Wandawega Blog Archive

We finally cracked the case of whos been sneaking around Camp after hours, vandalizing little things.We installed a trail cam – heres what it found: A jittery squirrel looking guilty of something. raccoon Fantastic Mr. Fox full-on turkey gang momma dear with her baby possum (muskrat??)An 8 point Buck a lost house cat (that I want to adopt and put in dresses and had feed snacks & binge Netflix with)- Scroll to the end for the real culprits

October 23, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

They tied the knot!!Congrats to our very own Dept. of Creative Endeavors @nathanbobey and his lovely new bride (also our friend & camp neighbor) @littletacobelle .We cant imagine a more special way to close out the final season of our centennial year than celebrating these two amazing humans. (Also- I cant believe they trusted me to be their minister) Some thank-yous from the groom himself :Feeling overwhelmed with love and gratitude. As someone who never really imagined having a wedding wedding, I somehow ended up having a perfect one. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and especially to @littletacobelle for putting up with me on a day to day basis and agreeing to keep doing it for a while! Love youThank you to @mindysbakery and @__all_together_now_ Thank you to @lex_stein &@rachelsperspective for helping us document it allThank you to @alaniz_matt for showing up despite his various illnesses and ailmentsThank you to the weather for being perfect

October 22, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

Hard to believe this old camp weve been fixing up for the past couple of decades (a weekend and cabin at a time) has somehow turned into a corner where brands come to shoot to tell their own stories -( @topdrawershop came out and shot this one) the same place we spend every waking moment patching geriatric pipes/ roofs/ drainage ends up in campaigns for fancier than us brands like Coke, Jim Beam, Harley, Abercrombie, Lands End and and and -Under the surface of glossy pics- its all still very much held together by duct tape & the obsessive need to continually re-decorate / organize / try to keep the place standing 100 years in. Dunno what the next century looks like- just happy to still be here now. Photography by our pal @nathanmichael

October 21, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

Tomorrow, for Design Chicago at @themartshowrooms, Ill have the honor of moderating a conversation with @alfredoparedesstudio the 34-year creative director of Ralph Lauren, now author of Alfredo Paredes: At Home, and the visionary behind a new collection with @kravet1918.To say Im humbled doesnt come close.Im admittedly (not even remotely) an interior designer just someone endlessly inspired by the worlds that real designers create especially Alfredos.For 35 years, his work at Ralph Lauren helped define an entire language of American design that Ive been obsessed with: cinematic, soulful, timeless.Since founding his own studio in 2019, hes continued to create some of the most beautiful, inspiring restaurants, homes, and stores in the world.So how does an eighth-of-a-star place like Camp end up sitting across from someone like that?Maybe because Alfredo is also deeply human.He finds beauty in the unloved things from homes to objects found in far-flung flea markets and transforms them into something extraordinary.That makes him so relatable.What I find most inspiring is that his work gives permission to people like me those who arent designers and work with thrift-store budgets to believe we too can create spaces full of character.He reminds us to embrace patina over perfection, and story over pedigree. A few pics here of some of my favorite spaces hes created and a few from our Camp world, where story and imperfection still guide everything we try to make.Over the years, our little Camp has somehow found its way into pages and places we never could have imagined.Each of those moments reminds me that design doesnt have to be perfect it just has to tell a story.Sometimes the most inspiring spaces are simply the ones layered with the stories we weave into them through the objects we find and love.Tomorrow, I get to sit across from one of the greats to talk about his book, his journey, and his way of seeing the world.Grateful, honored, and honestly a little in awe.

October 8, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

My phone just served up a batch of photos from this same window back in October 2010.honestly, it stopped me.Almost nothing looks different.The dock. The canoe. Davids beat-to-hell puffer vest.That same crazy gold light on the lake.Time stands still here in the weirdest way.But these pics also remind me what doesnt.Two of the souls in here (Fernando & Frankie) arent with us anymore.Seeing their faces again hit meFall does that it glows for a minute, then moves on.Every fall, these two find their way backin these old photos my phone always serves back up, in stories we tell over & over & overin the little things the season leaves behind.now, as we close out Camp Wandawegas hundredth summer photos like these hit different.Theyre a reminder that history keeps repeating itself here- & all the simple things that somehow never change- even when they do..R.I.P. old friends

