Wandawega Blog Archive

6:00 am yesterday we woke up to blanket that had settled over the lake (minutes later – it lifted and was gone… ) the forecast had called for rain (we where scrambling under magazine deadline shot list- and then the sky opened up and it was a good day with good friends @cargo_north and bts w/ @bobcoscarelli last shot )

August 28, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

(( zoom in )). Today on set with @bobcoscarelli many surprises for all: Charlie had loooots of questions after this spontaneous burst of affection from our young new camp mascot Bailey & @cargo_north s Jane. ???

August 26, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

The top 10 things to see if you jump an Amtrak to Washington : (72 hours in DC: checking out some of the tourist attractions that weve taken for granted) 1 // VISIT Lincoln & thank him for reminding us what a real president stands for. 2// SEE heroin for sale still in jars at oldest apothecary in America. (Photo 1) 2 // WITNESS the truth at National Native American Museum. 4 // DRINK at the first tavern in the America, Gadsbys. 5 // SAMPLE the wall color in Martha Washingtons bedroom for new camp inspiration. 6 // SLEEP in a historic church-turned hotel (The Line D.C.). 7 // STAND at The same spot MLK did & recite lines from his speech. 8 // HANG in front of the White House (to support the anti family separation protesters). 9 // EAT in the Georgetown diner booth where JFK proposed to Jackie O. 10 // PRAY in George Washingtons pew at Alexandrias Christ church.The single most important place / person thing we wanted Charlie to see – so she can understand the inspiration for Camps Lincoln Room: “IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER” ** not recommended Bonus stop** 11 // STEAL a wheelchair at 1 am from Detroit terminal to cart your un-wakable 7-year old to a glamorous airport hotel because your flight in DC got delayed twice before you circled Ohare for an hour, eventually running out of fuel & landing in Motor City instead (next time: $100 Amtrak train adventure from Chi to DC). Was in D.C. for work and honored to be serving on the creative advisory board for the new National Childrens Museum – so grateful to use it as an excuse to squeeze in a couple of old school sight-seeing days.

August 24, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

LITTLE KNOWN SECRET: A few years ago, on our mission to find & save little cottages – we started cold-calling scout camps to see if they had any tear downs slated for the wrecking ball. Luckily- Camp Juniper Knoll (just 3 miles away) answered our call. The girlscouts have more camps & buildings than they can afford to maintain- so we were invited to come take a look- they had an old outhouse that was about to be demolished. It was buried deep in a section of abandoned woods. As soon as we saw it, we recognize the twisted saddle (‘butterfly’) roof as the work of architect Harry Weese. ** Weese worked alongside Ralph Rapson, Florence Knoll & Charles Eames… and is best known for his Time life building, Washington Metro, Metro Correctional Center, & our fav: “Shadowcliff”in Wisco.** After much moving drama- We got her to camp & converted it to a 2-room showerhouse. Once we had her set- David’s mom recognized it…It turns out that 60 years ago she was a camper at Juniper Knoll- this little wood shack with the tin roof was no stranger. We learned that Harry had re-designed much of the camp in the 50s, with its epic open air dining hall, (sadly, recently demolished). No matter how humble, we appreciate architecture of all kinds, and are happy that even a little shed can have a bit of historical significance. Undoubtably his most humble of ‘buildings’ now has a second life. When Harry designed a temporary pit toilet as a prototype for his roofline concepts he surely never imagined that someday it would be documented by the State Historic society. // shots: harry with #miesvanderrohe , at work, the bldg plans & blueprints of juniper knoll lodge Thanks, Harry!

August 16, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

UNDERGROUND WANDAWEGACamp has a room with a seedy underbelly.If you walk in the front door of the lodge- and head straight through the pool room & bar, youll find a little room in the back with a trap door in the floor (currently under the bed). A narrow staircase leads you down to what was once a secret booze & gambling room during prohibition. The researchers doing the documentation for the Historic Registry found so many newspaper articles about the raids- (including nickel slot machines folks would play down there). One local who went by Charlie (in his 90s at the time, now gone for over a decade) came over one day and told us about how people who wanted to leave quickly would exit the upstairs bar, to the trap door through the floor- to this room below- and exit out the one exterior door that led to the original 45-step staircase that would take you down to the lake, to the old pier. From there, you could hop a rowboat to the other side of the lake, to the opposite beach and parking lot to make an escape (from the law or your wife looking for you). The Staircase is still there.We still call this room The Rathskeller, but it is now our workshop. It still has the tin ceilings (& we found a working slot machine for old times sake). We keep the workshop stocked with deadstock hardware for camp repairs. // current photos by @bennett_young

