This is a place that it is hard to believe exists until you see it in person.It’s a mill tucked away in Minnesota that is a perfect time capsule thats been running for over a century.Many of their employees are multi generation.Weve got some exciting news & wanted to start by re-sharing the story of the partnership we did with @faribaultmill.A few years ago they featured us as one of three limited edition blankets in their Storied Explorations blanket collection.We were honored then and even more so now to work with them again on 3 new camp goods.HOW ITS MADE IS HOW IT MATTERS.Everything we make here (& in this little film) we made with good friends. Long after the products are sold, what we always end up remembering the most is how it got made.This BTS film was made by David & I car tripping with @NathanMichael to explore the factory & film the blankets.It was made by sneaking away at lunch with my co-author of The Forever tree @donnalukascp ..It was made during late nights editing with long time camp friend @erikvlaw @optimuspost .It was made by recording the voice of a friend from @OgilvyChicago, a gentleman named Paul Norris who worked alongside the legend #DavidOgilvy.So even though this film itself could now be considered old (Charlie has doubled in size since we made the bed in last scene).can’t help feel nostalgic for all the friends who donated their time to make this film with us.Also feeling nostalgic for this historic old Minnesota Mill, (where as I type this, they are hand stitching the Wandawega x Faribault Mill embroidered labels on.)They’re on the truck to us next week & we cant wait to share the stories behind them.The words in the film (in two parts)History is woven in layers.History is made by human hands.History takes it’s sweet damn time.Its handed down from your great-grandmother.Its unwrapped as a gift on your wedding day.Its delivered on the day your first born arrives.History knows the difference between trendiness & timelessness.History knows whats important in life doesnt change.History wraps us in warm comfortable familiarity.”…Thank u: @bbildsten @michberthiaume !
Thanks for voting!From our last post yall picked Cedar Tavern for the new name of our Airstream lounge..So our friend @ChesPerry from @RightwaySigns came back to christen it with his brush to make it official!.Then we had the new green striped awning custom made (based on the original awning fabric that we found in old photos of Wandawega from the 1940s).Next addition for this little corner of camp is a cool vintage ping pong table that we just salvaged from a historic old lake estate that was getting gutted nearby.What are we missing ?Do we add some string lights for night lounging? A croquet set? Ive recently been gushing over vintage badminton racquets and feather birdies (maybe a little court?) (…Right now the cedar tavern sits by the horseshoe pit and overlooks the sports field with the diff courts – shuffleboard, volleyball,basketball & tennis).What would you add to outfit this?Ideas Welcome!…The Cedar Tavern has been coming in handy as a hang out space / puppy palace and Davids home office these days.
STAYING PUT.If we just met you, you prob missed our earlier confession that we had a big reality check this year.EVERY scheduled event = cancelled by Covid.Not knowing how long wed close for left us all sorts of scared. (The kind of scared that makes you either hunker down or double down).Fast forward 5 mos: suddenly surrounded by some of the most inspiring creatives that we could ever hope to meet. A few we’ve been fortunate to spend time with here in last 2 weeks: new creative friends of all ilk from artist @AmandaDemme to Nashville pwrhouse Ben @strategichospitality, Gen & Ben @pencilandpaperco . to baller @benleberofficial & old friends/neighbors @mindysegal, Glen @Wilco, Cody & fam @Struggle_inc, Jake @threadless, @landandseadept, dear creative maven joey @SOHOhouse & fam (+ a dozen more tagged here – damn caption limits!)They all built their livelihoods on their creativity, sheer willpower & elbow grease.Esp in this time of distancing, we dont take for granted standing across a campfire to connect w/folks we look up to. They make us more inspired, creative, motivated, hopeful (& speaking personally, better at my day job as a creative)It took a pandemic for us to find out that staying put doesnt mean you cant move forward. (3rd shot: yesterdays trip to ship out our 1st week’s camp store orders!).Stillness in quarantine helped us focus & absorb the creative energy coming in through these gates every day. And were here for it.These folks are teaching us by example.To look for creativity outside of your day job / industry / bubble. They help us stay inspired, stay grateful & stay put.Try to surround yourself w creative friends – so you are right where you need to be when that boomerang of good vibes you’ve been sending out into the world comes back to you.Throwing out good vibes to all y’all from our little lake cabins in woods.Love,Camp+ our comment below.. @amypoturnicki @sanborncanoe
Charliegirl. Cant. Get. Enough. of them. .She wants to keep them all, and we kinda do, too..But dont worry, Frankie – you are still the OG puppy around here; you may think youre getting replaced with a younger little black lab (or 9) but you will always be our
HOW are they already a month old ?! And how is it possible that they can already outweigh Charlies own birth weight by +5 pounds ?These 9 babies know how to eat.They will all go to their adoptive (friends & family) homes a few weeks from now, so we are squeezing in all the puppy snuggles we can before that. (Neighbor Joe, their owner, brings them to camp with their mom Bailey during the day to get play time in the grass) its our dream place to work with furry coworkers like this….Their mom is Bailey who lives next door and basically grew up here at camp (she was here with us while we snapped these pics of her pups, just before their nap time – which is just about all the time!)
