
— elevation
20 m · 66 ft
— position
-43.5321° S · 172.6362° 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.
12 km SE
Lyttelton
harbour port
75 km SE
Akaroa
French village
150 km W
Arthur's Pass
alpine pass
N
Christchurch
Lyttelton
Akaroa
Arthur's Pass
— common questions

What people ask.

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

The city was laid out around Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens in 1850 and has kept that green centre. The 165-hectare park sits in the middle of the city, crossed by the Avon River, and is one of the largest urban parks in the Southern Hemisphere.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake on 22 February 2011 killed 185 people and destroyed much of central Christchurch, including the spire of ChristChurch Cathedral. Reconstruction is still ongoing and has reshaped the central grid as low-rise.

The Transitional Cathedral, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and opened in 2013. It uses 98 large cardboard tubes as structural members and serves as the working Anglican cathedral while the stone original is restored.

The Canterbury Association, an Anglican colonisation venture, founded Christchurch in 1850. The first four ships of settlers landed at Lyttelton in December that year. The city was named for Christ Church, Oxford, the college of John Robert Godley.

The Avon, called Otakaro by Ngai Tahu, runs roughly 14 kilometres through Hagley Park and the central grid before reaching the Pacific at the Avon-Heathcote Estuary. It is slow enough for punting through the city.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers who grew up in Canterbury or moved away after the earthquakes. The river, Hagley Park, and the Cathedral silhouette are the three landmarks most Cantabrians carry with them. A Medium suits the scale.

The piece reads well in English-Garden, soft Coastal, and warm Mid-century interiors. The green-and-stone palette holds against pale oak, cream linen, and slate blue, and softens against dark green or burgundy walls.

Yes. New Zealand interiors have moved toward what designers call Pacific-modern, a quiet blend of native timber, sea light, and English-garden green. The Christchurch palette sits at the centre of that idiom.

A single Large carries a sofa or console table. For a wider wall a 4-tile Mural reads as one image at six feet across, and a 9-tile Mural takes a full feature wall.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with steam or splash. Both finishes are scratch-resistant and clean with a microfibre cloth.

A dry or barely damp microfibre cloth is all the surface needs. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it does not lift or fade with ordinary cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house at our Knoxville studio and is not licensed from any third party. The stained-glass visual language is original to Wender Studios.

— if this one stayed with you

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