Somebody told us that we give too many Fs.too picky. finnicky. persnickety. Too obsessive.Its true.& its why were slow sometimes.Cause every. little. thing. matters.We sweat the small stuff.Our campers appreciate dry firewood thats local, seasoned, elevated, stacked in cords, comes with carrying totes & split for cooking, fireplaces & pits.They like charcoal that they dont have to shovel out or make another supply run for. Around here, this stuff is about as luxury as we get (along with our beer van stocked with PBR, our flower trolley & complimentary ice).We just finished our campers supply shed. Its a luxury by our standards, stocked with the essentials & some details that most folks will never notice :+ The axe strap is a vintage 1950s tooled belt.+ The hatchet is a 1970s BSA issue.+ The iron hooks that hold the bags are 1920s utility industrial hooks.+ The Brown is a Pantone match to National Park std issue paint.+ The signs are hand made on the templates on our sign router (the state parks use)+ The yellow Firewood cord totes from a Northwoods supply co. The guy who built this for is called Mike The Chicken Coop Guy. Hes built 3 structures for us now, none of them house hens.This type of woodrick is not a good investment if youre looking at economies of money & time.(The pre-built big box store plastic version may even work better ) But then we wouldnt have any details to labor over- and we wouldnt get to be called too much.99% of folks wont see this stuff, get it, or give a damn. But its that 1% that do that were here for.were always looking for those one percenters.AND NOW, SOME USELESS WOOD TRIVIA.rick is a description of the way a cord of wood is stacked. A cord is 4x4x8 feet, and a standard cord is piled in a 4×8-foot stack, or rick. Rick also refers to a stack of any other material, such as hay, left out in the open air. A rick or face cord of firewood is the same height and width as a full cord. The difference is that a full cord measures 4 feet deep, a rick or face cord 16×18.
Looking for inspiration ?Hit up @the_shopkeepers Then.Take a road trip.Last week we cross-crossed what felt like every inch of Sicily in a ridiculously small stick shift- Hitting up every back street, side street, tiny town and city- in search of inspiration in the form of tiny storefronts. Historic shops and their keepers.Soaking up how merchants show their wares.Their hand painted signs. Their cramped cafe tables.Little windows overflowing with merchAll fueled by the constant flow of espresso in impossibly tiny cups. There is a humility in these itsy-bitsy worn old store front windows layers of paint telling their stories of so many different lives and livelihoods theyve held over the decades.Wanna take a mental vacation ?You gotta go visit our daily obsession :@the_shopkeepers So what else are we up todriving all over Timbuktu ?Working on a long time dream, taking the long view, the long road- and loving the drive to get there. Taking our time in an old school, slow-as-hell tiny stick shift.
She-nan-I-gans.SHe nanegenz/noun INFORMAL* silly or high spirited behavior, mischief .Widespread camp shenanigans had birthed the friendships of manyThe folks at @jumpsuitagency have this whole thing down (this is the film that they made)
This Wednesday we welcome our first Artist in Residence – Chris Brown of Refueled magazine. We discovered Chris from his TedX talk : Curating as my craft. Chris crafts stories of heritage, community and the new-again DIY spirit. Hell spend time exploring, gathering inspiration and creating a piece at/for the SycamoreHouse (artist’s cabin). Photographer Steven Visneau@stevenvisneauphotography will capture every detail for a hardbound book/short film to be released in 2023.Chris came of age in the “cultural decade” of the 1960’s. His influences from that period – the music, the style, the art and media, all play a large role in his publication Refueled.Chris created his first magazine when he was eight years old. From those sheets of typing paper sprang a vision inspired by the large format photos of LIFE, the satirical vibe of MAD, and the people and times that surrounded him. From the beginning, he saw issues of Refueled more as personal journals rather than a magazine. Contained in its pages today are the people and subjects that inspire him – meaningful enough that he feels almost an obligation to share them with the world.With Refueled, Chris is providing us not only a window into great culture, but a peek into one man’s personal quest to make media itself an art form.Brown has spoken about indie publishing through prestigious events from TEDxandHOW Design Live. He appears in the Netflix exclusive documentary”Making of the American Man”, and contributed to the book”Men and Style; Essays, Interviews and Considerations”by David Coggins.If you love design, youre gonna want to follow him. There isnt a post that he makes that I dont end up rabbit-holing : @refueled.magazine
Welcome to the craft cabin Crafting parody courtesy of our friends at @jumpsuitagency OUR CRAFT CLASS OFFERING:In the fun planning phase for next season!Our revamped 2023 DIY craft projects & New visiting instructors run a very specific filter of embracing timely and timeless crafts (vs chasing the common trends that others repeat)OUR MISSION:Paying homage and respect to the past century of traditional summercamp arts and crafts. OUR INSPIRATION:Every scout camp in America for the past century has a craft cabin A right of passage for girls and boys. you would enter camp a novice, and leave an expert basket-making-loom-weaving-pottery-painting-jewelry-crafting scout ninja.So after many months of researching the most common crafts made at summer camps since 1920(The sign is from cover of a 1940s book of crafts) Weve sources deadstock craft kits, custom made craft kits, and impossible-to-find craft kitsto open our little craft cabin door. .A FEW THINGS WE WILL KEEP:Cut a Linocut printmakingGlaze a Terracotta potBuild a log cabin modelAssemble vintage pick up wood modelWeave a basketDesign a sand art bottleCreate an arrowBuild a fort towerDecorate a tipiPaint ceramicsString seed beed braceletMake a gods eyeString a bead necklaceLeather crafts: walletLearn knot tyingPrint a fish on rice paperMake an leather canoeStitch a leather necklace hbag * our all- new programming offerings and instructors will be announced in coming months – Stay tuned! Love & CampTereasa & David ..First pic @bobcoscarelli
