Charliegirl loves books – so whenever her school has a book fair, she always goes searching the stacks in hopes to find her book (The Forever Tree, about her grandpa & camp treehouse) – but always comes back empty handed. (It turns out that you have be selected by book fairs & clubs to get to be included.) .So we were excited to get the call that after all these years. Scholastic has finally picked it up! .Chances are youve run into @scholasticinc at some point. Most of us read their magazines in school, or bought a book at one of their book fairs. (Or if you’ve readHarry PotterorThe Hunger Games, you know their books). From super humble beginnings building its business in schools its now one of the biggest children’s book publishers in the world – still known for school book fairs/clubs &old school classroom mags like Science World.So Heres to hoping that the next time her school has their book sale, shell be able to find her little book tucked in the stacks too.In the meantime, grateful this Thanksgiving for @Target – where we know we can get turkey stuffing, paper plates & her book: https://tinyurl.com/romly8f ..Thankful for:.Co-authored by @donnalukecp .illustrated by @nicolaslaterEdited by Phoebe Ye at @RandomHouse.Exterior treehouse shot by @bobcoscarelli.Interior by @bennettyoungThe folks who matter most – our dear friends, treehouse builders & forever inspiration: @shaun_oa @tylerjordanpeterson @aaron_bladon @teichelman1973 @finney____finney
GIVEAWAY TIME !! For Thanksgiving holiday week- to say thank you to our community & the launch of Wandawega MUK LUKS… we’re giving them away.TO WIN:Tag 2 friends (to follow us) we’ll pick a winner on Thanksgiving Day and DM to get your size & pattern choices for you & two friends.#Thankful#Community#WarmFeetWarmHeartsForAll.Or-if you just want some now, visit @freepeople website and search wandawega ..This thanksgiving holiday- we are counting our blessings, and also hoping for more strength in unity and acceptance of all. .Because for all our differences, we are one people, stronger together than we could ever be alone. Thats always been our story. We are big and vast and diverse; a nation of people with different backgrounds and beliefs, different experiences and stories, but bound by our shared ideal that no matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or how and who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny. -Barack Obama ..- and respect the indigenous cultures whose footwear was the inspiration for all modern Muk Luks- well also be making a donation to American Indian College Fund.1st photo of Charliegirl by @bobcoscarelli Stockisr inquiries, DM is for wholesale & bulk order Info.More at #wandawegacustoms
Here is Anna Hernandez, circa 1974 a young Latvian refugee, and mother of two. On the beach (w/Herb when camp was still owned by the Catholic Church) -at the American Flag raising at camp (with David)When these photos were taken,Davids mom was in her early 20s.And we were impeaching our president for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress.In this era: Steve Jobs debuted Apple Ralph Lauren was leading fashion Heart throbs were Lauren Hutton & Dolly Parton Queen topped Song chartsHit TV show was Charlies Angels A Star Is Born (Streisand & Kristofferson) premieredHeres to celebrating timeless classics (one being @annabikulcshernandez on her belated birthday) who still spends her weekends on this same beach, now with her granddaughter.And (in hopes of History repeating itself)… A wish for her on her birthday – that we will once again bring honor and justice back to the country, and support immigrants, refugees, equality, gay rights, womens rights and human rights as a whole. #JUSTICEforALLWe have never stopped flying the American Flag– but during the courageous testimony of this weeks impeachment hearings, its a reminder of Annas story (and all of the other refugees & Immigrants) What makes someone AMERICAN isnt just blood or birth but allegiance to our founding principles and faith in the idea that anyone- from anywhere- can write the next chapter of our story. – Barack Obama
Launching today at @FREEPEOPLE! Frankie is not excited about this..Wandawega MUK LUKS Camp socks, from Wisco.Weve been working on this forever & never thought wed 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, Iupiat, or Yupik peoples. But you know what we mean : ) So began an obsession that would take us to the Muk Luk Museum in Princetonto the family who founded them to the archives of patterns in Milwaukee. 2 yrs later, theyre here!A Short Story of Muk Luks:1 9 1 1 : RELIABLE KNITTING WORKS, A FAMILY- RUN BUSINESS, FORMED IN MILWAUKEE.1 9 3 9 : MARTHA HIESTAND OF PRINCETON, WI BEGAN KNITTING MUK LUK SOCKS WITH SOLES FOR HER FAMILY. SOON, FOLK FROM ALL OVER DEVELOPED A LOVE FOR THEM. WHEN SHE COULDN’T FILL ALL THE NEW ORDERS, SHE SOUGHT THE HELP OF LOCAL WOMEN.1 9 4 3 : WITH 11 NEW EMPLOYEES, HANDMADE BY HIESTAND WAS BORN -SHE TRADEMARKED MUK LUKS FOR KNITTED WONDERS.1 9 5 0 : THE HANDCRAFT CO. GREW TO 400 EMPLOYEES.1 9 7 2 : “RELIABLE OF MILWAUKEE ACQUIRED ‘HANDCRAFT CO.’ & ‘MUK LUKS SLIPPER SOX’ WERE BORN. NOW A FAMILY BUSINESS FOR 4 GENERATIONS.DEETS:- Gold quick-stamp sole stamp (remember your childhood footie PJs?)- Handy History of Muk Luks pamphlet tucked inside- Gift Box with the How-To instructions & care guide.Heads up: These arent virgin cashmere from a family farm, hand-knit by artisans w/ leather soles. They dont come with a lifetime guarantee. What they are is an earnest reproduction of the patterns of our parents childhoods. So the only other place youll find these specific throwbacks are from vintage dealers. (But those wont come in our camp box w/ instructions for use) #HowToUseYourSocks@freepeople search Wandawega .Lmtd quantity, stockists, DM us.
