Wender·Vista
East London
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSouth Africa
on the Indian Ocean coast of the Eastern Cape, at the mouth of the Buffalo River

East London

— — the port the coelacanth came home 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

“South Africa's only river port, at the mouth of the Buffalo River on the Indian Ocean coast of the Eastern Cape. The beaches run north from the harbour: Eastern, then Orient, then Nahoon, with Nahoon Reef working the long left-hand wave that surfers from the rest of the country come for. In 1938 a fishing trawler landed a coelacanth here, a fish thought extinct for sixty-six million years. It still sits in the East London Museum.

from the studio
East London
— bring it home

East London, 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 East London

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

East London is a coastal city of about 268,000 within Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, midway between Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and Durban on the Indian Ocean coast. The Buffalo River reaches the sea here, making it the only river port in South Africa. The city was founded in 1836 as a supply landing during the Frontier Wars and grew around its harbour and the railway inland to Bloemfontein. Xhosa is the dominant first language across the surrounding rural Eastern Cape; English and Afrikaans are widely spoken in the city itself.

— the water

The first living coelacanth known to science was landed at East London on 22 December 1938, pulled from a trawl off the Chalumna River by Captain Hendrik Goosen. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum, recognised it as something extraordinary and preserved the specimen. The fish, named Latimeria chalumnae in her honour, had been thought extinct for sixty-six million years. The original mount still sits in the East London Museum on Oxford Street. Nahoon Reef, six kilometres north of the harbour, holds a long left-hand wave surfed since the 1960s.

— the visit

East London is reached by King Phalo Airport, about ten kilometres west of the city centre, with daily flights from Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. The N2 highway runs through. Summer, from November to April, brings warm humid weather and Indian Ocean swimming; winter days stay mild and dry, with cooler inshore water and good light for the coast. The Esplanade promenade runs from the harbour to Eastern Beach. The East London Museum opens daily except on major public holidays.

— informed by King Phalo Airport
— where
South Africa · Buffalo City, Eastern Cape
— position
-33.0153° S · 27.9116° 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.
6 km NE
Nahoon Reef
left-hand point break
1 km N
East London Museum
natural history museum
3 km SW
Hood Point Lighthouse
coastal lighthouse
N
East London
Nahoon Reef
East London Museum
Hood Point Lighthouse
— common questions

What people ask.

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

On the Indian Ocean coast of South Africa, in the Eastern Cape Province, midway between Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and Durban. About 268,000 people live in the metropolitan area.

The settlement was named in 1848 after London, England, with East distinguishing it from the City and from the older Cape ports. It was founded as a supply landing during the Frontier Wars in 1836.

The first known living coelacanth was landed at East London on 22 December 1938 and identified by museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. The species had been thought extinct for sixty-six million years. The specimen remains in the East London Museum.

Yes. Nahoon Reef, six kilometres north of the city centre, holds a long left-hand point break surfed since the 1960s. It is one of South Africa's most respected reef waves.

English and Afrikaans are widely spoken in the city. Xhosa is the dominant first language across the surrounding Eastern Cape, with about 80 percent of the province speaking it at home.

The summer months from November to April bring warm humid weather and warm Indian Ocean swimming. Winter days stay mild and dry, with cooler inshore water and good light along the coast.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The river-mouth port and the long surf beaches are the city's anchors. A Medium with a handwritten studio note has carried well to former Bonza Bay and Nahoon residents now living overseas.

The deep ocean blues and warm sand palette suit Coastal Modern, South African Contemporary, and the Cape farmhouse look. It pairs naturally with kiaat or yellowwood furniture and natural sisal mats.

The shift away from bleached Californian Coastal toward warmer, more place-specific Coastal Modern suits this piece. It also reads well inside the broader Southern African design movement around indigenous timber and natural fibre.

A Large above a sofa reads from across the room; a 4-tile or 9-tile Mural fills a longer wall. The Medium suits a console, a hallway, or a kitchen pass-through. A Small fits a bedside.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish for backsplashes, showers, and other damp rooms. The colour is infused into the ceramic and will not lift in humidity or sea air.

A microfibre cloth and clean water. No solvents or abrasive pads. The finish wipes clean and the colour lives in the surface beneath it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, in Reid Wender's visual language. We do not licence or resell other artists' work.

— 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.