shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUkraine

on the Molochna River, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of southern Ukraine

Melitopol

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

— — the city the cherry harvest waits for.

— 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

“A city of the southern Ukrainian steppe, on the Molochna River in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, about fifty kilometres north of the Sea of Azov. Long known across the region as the cherry capital, with orchards ringing the city and a summer harvest that draws traders from across Ukraine. The chestnut avenues run wide and straight in the old centre. Since February 2022 the city has been under Russian occupation, the war reshaping daily life and the future the place will carry into. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Melitopol, 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 Melitopol

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

Melitopol sits on the Molochna River in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of southern Ukraine, about fifty kilometres north of the Sea of Azov at the head of the Molochna Estuary. The city was founded in 1784 as Novoaleksandrovka and renamed Melitopol in 1842 from the Greek for honey city. Pre-war population was roughly 150,000, with Tavria State Agrotechnological University and a long-running food-processing industry built around the surrounding farmland. The terrain is open steppe, broken by river valleys and the orchards that ring the city.

— informed by Wikipedia — Melitopol

— the year

The seasonal note is cherry. The orchards around Melitopol have produced the Melitopol sweet cherry for more than a century, and the city carries an unofficial title as Ukraine's cherry capital. A municipal cherry festival ran annually before 2022, drawing growers and traders from across the southeast. Harvest runs from mid-June into July, when fruit moves through the local markets and out to Kyiv and beyond. The surrounding raion also produces wheat, sunflower, and stone fruit on the Tavria steppe.

— informed by Wikipedia — Melitopol

— the stone

Outside the city lies the Stone Grave reserve, a Sarmatian sandstone outcrop that rises out of the floodplain and shelters more than three thousand petroglyphs dating from the Mesolithic through the medieval Turkic period. The site has been a state historical reserve since 1954. In the city itself, the old centre preserves a grid of nineteenth-century streets, the chestnut-lined Prospekt Khmelnitskogo, and a small set of merchant houses and Soviet-era civic buildings. The city has been under Russian occupation since the early days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

— informed by Wikipedia — Stone Grave, Wikipedia — Melitopol

— where

Ukraine · Melitopol Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast

— elevation

53 m · 174 ft

— position

46.8489° N · 35.3653° 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.

18 km N

Stone Grave

petroglyph reserve

50 km S

Sea of Azov

sea

120 km N

Zaporizhzhia

city

Melitopol

Stone Grave

Sea of Azov

Zaporizhzhia

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

In the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of southern Ukraine, on the Molochna River about fifty kilometres north of the Sea of Azov. The city is the seat of Melitopol Raion and a long-standing agricultural and transport hub of the southern steppe.

Melitopol comes from the Greek for honey city. The settlement was founded in 1784 as Novoaleksandrovka and renamed in 1842, reflecting the beekeeping and orchards that surrounded the early town on the Tavria steppe.

The Melitopol sweet cherry has been grown in the surrounding orchards for more than a century. The harvest runs from mid-June into July, and a municipal cherry festival drew growers and traders from across southeastern Ukraine before 2022.

A Sarmatian sandstone outcrop about eighteen kilometres north of the city, sheltering more than three thousand petroglyphs from the Mesolithic through medieval Turkic periods. It has been a state historical reserve since 1954.

Pre-war population was roughly 150,000, the second-largest city of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast after Zaporizhzhia itself. The current population has dropped under occupation and active displacement, and reliable figures are not available.

Melitopol has been under Russian occupation since late February 2022, in the opening days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian sovereignty over the city has not been recognised as having lapsed.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for the diaspora and for customers with family roots in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. A Small or Medium with a note from the studio carries the place to a desk or shelf with care.

The warm earth tones and orchard-green of the artwork suit Eastern European country, modern farmhouse, and earth-toned minimalist rooms. It works against limewash walls, light wood, and woven linen.

Specific, named-place heritage has shaped a wave of recent interiors, especially for diaspora households. A named Ukrainian city on ceramic reads as considered rather than ornamental.

Above a sofa, a single Large or a four-tile Mural carries the wall. Above a console, a Medium centres well. A nine-tile Mural is the room-anchoring scale for a great room.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and well-suited to damp rooms. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall art in dry rooms.

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

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, curated by Reid Wender, and produced in-house. We do not license the art to third parties.

— if this one stayed with you