Wender·Vista
Bloemfontein
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSouth Africa
on the high veld of the Free State

Bloemfontein

— — the city the roses keep returning to.

— 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

“Judicial capital of South Africa, set on the high veld where the winters run cold and dry and the springs come back with roses. The Supreme Court of Appeal sits here, and the Naval Hill zebras graze above the centre of town. Bloemfontein keeps a smaller voice than Pretoria or Cape Town, and the locals seem to like it that way.

from the studio
Bloemfontein
— bring it home

Bloemfontein, 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 Bloemfontein

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

Bloemfontein sits on the high veld of South Africa's Free State province, roughly 400 kilometres southwest of Johannesburg, at an elevation near 1,395 metres. It serves as the country's judicial capital, home to the Supreme Court of Appeal, and is the seat of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. Founded in 1846 by Major Henry Warden, the city took its Afrikaans name, fountain of flowers, from the spring on the original farm. Population sits around 256,000 in the city proper.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the season

Bloemfontein has been called the City of Roses since the early twentieth century, when civic planting filled the parks and boulevards with cultivars suited to the dry, frosty winters and hot, wet summers of the central plateau. The annual Rose Festival has run in October for decades. Hamilton Park and King's Park hold the largest public collections, with thousands of bushes between them, and the colour holds from late spring through to autumn.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the visit

Bloem, as locals call it, is reached by the N1 from Johannesburg or by Bram Fischer International Airport, which carries daily flights from OR Tambo. Naval Hill, in the centre of town, gives a free panorama and is grazed by a small herd of zebra and wildebeest. The Anglo-Boer War Museum and the National Women's Monument sit on the southern edge of the city, and the Oliewenhuis Art Museum holds a strong South African collection in a 1935 mansion.

— informed by Oliewenhuis Art Museum
— where
South Africa · Mangaung, Free State
— elevation
1,395 m · 4,577 ft
— position
-29.0852° S · 26.1596° 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.
2 km N
Naval Hill
park and viewpoint
2 km N
Oliewenhuis Art Museum
art museum
3 km NW
Hamilton Park
rose garden
4 km S
National Women's Monument
monument
3 km E
Free State Stadium
stadium
N
Bloemfontein
Naval Hill
Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Hamilton Park
National Women's Monument
Free State Stadium
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Public rose planting began in the early 1900s, suited to the dry winters and wet summers of the central plateau. Hamilton Park and King's Park hold thousands of bushes, and the October Rose Festival has run for decades.

It is one of three. South Africa has Pretoria as administrative capital, Cape Town as legislative, and Bloemfontein as judicial. The Supreme Court of Appeal sits in the city centre on President Brand Street.

Bloemfontein is the capital of the Free State, the central inland province of South Africa, and is the seat of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. It sits roughly 400 kilometres southwest of Johannesburg.

The city sits near 1,395 metres on the high veld, which gives it cold dry winters with frost most mornings and warm wet summers. The thin air keeps the light hard and clean across the seasons.

Naval Hill rises in the centre of town and holds a small free game reserve with zebra, wildebeest, and giraffe, the Franklin observatory, and the Nelson Mandela statue. The view across the city carries to the southern hills.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for our customers from Bloem and the wider Free State. A Small or Medium reads well on a desk or hallway shelf, and the Keepsake travels easily by post if the recipient lives overseas.

The piece sits well with warm earth tones, Cape Dutch, and South African modern interiors. The stained-glass colour also carries into jewel-tone maximalist rooms with deep greens and brick reds.

A single Large covers the space above most consoles. For a sofa we recommend a four-tile Mural, and for a wide statement wall the nine-tile Mural reads as a single piece from across the room.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch resistant and tolerate steam and splash. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces away from direct water.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water is enough. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and lives in the surface itself, so household cleaners are not needed.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted and hand-finished in our Knoxville studio, with no outside licensing. Reid Wender curates the atlas and chooses each place that enters it.

— if this one stayed with you

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