COVID cancellation Last minute avails for week of 8/8 30% off (maybe the only silver lining of a pandemic is we suddenly have room)For this 2020 summer, because we had to cancel all of our “all-camp” events, we now have openings in the calendar for small groups – (yes, you can come with just one other person if you want, you just have extra rooms to bounce around in)Every week for the next 2 months, we are going to share out the remaining spots open for the following week, at a discount weve never extended before.So this is our weekly announcement for openings left for this coming next week:We have 3 avails, (2 day minimum) for either the top or the mid level of the bunkhouse& the rustic camping cluster (Its first come first serve DIY booking at wandawega.com/visit)(Were making this price cut so that folks can come in smaller COVID-FRIENDLY “quaranteam” groups – (sorry, this is not single rooms for single nights). social distancing is our first priority, so we have shut off some of our cabins entirely for the season, so we can host fewer, smaller, separate groups for “self-guided” camp stays.This percentage off will not show up on our Airbnb listings, when you reserve make sure you mention in your message the Instagram last minute booking discount, then we will reduce the rate for you.Love, Camp W ..Photos by @bobcoscarelli and @mattsheffler
Good morning, campers! Reporting from the treehouse headquarters..Photos by our fav shooter @bobcoscarelli for Chicago Home & Garden Magazine of the talented treehouse builders @bladonconner @shaun_oa @tylerjordanpeterson @teichelman1973 @finney____finney
Does anybody else remember these?Our newest addition to the camp store is the favorite summercamptradition.Each come in sets of 2 for you and your summer BFF, with tiny metal tags(one side reads : Est 1925. the other reads : CAMP WANDAWEGA).We have four patterns, mounted on cards that include the meaningof all the colors & the wishing promise behind friendship bracelets. “No matter where we go,no matter what we do,youll always be there for me,and ill always be there for you”As tradition goes, one gives a friendship bracelet tosomeone who has a wish. Wear it until it’s worn outand falls off & the wish is said to come true.COLOR SYMBOLISMRED love, passion, fire, joy, energy.ORANGE pacifism, sexuality, fire, energy.YELLOW sunshine, hope, beauty, jealousy, summer, gold, money.GREEN youth, nature, hope, harmony, eternity, life, envy, good luck.L BLUE friendship, harmony, the sky, water, tranquility, calmness.D BLUE calmness, tranquility, harmony, eternity, purity.WHITE purity, freedom, truth, independence, light.BLACK magic, energy, fearlessness, catharsis.first photo:of @tylerjordanpeterson &@teichelman1973 by @sriedel14 Last photo : @thewanderboys ..*sorry, campers, our tree rope swings are no longer unlocked for guests (it takes more athletic ability that folks realized & we want to protect people from themselves)
Our Nashville designer duo crush stayed with us last week (and now we are fighting the urge to redecorate everything)Gen & Ben Sohr are the team that designs @reesewitherspoon brands and spaces, and has created some of our fav places & products…. (and also hosts a design camp?!) be still my heart. first couple pics from their visit, the rest from their feed . @pencilandpaperco @gensfavorite @benjaminsohr thanks for paying us a visit and alllll the inspo
Our fav new addition to our little shop: CAN A VIEW INTO THE PAST MAKE YOU FEEL:A: Happier?B: More confident?C: Connected to others?YES. (Wikipedia explains the science of how)Keychain peepholes were the original instagram. Little color slides inserted into plastic tubes you hold up to light to see your picture instantly. They hit peak popularity in old school resorts & tourist spots in the ’50s & ’60s. But are now only an artifact of a time we cant go back to.You can’t much find them anymore (which is why we love them so much & have been on the relentless pursuit of the primary opaque colors with gold metallic imprint)Our set features 3 iconic scenes of Wandawega’s days gone by: 1: the RED one:Annual traditional flag-raising on the basketball court when David was a toddler. The court still stands, flag still waves, 50 years later.2: the WHITE one:Davids parents (Herb & Anna)in their twenties swimsuit clad on the beach. (They’ve been together since they were teenagers and just celebrated 54 years of marriage). They still spend time on this beach together all summer, now with Charlie.3: the GREEN one:Herb & Anna in the 1970s, playing shuffleboard & drinking beer with friends. (We encourage all guests to embrace these activities today.)The Science says:Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.[1] The word is from the Greek work meaning “homecoming”or “ache. Nostalgia is associated with a yearning for the past, its personalities, possibilities, and events. Recollections of one’s past are usually important events, people one cares about, and places where one has spent time.FUNCTIONS: …AS A COMFORT: Reliving past memories may provide comfort and contribute to mental health. thinking about the past ‘fondly’ actually increased perceptions of physical warmth. …TO IMPROVE MOOD: Nostalgia can be connected to more focus on coping strategies and implementing them, thus increasing support in challenging times.I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them. – Andy Bernard
