shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States

in Johnson County, southwest of Kansas City

Olathe

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

— — a prairie city the freeway keeps missing.

— 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

“The county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, about twenty miles southwest of downtown Kansas City. Founded in 1857 along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, named with the Shawnee word for beautiful. Today it carries around 145,000 residents, a brick downtown around the old courthouse square, the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop preserved in place, and the Ernie Miller Nature Center holding a piece of the old oak-hickory woodland. A quieter Midwestern city, well-kept, made of streets that still grid to the section line. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Olathe, 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 Olathe

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

Olathe is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, and the fourth-largest city in the state, with a 2020 census population of 141,290 and an estimate near 145,000 today. It sits about twenty miles southwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, inside the Kansas City metropolitan area. The city was founded in 1857 by Dr. John T. Barton, who named it using the Shawnee word for beautiful. It grew as a stop on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails, with the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop preserved as the only remaining wagon-trail stop open to the public on those routes.

— informed by Wikipedia, City of Olathe

— the year

Olathe's calendar leans on its trail history and its parks. The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop runs a Trail Days schedule from spring through autumn, with operating stagecoach rides on weekends in season. Old Settlers Day each September draws crowds to downtown around the historic courthouse square. The Ernie Miller Nature Center on the west side of town keeps a piece of remnant oak-hickory woodland with year-round programming. Winters are cold and dry, summers hot and humid; the city sits at roughly 1,089 feet of elevation on the gently rolling eastern Kansas prairie.

— informed by Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop

— the visit

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is the nearest commercial airport, roughly forty-five minutes north by car. Interstate 35 runs through the city, with US-69 and Kansas K-7 forming the other main corridors. Downtown Olathe is centred on the Johnson County Courthouse square at Santa Fe and Cherry Streets, with the historic district extending a few blocks around it. The city is part of the Johnson County Library system, and the Olathe Indian Creek Trail connects into the wider Kansas City metro trail network for about ten miles of paved riding.

— informed by Visit Olathe

— where

United States · Johnson County, Kansas

— position

38.8814° N · 94.8191° 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.

2 km E

Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop

historic site

5 km W

Ernie Miller Nature Center

nature center

35 km NE

Kansas City

city

Olathe

Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop

Ernie Miller Nature Center

Kansas City

— common questions

What people ask.

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

— about the place

Olathe is in Johnson County, Kansas, about twenty miles southwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, on Interstate 35.

The name comes from the Shawnee word for beautiful, given by the city's founder Dr. John T. Barton in 1857 after reportedly hearing the word from a Shawnee speaker on the prairie.

Olathe is the fourth-largest city in Kansas, with a 2020 census population of 141,290 and a current estimate near 145,000. It is the county seat of Johnson County.

Olathe was founded in 1857 as a stop on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. It was incorporated and grew quickly through the late nineteenth century around its courthouse square.

The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop is a preserved 1860s farmstead and stagecoach station on the Santa Fe Trail, today the only remaining wagon-trail stop open to the public on those historic routes.

Yes. Olathe is a major suburb of Kansas City and sits firmly inside the metropolitan area, connected by Interstate 35 and the broader Johnson County road and trail network.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Olathe is a place residents are quietly proud of, and a place-specific tile lands well for graduates, retirees, and longtime homeowners. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries it.

The earthy prairie palette suits Midwest-modern, Farmhouse-modern, and Heritage interiors. It also reads well in a more minimal room as a single grounding object against pale walls and warm wood.

Yes. Place-specific art tied to local history is central to the current heritage-modern direction, where one rooted piece replaces a wall of generic prints.

Above a standard sofa, the Large hangs as a single statement. A 4-tile Mural opens the cityscape further; a 9-tile Mural carries a long console or dining wall.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both finishes resist scratching and humidity, suiting a bathroom wall, a powder room, or a kitchen backsplash.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough. Skip abrasive pads and ammonia-based cleaners; the colour is set into the ceramic surface and needs nothing more.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece originates in our Knoxville, Tennessee studio. The art is not licensed to third parties or sold elsewhere.

— if this one stayed with you