Katie Lofenberger paints a ceramic house inspired by Chicago architecture. (WTTW News)
Our towering city skyline gets all the media, but for the artist-husband duo behind Wonder City Studio, it’s local styles that make Chicago a place worth calling home.
“We are grown in Chicago,” said ceramic artist Katie Lofenberger. “But when we met, we were walking through the neighborhoods and looking at all the homes and buildings we felt like we were in awe of the architecture here.”
“With Chicago, the whole city, from border to border, it’s just beautiful,” said painter Phil Thompson. “I think to me, graystone is my favorite kind of house. You have the bungalow, you have the worker’s cottage. Those special styles, especially the kinda little unique ones in Chicago, really make the city sing.”
Phil Thompson works on an illustration (WTTW News)
Many of the cottages, three-apartment condos, and cottages lining Chicago’s neighborhoods have been enchanted, but Thompson and Laffenberger have made this enchantment immortalize their business. And Chicagoans particularly admire the city’s history and architecture, they say, makes Wonder City Studio a business that can only be home here.
“I feel like the reaction we’re getting in our work here is so special that you can just tell it resonates with people,” Laffenberger said.
The couple, who originally hails from “opposing corners” in Pennsylvania, met in 2006, when they were in graduate school. Laffenberger was pursuing a degree in fine arts and Thompson was studying international relations. Thompson credits Lauffenburger with inspiring him to take the leap into making art his work.
“Drawing has always been something I loved to do since I was a kid, it never seemed to be a good career path,” Thompson said. “So I think meeting Katie opened my eyes to admire some possibilities. We’ll have an exhibition [shows] Together and art shows, things like that. And so it kind of brought me back to the artistic path.”
Ceramics by Katie Lafenberger. (WTTW News)
Thompson began making required illustrations under the name Cape Horn Illustration. This year, Lauffenberger has made the jump herself. I left a job in digital media and returned to art full time, making custom ceramic planters for Chicago homes.
“It really looked like a natural thread that I could start making architecture ceramics too because we both love it so much,” she said. “And I find that people really like pieces that are functional and that are beautiful to match but also offer some uses around the home so they can have fun.”
“I think she has a much tougher job than I do, like figuring out, because I don’t have to worry about the back of the house,” Thompson added.
They honored the joint venture with one of Chicago’s many titles.
Phil Thompson works on an illustration (WTTW News)
“I think it’s one of the lesser-known nicknames in Chicago, but that sense of wondering is how we felt about the city, and so it really resonated with us,” Laffenberger said.
Like Wonder City Studio, Thompson and Lauffenberger—with some help from their dog Vincent—provide prints that capture not only the styles of the city’s homes, but Chicago’s landmarks and neighborhoods, and even a few selections from other, lesser cities. But their main line of business comes from commissions for home portraits and farmers.
It could be for a family home, it could be for a young couple moving into their first home,” Thompson said. “It’s kind of touching to know that you’re helping to memorialize someone and that this piece will probably be in their families for years to come.”
“What you always have is they tell you a story, like this is my grandmother’s house, and it’s been in the family for generations,” Laffenberger said. “Sometimes it’s frustrating when you feel like you connect with someone like that and that’s really art, right? It’s really special.”
Note: This story will be updated with video.