Wender·Vista
Toledo
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
at the mouth of the Maumee, on Lake Erie's western basin

Toledo

— — where the river finds the lake.

— 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

“Toledo sits where the Maumee River meets the western basin of Lake Erie, the fourth-largest city in Ohio. Glass shaped the place. Libbey, Owens, and Pilkington built the industry that gave Toledo its nickname, and the Toledo Museum of Art still holds one of the country's finest public glass collections in a building free to enter. The Mud Hens play in the warehouse district along Monroe Street.

from the studio
Toledo
— bring it home

Toledo, 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 Toledo

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

Toledo is the county seat of Lucas County and the fourth-largest city in Ohio, with a 2020 population of 270,871. It sits at the mouth of the Maumee River on Maumee Bay, the westernmost arm of Lake Erie. Founded in 1833, the city was the prize of the bloodless Toledo War of 1835, a boundary dispute between Ohio and the Michigan Territory. Congress settled it by awarding Toledo to Ohio and the Upper Peninsula to Michigan in exchange. The Anthony Wayne Bridge, opened in 1931, crosses the river downtown.

— the water

The Maumee is the largest river by volume draining into the Great Lakes, and Toledo sits at its outlet into the western basin of Lake Erie. The basin is the shallowest of the lake's three subdivisions, which makes it the most productive walleye fishery in North America. Spring runoff carries phosphorus from the agricultural watershed, and harmful algal blooms have shaped the city's water debate since the 2014 Toledo water crisis, which cut off the municipal supply for about half a million people across three days in August.

— informed by NOAA — Lake Erie HABs
— the stone

Toledo is known as the Glass City. Edward Drummond Libbey moved his cut-glass works from Massachusetts to Toledo in 1888 to take advantage of cheap natural gas, and the industry that grew around him produced Libbey, Owens-Illinois, and Pilkington North America. The Toledo Museum of Art, founded by Libbey and his wife Florence in 1901, holds one of the most important glass collections in the United States and has been free to enter since opening. The Frank Gehry-designed Glass Pavilion opened across Monroe Street in 2006.

— informed by Toledo Museum of Art
— where
United States · Lucas County, Ohio
— position
41.6528° N · 83.5379° 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.
3 km W
Toledo Museum of Art
free public art museum and glass pavilion
1 km N
Fifth Third Field
Mud Hens minor-league ballpark
14 km E
Maumee Bay
western basin of Lake Erie
2 km S
Anthony Wayne Bridge
1931 suspension bridge over the Maumee
N
Toledo
Toledo Museum of Art
Fifth Third Field
Maumee Bay
Anthony Wayne Bridge
— common questions

What people ask.

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

Toledo sits in northwestern Ohio at the mouth of the Maumee River, on the western basin of Lake Erie. It is the county seat of Lucas County and the fourth-largest city in the state.

The nickname comes from the glass industry Edward Drummond Libbey built after moving his cut-glass works to Toledo in 1888. Libbey, Owens-Illinois, and Pilkington all grew out of that base, and the industry still operates locally.

The Toledo War was a bloodless 1835 boundary dispute between Ohio and the Michigan Territory over the Toledo Strip. Congress resolved it by giving Toledo to Ohio and the Upper Peninsula to Michigan in exchange.

Yes. The Toledo Museum of Art has been free to enter since it opened in 1901, supported by an endowment from founders Edward and Florence Libbey. Its glass and European painting collections are nationally important.

The Mud Hens are Toledo's minor league baseball team, the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play at Fifth Third Field in the downtown warehouse district, which opened in 2002.

In August 2014 a harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie released microcystin into the Toledo water intake, leaving about 500,000 people without safe tap water for three days. The crisis reshaped Ohio agricultural runoff policy.

— about the piece in your home

The city reads strongly for the people who grew up there. Customers with Toledo and northwest Ohio roots have chosen the Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio, often shipping to family elsewhere.

The lake blues and warm industrial brick tones sit with Industrial-modern, Maximalist, and traditional Midwest interiors. The piece reads well above a console or in a hallway with depth.

Yes. Great Lakes city art has grown alongside the broader Midwest-modern interior category. A Toledo piece reads as a quieter alternative to the Cleveland and Detroit imagery that dominates the segment.

The Large suits most sofas and consoles. For a wider wall a 4-tile Mural reads as one image with subtle grout lines. The 9-tile Mural anchors entry walls and dining rooms.

Yes. Use the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical wet areas and backsplashes. The Glossy finish belongs on framed wall display, away from direct splash.

A soft microfibre cloth with clean water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it stays in the surface through normal household cleaning.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every WenderVista piece in the studio's own visual language. The work is hand-finished in Knoxville. There is no licensing or outside reproduction.

— if this one stayed with you

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