This started with an obsession in 2015 to find the perfect diner mug. (The kind you see in old school roadside cafes, that havent been improved on in a century). They earned the nickname hammer mugs because they are virtually indestructible you could literally drive a nail with them. This made them the go-to in every blue collar diner, where they could survive multiple drops from overworked waitresses and overtired truckers. Our search led us to a company thats been making them for since 1871. After an introduction by our friend @maxwastler the folks at Homer Laughlin China dug up their Green Bay Stripe paint color from the archives, and took the time to school us on the difference between traditional underglaze plus real hand pinstriping, versus the fast & cheap methods most employ today in the factories of China. Its not cheap. Or fast. Or easy. (As you can see in the BTS film). We might be crazy, but weve convinced ourselves that a swig of straight black coffee somehow tastes better out of one of these guys. (Try it when you visit us next – Some of you will think were just OCD, but some may get why we spent years obsessing on how to get this right. ).But, thanks in advance for refraining from driving nails with them were determined for them to last another 100 years, so we dont want to push our luck. Thank you, @hlc_dinnerware. Thank you for every last one of those hand glazed, finished, pinstriped plates, platters, bowls, cups & mugs. It helps makes us feel like weve just taken camp one step closer to what it must have felt like to have dinner at the Wandawega Hotel back in its glory days. Grateful to know there are still American companies like yours employing 4th generations artisans 140 years later, and thriving. Photos @davidtsay @nathanmichael
When November thinks its December. too soon In 2019..Tb to when we built a bar in a canned ham on a frozen Lake Wandawega with @davidtsay For @betterhomesandgardens With @mindysegal And @mrskellymariet .#thermosthursday
Congrats to our friend @davidtsay on a beautiful new book of photography .(…you had us at gold foil).Good times with the crew for this @betterhomesandgardens shoot with @fleurinc @mindysegal @hotchocolatechicago @mrskellymariet @cargo_north
Wandawega Wanderboys .In the midst of this early season snowstorm, were dreaming of summertime & this amazing group of humans who remind us all to let our true colors shine..From the @thewanderboys post after we hosted them in August :.How do you describe that feeling when youre able to be the epitome of who you truly are while being fully supported by everyone around you? What do you get when you have no fear of ridicule, no reluctance to show your true colors, no worries if someone will like you or not? How can you explain what youre experiencing when you own and harness your power, having permission to shine a light in every corner of who you are knowing that, no matter what, youve got a friend right by your side? Were not sure there is a word for it but we know it when we feel it, the spiritual reaction we experience at that exact moment when weve all come together, letting our guard down and shedding the protective barrier weve needed our entire lives. To live life a little differently, a little more tenderly and consciously is empowering. Having someone to dry your tears, to fix yo wig, pick you up or help bring you back down to earth when you need a little grounding is a pretty good feeling. Youve got a brother, a sister, a mother in each other. You can call it a chosen family though sometimes it feels like the universe has chosen us and brought us together, letting us know were not alone and we got you, Sis. We say thank you a lot though the phrase seems to strengthen over time. As we continue to dig a little deeper, were constantly finding more reasons to give thanks. .Thank you to our returning Wander Boys, our new Boys & our soon-to-be Boys for believing in us and for believing in each otherThank you to our friends & allies for your support in making these trips possible, allowing Boys to go who may not otherwise have the opportunity. As we celebrate our 2-year birthday, thank you to everyone who has supported us from the moment this idea was born and to everyone weve met along the way weve enjoyed every twist, turn, peak and valley. Remember, wherever you wander, #WanderWithPride .@kings.camera
Most people don’t know where we found our little Sterlingworth Cabin (or where it’s name came from)To some behind-the-scenes footage – when (rhe publisher of our camp resurrection book Found Free & Flea ) asked us to document rescuing this old thing (along with some other cabin moving projects). ….This is when I almost fell off the roof while trying to master the fine art of the roofing shingle tear-off. I learned that work boots are a far better choice than wellies to scale heights. (Also, the task of ripping out 60 year old moldy carpeting & asbestos ceiling tiles is something we wish on no one, ever). THE BACKSTORY:It was once part of a collection of sleeping cottages that bordered the shores of neighboring Lauderdale Lakes. Back in the 30s, it was one of many rental cabins that were part of the majestic (now burned down) Sterlingworth Hotel. (Last photos – wish it was still there – we heard from the local elders that it had an amazing supperclub that could seat 200)…First photos @bennett_young
