shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia

on the Sysola River at the edge of the northern taiga

Syktyvkar

Name: Syktyvkar — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a Komi city where the long winter holds the light.

— 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

— 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 the Komi Republic, in the far northeast of European Russia, set where the Sysola River meets the Vychegda. The city was founded in 1780 as Ust-Sysolsk and renamed Syktyvkar in 1930, the Komi name meaning city on the Sysola. It sits at the southern edge of a vast taiga belt that runs north to the Arctic. Wooden quarter houses still stand among the Soviet-era blocks, and the Stefanovskaya Square holds the centre of town.

from the studio

— bring it home

Syktyvkar, 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 Syktyvkar

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

Syktyvkar is the capital of the Komi Republic, a federal subject of Russia in the northeast of European Russia, with a population of about 245,000. It lies at the confluence of the Sysola and Vychegda rivers, roughly 1,500 kilometres northeast of Moscow and 1,000 kilometres east of Saint Petersburg. The city was founded in 1780 by decree of Catherine the Great as the town of Ust-Sysolsk and was renamed Syktyvkar in 1930 under the Komi-language name, which translates as city on the Sysola. It is the cultural and administrative centre of the Komi people, a Finno-Ugric nation indigenous to the region.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the season

Syktyvkar lies just south of the 62nd parallel, deep in the subarctic continental zone. Winters are long and severe, with January averages near minus 14 Celsius and recorded lows below minus 45. Snow cover lasts roughly 180 days a year, from late October through mid-April. Summers are short and warm, with July averaging 17 Celsius and white nights in June when the sun barely sets. The surrounding taiga, dominated by Siberian spruce and Scots pine, is the largest forest belt in European Russia.

— informed by Climate of Syktyvkar

— the visit

The centre of the city is Stefanovskaya Square, named for Stephen of Perm, the fourteenth-century missionary who created the Old Permic alphabet for the Komi language. Around the square stand the regional government building, the Komi National Drama Theatre, and the Stefanovsky Cathedral, rebuilt in 2001 on the foundations of the church destroyed in 1932. The National Museum of the Komi Republic, founded in 1911, holds the largest collection of Komi ethnography, including birch-bark manuscripts and reindeer-herding regalia from the northern districts.

— informed by National Museum of the Komi Republic

— where

Russia · Syktyvkar, Komi Republic

— elevation

119 m · 390 ft

— position

61.6688° N · 50.8364° 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.

1 km N

Stefanovskaya Square

civic square

3 km N

Vychegda River

river confluence

12 km NW

Ezhva

district

Syktyvkar

Stefanovskaya Square

Vychegda River

Ezhva

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

Syktyvkar is the capital of the Komi Republic in northeastern European Russia, about 1,500 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It sits at the confluence of the Sysola and Vychegda rivers, at the southern edge of the taiga belt.

Syktyvkar is a Komi-language name meaning city on the Sysola, from Syktyv, the Komi name for the Sysola River, and kar, meaning city. The name was adopted in 1930, replacing the Russian Ust-Sysolsk.

The Komi are a Finno-Ugric people indigenous to the Komi Republic, related linguistically to the Udmurts, Finns, and Hungarians. They number roughly 230,000 and have lived in the region for at least a thousand years.

Syktyvkar has a subarctic continental climate with very cold winters and short warm summers. January averages near minus 14 Celsius; July averages 17 Celsius. Snow cover lasts about 180 days a year.

It was founded in 1780 by decree of Catherine the Great as the town of Ust-Sysolsk, a trading post at the river confluence. It received its current Komi-language name in 1930 during the early Soviet period.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried meaning for customers from the Komi Republic and the broader Finno-Ugric diaspora. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads well as a keepsake of the north.

It sits well with Nordic Modern, Folk-Contemporary, and Warm Minimalist rooms. The cool blue and pine register against pale oak, birch, and unbleached wool.

A single Large reads cleanly above a standard sofa; the 4-tile Mural extends the river line across a longer wall; the 9-tile Mural gives the full city with the taiga behind.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any humid room or backsplash. Both resist scratching and avoid sheen glare under overhead light.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough for any finish. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so household cleansers are not required.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our studio, drawn and finished in-house. No licensing, no syndication; one slowly built atlas of places.

— if this one stayed with you