Wandawega Blog Archive
Get ready! .We are nearing the freeze (which means its almost time to build the rink again)..So weve dragged the house skates out to inventory (does anybody know why I cant stop hoarding these ? And know anyplace that does bulk sharpening of vintage hockey skates?).Its time to decide on a lake vs field rink.(Anybody know the pros of building over a tennis court vs grass?).Weve got a handful of creative companies coming this season to do company winter outings- (and with winter rentals opening up)…. thinking about upping our game this year with stringing lights / benches / old school holiday playlist blasting on the PA system, a fire pit & a hot toddy station .Any ideas on what else should we add to make it more special?..Shots : @davidtsay for @betterhomesandgardens .
Metro Van Shop
THE TINIEST STOREFRONT. Asking our little camp delivery truck to pull double-duty. She’s decided that after nearly 70 years of loyal service delivering everything from bread to car parts, she now wants to be a Camp Canteen (so we spent the weekend stocking her with all of our favorite souvenir-y things) But we still need 5 more items before she can open her doors for y’all – to complete her ‘teensiest store’ inventory alphabet. Anybody have ideas that start with QUXYZ??? They can be little to fit in the antique vending machines or as as tall as 6’ – her…
Muk Luks x Wandawega
Wandawega MUK LUKS Camp socks, from Wisco. We’ve been working on this forever & never thought we’d get this excited about socks. It started with finding a vintage pair & our inability to find the same retro patterns anywhere – then tracing them back to their birthplace. (Of course, we mean the birthplace of the 20th century brand, not the birthplace of the original boots they were inspired by. That original birthplace would be somewhere in the Arctic, courtesy of the wonderful Inuit, Iñupiat, or Yupik peoples. But you know what we mean : ) So began an obsession that…
A Collaboration with Stock MFG
We’ve been working on a collaboration with our good friends at @stockmfgco …. creating a one-of-a-kind bag– and debuted it at @sohohousechicago Flea market event we hosted last weekend. ———➕DEETSTHE CAMP WANDAWEGA HARVEST BAG by Stock Mfg.This bag is for the forager. The hunter of vintage finds. The seeker who digs for things forgotten to give new life and purpose. It has been designed and created from artifacts found at Camp Wandawega. Everything has a story. There are many woven together in this bag, built to hold new ones. Go Find yours.➖EVERY GOOD STORY IS IN THE DETAILS:➖BODY: repurposed our tipi➖BASE: made from our…
Smokey Bear – 48 Hours in D.C.
When you only have 48 hrs in DC, these are the must-sees on a fall weekend:🍂🍁. 1. VISIT Smokey Bear exhibit at the Smithsonian National Zoo.2. SEE National Children’s Museum (thank you @crystalbowyer for the invite to serve on your experience board).3. GET a tour of the Capitol! (Grateful to our friend and fav news anchor @tanjababich for the private tour).4. STAY (CN Travellers World’s Best)Welcomed with surprise room welcome gifts at our crush hotel @thelinehotel thank you @ismatu.daramy . 5. EAT at the oldest (and best designed) saloon in D.C. @oldebbitt . 6. EXPERIENCE the Library of Congress (it was so surreal to see where our camps books are…
Company Retreats
Remember:What happens at camp…rarely stays at camp. We’ve hosted some corporate retreats here – some of them we’re not allowed to mention – but over the years we’ve found one common denominator:It’s always the ones you least suspectwho step up and go all Katniss on us at the archery range. It’s the unassuming guy who just announced his retirement who shows up with a new beard and a well-worn axe to split wood like Grizzly Adams. Never underestimate that introverted guy in IT’s ability to nail the hatchet bullseye first. Then there’s always at least one unsuspecting nice girl who’s…
Our 95th Birthday
Verified In two months, Camp Wandawega will celebrate its 95th anniversary. 15 years ago we found a small stack of old green brochures in a box in a storage closet. It described “Wandawega Lake Resort” as a place to “sleep the sleep of the just”… And a place to “enjoy taste thrills” at it’s supper club..Finding that little brochure would be the beginning of an obsession of collecting old Wisconsin tourism brochures every day since. We love them because – while the design and wardrobe may have changed – the activities they advertised have not. As it turns out, folks…
Our Latrines Get Cute
Does anyone else care about this but us? Prob not. (So this could admittedly be next level OCD for fellow detail design nerds)..For years I’ve been increasingly annoyed by having to stuff all the camp bathrooms with stacks of ugly modern-neon-colored-bad-font-TP-rolls. So after so much awkward (& admittedly entertaining) research of 1920s – ‘40s era toilet paper we decided to customize our own (who knew that it was invented in Wisco – helping Green Bay during the depression?) #randomtrivia . We love that the rolls back then had instructions “single service” (note: don’t try to use it twice). Decided to embrace useless…
Stock MFG
Hot off the cutting room floor 🔥 🎞. A few highlights from the @stockmfgco weekend with @makersmark@fattire .Good memories made by the world class Chefs from so many of our favorite restaurants came to cook on open fire (in the rain) and under the stars🌙@elchechicago & @lasirenachicago (John Manion)@honeybutterchiAndrew Brochu@mitocaya (Diana Davila)@rookietheband@metriccoffee + @virtuecider See the video here.