Wender·Vista
Vine maple peak red October
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileWashington
in the Cascade understory, mid-October

Vine maple peak red October

— — the week the understory turns.

— 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

“Vine maple is the small tree that goes red before anything else in the Cascade understory. It grows under Douglas-fir and hemlock, branching low and crooked, and in the second week of October the leaves run through scarlet, coral, and a deep wine before the rain takes them down. The trail crews call it the early signal. The big-leaf maple comes after. from the studio

from the studio
Vine maple peak red October
— bring it home

Vine maple peak red October, 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 Vine maple peak red October

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

Vine maple, Acer circinatum, is a small understory tree native to the Pacific Northwest from southern British Columbia to northern California. In Washington it carpets the Cascade and Olympic foothills beneath Douglas-fir and western hemlock, rarely topping 25 feet, often growing in leaning thickets along creek bottoms. The species was first described by botanists with the Wilkes Expedition in the 1840s. It is one of the earliest understory trees to turn each autumn and a defining color of low-elevation October in the western Cascades.

— the season

Peak color in the western Cascade foothills typically runs the second and third weeks of October, depending on the year's first cold nights. The reds intensify when daytime sun is paired with overnight lows near freezing. By the last week of October, Pacific storms usually arrive and strip the leaves within days. The signal moves uphill: low river valleys turn first, mid-slopes second, and the alpine larches of the eastern Cascades close the season further inland.

— the colour

Vine maple runs a wider range than the bigger maples. A single thicket can carry scarlet at the canopy, coral and salmon at mid-height, and a deep wine red where the branches lean over a creek. Shade-grown leaves often stay green and yellow longer; sun-exposed leaves go the brightest red. Anthocyanin pigments produce the red as chlorophyll breaks down. The same chemistry colours sugar maples in New England, but vine maple's small palmate leaf scatters the light differently.

— where
United States · Cascade Range, Washington
— 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.
at the lake
Snoqualmie Pass
mountain pass
at the lake
Mount Baker
stratovolcano
at the lake
Mount Rainier National Park
national park
N
Vine maple peak red October
Snoqualmie Pass
Mount Baker
Mount Rainier National Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Vine maple peak red October — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Acer circinatum, a small native maple of the Pacific Northwest. It grows in the understory beneath Douglas-fir and western hemlock and rarely exceeds 25 feet tall.

Typically the second and third weeks of October in the western Cascade foothills, after the first cold nights and before the Pacific storms strip the leaves.

Low to mid-elevation trails on the west side of the Cascades, especially around Snoqualmie Pass, the Mountain Loop Highway, and the lower trails in Mount Rainier National Park.

Anthocyanin pigments build up as chlorophyll breaks down each autumn. Sun-exposed vine maple leaves produce more anthocyanin and run scarlet, while shaded leaves stay yellower.

Yes. It is native from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon into northern California, with the densest stands on the west slope of the Cascades.

Vine maple is smaller, with palmate seven-to-nine-lobed leaves and a low, often leaning habit. Big-leaf maple grows tall with much larger leaves and turns later in the season.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. October vine maple is a defining color of the Washington trail year. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads as a hiker's calendar piece.

Mountain-modern interiors, Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms, and warm Minimalist spaces with oak and wool. The scarlet and forest green sit beside leather and brass without competing.

Yes. Scarlet, garnet, and oxblood are central to the Maximalist palette. The tile reads as a real October understory rather than a generic autumn print.

A single Large fits well above a console. Above a standard sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the colour across the wall; a 9-tile Mural is the full-wall option.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-tolerant, suitable for a powder room or a backsplash behind the range.

A microfibre cloth and plain water. No abrasive cleaners and no glass spray. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the atlas; nothing here is licensed in from elsewhere.

— if this one stayed with you

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