October 6, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

Thank you, Chef(s)And @rikkieclov for Capturing these 3 fleeting days of cooking, friends and helping us remember why we are keeping this place standing after 100 years .Its the quiet after the storm minutes that weve learned to appreciate more and more. @stockmfgco @juanmanjuanchicago

October 1, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

The bike in our window took 28 years to get here.Putting a motorcycle in your front window is usually some kind of (arguably played out) design statement. In our case, it was just bad mechanics.Back when David and I were still in the just met you awkward stage, one of our first dates was at a Christies motorcycle auction. Thats when we spotted her in the cornerparked far from the nice collector bikes.. 1976 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi SS125. Theyd shined her up to try to get attention.Nobody gave her a second look, let alone a bid.$400 bucks.Naturally, we brought her home. Naturally, she wouldnt start.Looking back, it was a weird move for two people who barely knew each otherbuying something broken together. But that little Harley became our first commitment, our first project purchase. We didnt know it at the time, but it was the start of a lifetime of finding and fixing up old things together bikes, cabins, and eventually, a while run down camp For the next 10 years that bike sat in our living room while we failed to get her to fire. She became a heavy coat rack. Most folks dont know we used to be motorcycle nerds. Not collectorsjust serial buyers, sellers & traders. (until a crash at camp ended with a titanium pin in my jaw & me retiring my helmet).Wed just bought Wandawega, so our weekends shifted from trail riding to cabin rehabs.Flash forward another decade. My brother-in-law Adam (a real mechanic, unlike us) took pity and hauled the bike home, 5 hrs south. Our deal: if he could start it, it was his. An hour after pulling into his garage, our phone rangnot Adams voice, just the throttle revving. For the next decade, he, my sis, & their kids kept the cobs blown out. Flash forward again to last month, They came back- our now 6 ft nephew Clay showed up at our new Bureau of Tourism with a delivery: our first date bike. She slid right into the window like shed been waiting for that spot all along.Shes not dcor. Just a reminder: some things you think youve lost have a way of circling back.turns out commitment doesnt always start with a ring. Sometimes it starts with a $400 Harley that wont start.

September 28, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

Tucked inside the walls of 1429 West Grand Avenue was a forgotten clue to one of Chicagos greatest immigrant success stories.Now home to the Wandawega @bureauoftourism , this 1881 building launched the career of Louis Kuchurisson of Greek immigrants and eventual Hall of Fame baker. When his father died, young Louis went to work to support his family, driving a horse and wagon to deliver bread door-to-door. By 12, his grit earned him a promotionoff the streets and into the kitchenwhere he learned to bake on the very enamel brick wall oven that stood inside Atlas Baking Company here on Grand Avenue.From there, Louiss determination carried him further. He went on to purchase other bakeries across the city, expanding his reach and refining his craft. Eventually, in a full-circle moment, he returned to the very bakery where he had learned as a boyAtlasand bought the company outright.With help from researchers at @chicagomuseum, we uncovered turn-of-the-century plot drawings showing exactly where that oven once stood. During demo, we revealed the oven wall again and left it exposed as the backdrop of our spacea living reminder of Chicago grit + immigrant hustle.Kuchuris grew Atlas into East Balt Commissary, operating in 14 countries and supplying more than 9,000 McDonalds worldwide. His vision and perseverance earned him a place in the 2009 Baking Hall of Fame, and in 2017 the company was sold to Grupo Bimbo for $650 million. What began with a 12-year-old immigrant bootstrappers determination has now provided opportunities and security that his great-grandchildren can still reap the benefits of todaya lasting testament to his grit.It all began here, with a boy who went to work young and learned his trade by 12 on a built-in oven at 1429 West Grand Avenueproof that the biggest stories often start in the unlikeliest of places. And fittingly, part of this backstory is featured in the latest issue of @ediblechicago , which devoted three full pages to the Wandawega Bureau of Tourism (and whats baked into the walls)(Next up: uncovering the story behind the sign we found wrapped up in the garage- last pic)

September 25, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

Success! Thank you to all of our guests and collaborators that made our first Wandawega Creative Class at the @bureauoftourism so rad Extra special thanks to our instructor, @thestitchgawd, for putting on such an amazing class, and to @drinkgardenista for providing us all with delicious (and appropriately green) cocktails @taylortookthese + @nathanbobey..@scottiecramer @do312

September 14, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram