Wender·Vista
Beaver Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in northern Lake Michigan, off Charlevoix

Beaver Island

— — the largest island in the lake, and the quietest.

— 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

“A thirty-two-mile ferry ride from Charlevoix across open water, and the island reads more like coastal Ireland than Michigan. Fifty-six square miles of jack pine, inland lakes and lighthouse beaches, with a year-round population somewhere around six hundred. The old harbour still keeps its 1858 lighthouse. Locals call it America's Emerald Isle, and on a damp morning that is not marketing.

from the studio
Beaver Island
— bring it home

Beaver Island, 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 Beaver Island

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

Beaver Island sits in northern Lake Michigan about 32 miles from the mainland port of Charlevoix, the largest island in the lake at roughly 56 square miles. It is the main island of an archipelago of about a dozen and falls under Peaine and St James townships in Charlevoix County. The Beaver Island Boat Company runs the passenger and car ferry across in about two and a quarter hours; small carriers fly the same route in twenty minutes from the Charlevoix municipal airport. The year-round population is about 600, rising sharply in summer.

— the year

The island holds an unusual stretch of American history. From 1850 to 1856 it was the seat of a self-declared Mormon monarchy under James Strang, the only crowned king on United States soil. After Strang's assassination the kingdom collapsed and the island filled with Irish fishermen from Aran and Donegal, whose descendants still hold the surnames around St James. The Museum Week festival each July centres on that double inheritance and an annual Baroque Music Festival runs in late July and early August.

— the water

The shoreline carries three working lights. The Beaver Island Harbor Light at the head of Paradise Bay was first lit in 1858 and rebuilt in 1870. Beaver Head Light at the south end was completed in 1858 and now belongs to the Charlevoix Public Schools as an environmental campus. Inland, Lake Geneserath, Font Lake and Fox Lake hold pike, bass and bluegill, and the surrounding water is part of the Beaver Island State Wildlife Research Area, designated in 1976 over roughly half the island's land.

— where
United States · Charlevoix County, Michigan
— elevation
178 m · 584 ft
— position
45.6839° N · 85.5189° W
— 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.
51 km SE
Charlevoix
mainland port
8 km W
High Island
uninhabited island
3 km N
Garden Island
uninhabited island
1 km N
St James Harbor
village harbour
N
Beaver Island
Charlevoix
High Island
Garden Island
St James Harbor
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Beaver Island lies in northern Lake Michigan, about 32 miles west of the mainland port of Charlevoix. It is the largest island in the lake at roughly 56 square miles and the main island of the Beaver Archipelago in Charlevoix County.

The Beaver Island Boat Company runs a passenger and car ferry from Charlevoix in about two and a quarter hours from spring through fall. Two small carriers fly the same route in roughly twenty minutes from the Charlevoix municipal airport.

After the collapse of James Strang's Mormon kingdom in 1856 the island filled with Irish fishermen from Aran and Donegal. Their descendants still hold the surnames around St James, and the landscape itself reads close to coastal Ireland.

Yes. James Strang was crowned in 1850 and ruled a Mormon settlement on the island until his assassination in 1856. He remains the only person ever crowned king on United States soil.

The Beaver Island Harbor Light at the head of Paradise Bay was first lit in 1858 and rebuilt in its current form in 1870. The Beaver Head Light at the south end was also completed in 1858.

The year-round population sits around 600 across the Peaine and St James townships, rising sharply in summer when seasonal residents and Baroque Music Festival visitors arrive in late July and early August.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that reader. The St James names are a tight community and a piece of the island reads as a known place, not a generic lake scene. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is the usual gift.

The cool greens and harbour-stone palette sit naturally in coastal-modern, Great Lakes cottage, and Irish-cottage interiors. The piece holds against painted shiplap, weathered oak and natural linen without leaning kitsch.

Yes. Cottage-modern has moved toward specific named lakes and shorelines rather than generic anchor-and-rope motifs over the past two seasons. The Medium suits a hallway; the Large suits a stair landing or screened porch.

Above a console, a single Large reads cleanly. Above a standard three-seat sofa, a 4-tile Mural in the Large size carries the wall, and a 9-tile Mural is the right call for a great room with a long sightline to the water.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installations in damp rooms. The Glossy finish is intended for framed wall art and dry showpiece settings.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough for routine cleaning. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, not in a topcoat, so it will not lift, fade or scratch off with normal household use.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work by Reid Wender, made in a single family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. None of the imagery is licensed in or out.

— if this one stayed with you

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