Wender·Vista
New Orleans
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the lower Mississippi, between the river and Lake Pontchartrain

New Orleans

— — a city that learned to live below the water.

— 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 city held between the river and the lake, sitting mostly below sea level, ringed by levees. The French Quarter is the oldest part, twelve square blocks of Spanish-rebuilt courtyards and wrought-iron balconies dating from the 1790s rebuilds. Above Canal Street the streetcars run the Garden District oak line. Mardi Gras runs the city in February. The kitchens carry the rest of the year.

from the studio
New Orleans
— bring it home

New Orleans, 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 New Orleans

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

New Orleans sits on the lower Mississippi River, between the river's east bank and Lake Pontchartrain, in southeastern Louisiana. Much of the city lies at or below sea level and depends on a long system of levees and pumps. The metropolitan area holds about 1.0 million people; the city itself, around 380,000 as of the most recent census. The French Quarter, founded in 1718 as part of French Louisiana, is the oldest neighborhood and the historic core of the city.

— the year

Mardi Gras runs the city in February or early March, with parades along St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street; the date follows Easter and ends on Fat Tuesday. Jazz Fest, properly the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, runs two weekends in late April and early May at the Fair Grounds. Hurricane season runs from June through November, with peak risk in August and September. Spring and late autumn hold the most comfortable weather and the lowest humidity.

— informed by New Orleans and Company
— the visit

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport sits about fifteen miles west of downtown, connected by Interstate 10 and the regional bus. The French Quarter, the Marigny, and the Central Business District form a walkable river-front core. The St. Charles streetcar runs through the Garden District beneath a continuous oak canopy. The National WWII Museum, in the Warehouse District, has expanded steadily since 2000 and now occupies six pavilions. Café du Monde at Jackson Square stays open around the clock.

— informed by New Orleans and Company
— where
United States · Orleans Parish, Louisiana
— position
29.9511° N · 90.0715° 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 E
French Quarter
historic district
4 km W
Garden District
historic neighbourhood
1 km E
Jackson Square
river-front plaza
8 km N
Lake Pontchartrain
brackish lake
6 km N
City Park
urban park
N
New Orleans
French Quarter
Garden District
Jackson Square
Lake Pontchartrain
City Park
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Much of the city sits in a former cypress swamp drained by pumps in the early twentieth century. The land has since subsided. The lower neighborhoods now sit several feet below sea level and depend on the levee system.

The city was founded in 1718 as La Nouvelle-Orléans by the French Mississippi Company, named for the Duke of Orléans. It came under Spanish rule from 1763 to 1801, and joined the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

The French Quarter, or Vieux Carré, is the original colonial city: twelve square blocks of Spanish-rebuilt courtyards, wrought-iron balconies, and Creole townhouses dating mostly from the 1790s rebuilds after two great fires. It is the historic core.

Mardi Gras falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, so its date moves each year between early February and early March. The Carnival season runs from January 6 through that day, with the major parades in the final two weeks.

Hurricane season runs from June through November, with the highest risk in August and September. The post-Katrina levee system has been substantially rebuilt, and the city tracks storms closely. Travel is generally fine outside named-storm windows.

Jazz was born in New Orleans in the late 1890s and early 1900s, in the neighborhood around Congo Square and Storyville. The city also gave rise to rhythm and blues, brass-band traditions, and bounce. Live music runs every night on Frenchmen Street.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers buy it for someone who grew up in the city or rebuilt after Katrina. The piece reads as the river and the live oaks, not Bourbon Street. A Small or Medium carries well.

The piece sits well in jewel-tone Maximalist interiors, in rooms with Creole or Federal furniture, and in warm modern spaces where green and indigo are allowed to lead. Less suited to strict cool-grey palettes.

A single Large reads cleanly above a console. Above a sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the wall; a 9-tile Mural anchors a larger room where the artwork is meant to lead.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for kitchens and bathrooms. Both are scratch-resistant and stable in humidity. The Glossy finish lives in dry rooms — entryway, living room, study.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. Avoid abrasives and household solvents. The colour is held inside the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, and stays stable under normal household conditions.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio. There is no licensing in or out. Reid Wender chooses each place, and the work is hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee.

— 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.