Wender·Vista
Island Pond village by the pond
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileVermont
in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom

Island Pond village by the pond

— — a pond with an island, a village by its shore.

— 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 600-acre lake with a wooded island at its centre, and a small village around its southern shore. The town grew up around the Grand Trunk Railway junction in the 1850s, halfway between Portland, Maine and Montreal. The railroad slowed and the village quieted, but the pond and its single island are still the centre of the place.

from the studio
Island Pond village by the pond
— bring it home

Island Pond village by the pond, 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 Island Pond village by the pond

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

Island Pond is the principal village of the town of Brighton in Essex County, in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The pond itself covers roughly 600 acres, with a forested island of about 22 acres near the middle from which both the village and the town take their popular name. The village sits at the junction of Vermont Routes 105 and 114, about thirty miles south of the Canadian border, in the rolling upland forest between the Connecticut River valley and Lake Memphremagog.

— informed by Wikipedia, Brighton, Vermont
— the silence

Essex County has the smallest population of any county in New England, roughly 6,000 people spread across nearly 666 square miles of forest and small farms. Island Pond village is the largest settlement, with about 800 year-round residents. The Northeast Kingdom term was coined in 1949 by Senator George Aiken to describe Vermont's three northeastern counties. The forest around the pond is part of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and the Nulhegan Basin division.

— the year

The village owes its existence to the Grand Trunk Railway, completed through Island Pond in 1853 as the midpoint of the line between Portland, Maine and Montreal. The station became a major crew-change and customs stop, and the village boomed through the late nineteenth century. Passenger service ended in 1960 and freight has thinned, but the rail line still runs and the restored 1903 station building stands on Cross Street. The pond freezes thick enough most winters for ice fishing and snowmobiling.

— informed by Wikipedia
— where
United States · Brighton, Essex County, Vermont
— position
44.8125° N · 71.8847° 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 S
Brighton State Park
state park
10 km E
Nulhegan Basin
wildlife refuge
30 km W
Willoughby State Forest
state forest
40 km W
Newport on Lake Memphremagog
lakeside town
N
Island Pond village by the pond
Brighton State Park
Nulhegan Basin
Willoughby State Forest
Newport on Lake Memphremagog
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Island Pond village by the pond — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The pond covers roughly 600 acres, with maximum depth around 70 feet. A forested island of about 22 acres sits near its centre, and gives the pond, the village, and the town its common name.

After the wooded island in the middle of the pond. The town itself is officially named Brighton, but the village around the southern shore, and the pond, have always been known by the island.

A term coined in 1949 by Senator George Aiken for Vermont's three northeasternmost counties: Essex, Orleans, and Caledonia. The region is the least populated and most forested in the state, and Island Pond is one of its principal villages.

Yes. The Grand Trunk Railway, completed in 1853, made the village a major crew-change and customs stop halfway between Portland, Maine and Montreal. The restored 1903 depot still stands on Cross Street in the village centre.

Yes. The pond is stocked with rainbow trout, salmon, and smelt, and there is a small public beach on the south shore. Ice fishing is popular through the long Northeast Kingdom winter, when the pond freezes thickly.

Essex County, where Island Pond sits, has the smallest population of any county in New England: roughly 6,000 people spread across 666 square miles of forest. Island Pond village is the largest settlement, with about 800 year-round residents.

— about the piece in your home

The pond and its island are the quiet centre of the village. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well for a NEK native, a former resident, or a long-time camp owner.

The piece reads naturally in a lake-camp, library-traditional, or warm-modern New England setting. Its water-and-pine palette sits well beside oak, brass, and a wool plaid.

The piece fits the current cabin-modern and lake-house mood, and pairs cleanly with a quieter Scandi-modern or Japandi room. The greens and blues are restrained, not loud.

A single Large centres well above a standard sofa. A 4-tile Mural extends the view across a longer wall, and a 9-tile Mural anchors a great room or sleeping porch.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratching and humidity. The Glossy finish is reserved for wall pieces in drier rooms.

Microfibre cloth and water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it cannot lift or fade with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece comes from Reid Wender's eye and is hand-finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license, resell, or reproduce work from outside artists.

— 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.