Wender·Vista
Ontario
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
east of Los Angeles, in the Inland Empire

Ontario

— — the valley the freight trains read out loud.

— 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

“The city east of Los Angeles where the Inland Empire begins. Founded in 1882 by the Chaffey brothers from Ontario, Canada, who laid Euclid Avenue down the middle, a double row of trees and a tram line running the seven miles from the foothills to the plain. The airport carries the city's name. The freight rail runs through it day and night.

from the studio
Ontario
— bring it home

Ontario, 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 Ontario

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

Ontario sits in western San Bernardino County, about thirty-five miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population is roughly 175,000. The Chaffey brothers, George and William, founded the city as a planned colony in 1882 and named it for their home province in Canada. Ontario International Airport, four miles east of the original townsite, handles around six million passengers a year and serves as a major air-cargo hub for Southern California. Interstate 10 runs through the city's centre.

— the year

George and William Chaffey were irrigation engineers from Brockville, Ontario. Their 1882 plan for the new colony ran Euclid Avenue seven miles in a straight line from the San Gabriel foothills south to the railroad, with a wide central median planted in pepper and palm. A mule-drawn streetcar ran the length of the avenue until electrification in 1895. The Chaffeys later carried the same colony model south to design the irrigation works of California's Imperial Valley and, before that, Mildura in Victoria, Australia.

— the visit

Ontario International Airport, returned to local ownership in 2016 after decades under Los Angeles World Airports, is the fourth-busiest airport in Southern California and the main alternative to LAX for the Inland Empire. The Museum of History and Art on Euclid Avenue holds the city archives and the Chaffey papers. Several citrus packing houses near the rail line still stand. The Graber Olive House on West Fourth Street has cured olives at the same address since 1894, still by hand, with the packing rooms open to visitors.

— where
United States · San Bernardino County, California
— elevation
290 m · 952 ft
— position
34.0633° N · 117.6509° 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.
25 km N
Mount Baldy
summit
8 km NE
Rancho Cucamonga
city
16 km E
Riverside
city
N
Ontario
Mount Baldy
Rancho Cucamonga
Riverside
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Ontario sits in western San Bernardino County, about thirty-five miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. The current population is about 175,000.

The Chaffey brothers, George and William, irrigation engineers from Brockville in Ontario, Canada, founded the colony in 1882. They named it for their home province and platted Euclid Avenue down its centre.

Euclid Avenue runs about seven miles in a straight line from the San Gabriel foothills south to the rail line, with a wide central median that originally carried a mule-drawn streetcar.

Ontario International is the fourth-busiest airport in Southern California, handling around six million passengers a year. It returned to local ownership in 2016 after decades under Los Angeles World Airports.

Graber Olive House on West Fourth Street has cured table olives at the same address since 1894, still by hand. The packing rooms and gift store are open to the public.

After Ontario, George Chaffey designed the irrigation works of California's Imperial Valley in the early 1900s. Earlier, the brothers had laid out Mildura in Victoria, Australia, on the same colony model.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The wide street grid, the citrus packing houses, and the airport are the markers people carry. The Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note pairs well.

The dusty greens and citrus golds settle into California-modern, warm minimalist, and Mission-revival rooms. The palette holds against off-white plaster and oak without overpowering either.

Yes. California-modern leans on neutral walls and one anchoring place-based piece. A single Medium or Large above a console carries that role without crowding the rest of the wall.

A single Large suits most sofas and consoles up to about six feet. For longer walls, a 4-tile Mural or 9-tile Mural carries the room. Measure first, then size up.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and well suited to backsplashes, shower walls, and steam. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall art away from direct water.

A microfibre cloth and clean water. Skip ammonia, citrus cleaners, and abrasive pads. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and the thin finish above it, so it will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in Reid Wender's studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, then slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure. We do not license outside work.

— if this one stayed with you

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