August 15, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

In theback in 1976, we didn’tknow that mom was taking us 5 kids shopping atyardsales and flea markets out of necessity. We just knew it was fun & that we were going to get ‘new’ school clothes & toys.One of the benefits of growing up sandwiched inbetween cornfields & hoglotsis that you becomeblissfully unaware of anything that sounds likeNeiman Marcus or Barneys. This morning, we found a postthat the a best of FleaMarketStyle mag is out, (it includes afeature on a$300 flea marketbudget makeover challenge i did for a porch at camp)I haven’t seen the issue yet, but it reminded me ofhow much fun it was growing uphitting upswap meets & junkstores. For as long as we can, we want to hold onto this little window whereCharlie remainsblissfully unaware of Barneys. my hope for her is the gift I got as a kid:Where her self worth is not defined by the name brand on the tag.She feels good decorating her room with hand me downs & flea market treasures.That she can grow updiscovering pride &confidence in how she candressherself,decorate her room-and express her creativity without needing the false endorsements of the pricetag.I secretly always hoped she would find the same joy in these ‘junkin’ excersions. And I’m hoping that she’ll still be up for this when she’s a teenager, in college & when im driving a rascal in some god-forsaken flea market when im too old to walk. This portrait of Charliegirl in her flea market finds by @bobcoscarelli. //// $300 challenge flea makeover porch before and after ///

August 10, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Mondays generally suck- but this one just got a littler -er. Just got a dream phone call from our dream Company: @Apple (the new Chicago riverfront flagship *swooon* ) This October, so excited to nerd out giving a talk on art, inspiration, passion projects & tools of creativity that help make dreams come true. ( stay tuned for deets ). Little acorns and their little dreams can grow into big oaks if we nurture them and give them the right tools

August 6, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

SEEKING PHOTOGRAPHER FOR BARTER: Folks come here and seem to gravitate to photographing & filming the same things (lake, treehouse, tipi). So its rare when someone looks for other things to focus their lens on (like the neglected corners & crevices that tell the oldest stories, but also hide camps darkest secrets).We were grateful to have the kind & talented soul @matt.scheffer with the lovely @anna.zajac__ pay us a visit – they found some of those out-of-the way moments…the backstops and backwoods. Back of house and back trailsour outhouse-turned-showerhouse.Sometimes what happens backstage are the things that define a place the most – hold its history & secrets, and define who we are – more than the art directed vingettes we labor over.We are grateful to have made a place where folks want to come & trade their talents with us. So we want to try something new and share the offer with our IG shooter friends: cabins for perspectives” — Matt’s photos are the catalyst that inspired us to take it a step deeper now.IF YOU ARE A PHOTOGRAPHER WHO IS INTERESTED IN BARTERING A CABIN STAY FOR YOU & FRIENDS: if youre into shooting the historic, unseen seedy underbelly of camp…. The prohibition-era liquor storage under the floor of the lodgethe hidden crawl space storage from the 20s under the hotelthe attic-turned-prop-house the trap door that leads to the gambling den beneath…. the attic dresser full of what we unearthed in the hillhouse renovation…the darker side of camp, dating back to its house of ill repute days, then shoot us your info.We love hosting creatives in exchange for the perspective that they can share through their lens. (we look forward to looking through all of the barter offers & books and getting back to the ones that we can accommodate this season- and maybe into fall season and winter :) Thank you, @matt.scheffer for sharing your perspective with us. We cant wait to share through your film as well.

August 4, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

TB: to that time Michael Cera sang us hallelujah’ & played it on our piano (that only had 12 working keys). Spent the day throwing all sorts of sharp objects with reckless abandon & spooning frankface till 2 am. fav moment is his reaction after sticking the landing (last shot in film) + @matthewg0re as a legit backup singer

August 3, 2018 • Published by Tereasa Surratt