Nice to meet you!We never want to assume that anybody cares to see our mugs hamming for the camera, but were told introducing yourself to new friends, followers, and guests at least once a year is the polite thing to do to.So here goes:David & Tereasa hereWe bought this nearly condemned camp 18 years ago to save it from becoming a trailer park.Or a gravel pit.(It was well on its way to both).We have a baby girl named Charlie whos 11 going on 16.And a dog (Frankie) whos 16.We are your Camp Directors.Investing every free dollar and minute (outside of our day jobs) to keep this nearly 100-year-old labor of love standing.We love saving old buildings.We love sharing camp with like minded creative folks.We love people who love roughing it.Youve never seen us post a selfie because weve always preferred to shine the spotlight on the contributions of other people that pass through this place.But we do want to extend a hand to the newcomer followers.Were small-ball mom & pop.We keep this place going on a boot string with a network of extended family and friends, and by supporting other local small business owner partners (including a few folks whove been with us since the beginning).We are here for:creative community.artists in residence.passion & purpose over profit.guests who are into being self-sufficient.We welcome all.But first require all to read ourManifesto of Low Expectations.If you can handle the reality of going to a campground that has no concierge services, nobody to carry your duffle bag to your tent, nobody to light your camp fire for you, nobody to hand you a business card or a room key..then you sound like our kind of camper.Our guests embrace the DIY spirit here & we only accommodate on first come, first serve.We cant figure out how weve ended up on these greatest lists, because the only thing we will admit were great at, is being honest about being no frills and DIY.If you are, too – then welcome to our home.Love,Tereasa & DavidDirectors, Proprietors, & Accidental Innkeepers.Est.1925
Geeking out so hard having @skottieyoung drawing in the cedar tavern last week!!Even if you arent a comic nerd, you may know him by the book @marvel made about him. he also wrote this thing called @deadpool Shots here he took of some of his BTS sketching.
All the hatchet throwing / hiking / beach hang / campfires / canoeing with the crew when they take over @blindbarber styleThis here is the film they shared
WE SURPRISES(Especially giving them away, like we are today)Today were announcing our new custom house coffee collab! We partnered with our Wisco neighbors, @nordskovcoffee to create something we like to share- a good cup.whats hidden inside, something every outdoor enthusiast needs. A tiny metal capped glass vialaffixed with our Camp Provisions labelsealed inside you’ll find one of four miniature, functional camp tools :* Working compass* Folding pocket knife* Hand-tied fly fishing lure* Pair of tiny dice The labels are hand stamped on 1950s deadstock manilla tags. Tucked inside are one of a limited edition postcard series we call AMERICAN STORIES: THE COFFEE DRINKERS – courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs We’re gifting a bag each to our #WandawegaHillhouse guests And giving a bag away to another coffee lover here. (Followers who tag a friend in their comment below- picking a winner this week)ABOUT THE WANDAWEGA COFFEE BLEND:Article: Whole Bean CoffeeProducer: Nordskov, Whitewater, WI Blend: CZYTasting: Praline, Cocoa, Candied Lemon Profile: Medium RoastAmount: 8oz / 227GProcess: VariousABOUT THE MAKER @nordskovcoffee SOURCING: “Our partners are coffee producers and importers that build their businesses around quality. They also positively impact society and the Earth we share. When you choose coffee from specialty roasters like Nordskov it helps make the coffee industry, one historically hard on people and planet, more just, resilient, and flavorful. You will only find specialty grade coffees at Nordskov. ROASTING: “Raw coffee beans with beautiful natural flavors are the starting point. We create a gentle roast profile for each coffee so you to taste the bean, not the roast. This is the Nordic style. It is a demanding approach that produces nuanced flavorful coffees & clean notes (fruity, nutty, spicy, sweet, herbal and/or floral) We tread lightly on the Earth.Our roaster is fueled by 100% electric power, produces very little CO2 and prevents smoke from entering the roast chamber, or the atmosphere. Better results; less impact”First 3 pics @stemsandforks Logos @joshuaminnich
We designed these for our bar,And now offer them to guests.Coaster obsession.Weve been collecting the antique ones for years around here. (We have a lot of bars here at camp and have always wanted our own coasters). But modern ones just not made the same (Theyre cheap and slick ) – which is why you can really only find the best old school designs in antiques shops anymore.So we called up our favorite print master – Gary at @accucolorplus in Milwaukee (the expert in antique printing techniques and works on vintage presses). He printed ours on heavy pulp board on a 1940s press.Photos here of our bar in the 40s and today The rest of this is just for design and printing nerds (This is straight from Gary)The paper is a heavy weight pulp board- 100% recycled and un-bleached, making it very environmentally friendly. The print method is letterpress. Given the small size and for one coaster, the round shape, each coaster was hand fed into and out of the press. To keep the inking as full and evenas possible, the press let the inking rollers pass over the plate three times before making a printed impression.(The norm is only one pass of the rollers.) The halftone of the building was tested, using my normal 210 line screen (210 halftone dots per running inch, 44,100 halftone dots per square inch). This fine screen ruling did not work well with letterpress and the resulting printed image was something of a flat gray field. I developed a halftone ruling that is unique to todays world, but common 70 or so years ago, A 60 like halftone screen, with only 60 halftone dots per running inch, 360 halftone dots per square inch. This course halftone is typical of printed matter up to the 1950s and even into the 1970s for newspaper printing. The larger halftone dots, placed further away from each other let the letterpress printingmethod, on the pulp board stock, render a pleasing halftone image. The press used is a Craftsman, 12 X 18 maximum print area. Manufactured by the Chandler and Price Company in 1948.*carried in our campstore
