Wender·Vista
Laredo
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the Rio Grande, across from Nuevo Laredo

Laredo

— — a town with seven flags in its memory.

— 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

“Founded in 1755 on the north bank of the Rio Grande, then for a few months in 1840 the capital of its own republic. San Agustín Plaza still holds the old cathedral and the houses around it. The river runs brown and slow past the international bridges. Spanish drifts in from one side, English from the other. — from the studio

from the studio
Laredo
— bring it home

Laredo, 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 Laredo

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

Laredo sits on the north bank of the Rio Grande in Webb County, Texas, about 235 km south of San Antonio. Founded in 1755 by Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera y Garza under a Spanish land grant, it is the oldest crossing on the river west of the Gulf. The land port across to Nuevo Laredo is the busiest inland trade gateway in the United States, moving more than a third of all US-Mexico truck freight by value. Elevation runs near 134 metres, and the climate is hot semi-arid brushland fading into chaparral.

— the year

Seven flags have flown over Laredo, more than over any other Texas city. Spain, France, Mexico, the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States. The Republic was declared from a house still standing on San Agustín Plaza, lasted 283 days, and is commemorated each February at the Washington's Birthday Celebration, which has run since 1898 and remains the largest of its kind in the country.

— the visit

The historic core gathers around San Agustín Plaza on the river bluff. San Agustín Cathedral, consecrated in 1872 on the footprint of an earlier 1778 chapel, anchors the square. The Republic of the Rio Grande Museum sits on the plaza's south side. Two international bridges, Gateway to the Americas downtown and Juárez-Lincoln upstream, carry pedestrians and trucks across to Nuevo Laredo. Summer afternoons run past 38°C, so the plaza fills earliest in the morning and again at dusk.

— informed by Visit Laredo
— where
United States · Webb County, Texas
— elevation
134 m · 438 ft
— position
27.5036° N · 99.5076° 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.
1 km S
Nuevo Laredo
sister border city
235 km N
San Antonio
Texas city
120 km SE
Falcon Lake
Rio Grande reservoir
N
Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
San Antonio
Falcon Lake
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States have each governed the town. The Republic of the Rio Grande lasted 283 days in 1840.

Laredo was founded in 1755 by Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera y Garza under a Spanish land grant, making it the oldest continuously inhabited settlement on the lower Rio Grande's north bank.

A month-long civic festival held in Laredo each February since 1898, larger than any other George Washington celebration in the United States. It draws officials from both sides of the border.

The Laredo customs district is the busiest inland port of entry in the United States, handling more than a third of all overland US-Mexico trade by value, much of it by truck.

Hot semi-arid. Summer highs routinely exceed 38°C, winters are mild and dry, and annual rainfall stays under 600 mm. The landscape is chaparral and mesquite brush along the river.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers from the border. The plaza, the cathedral, and the river read instantly to anyone who grew up there. A Small with a handwritten note carries well.

The desert palette and earth-glass colours sit well with Southwestern, Spanish Colonial Revival, and warm-neutral modern interiors. The piece also reads against terracotta tile, leather, and unpainted wood.

A single Large suits a console or a narrow wall. Above a standard sofa, a 4-tile Mural reads at the right scale. A 9-tile Mural is the statement piece for a wide wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any installation that will see steam, splash, or vertical mounting in a wet area. The colour lives in the ceramic itself, so it does not fade.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water. No ammonia, no abrasive pads. The thin glossy finish wipes clean and mounted tiles can be wiped in place without removal.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid curates the atlas, and the visual language is ours and is not licensed from anyone else.

— if this one stayed with you

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