HOT OFF THE PRESSES!Collaborating on this was such a fun experience. We got to help create the custom Camp Wandawega Suite that features a kids room with bunks, main room with office nook, music station – so many fun details! (Scroll to last pic here for the book spread).Congrats to our friend Ben on his new book about his string of incredible hotels. Hes built so many inspiring places since the Madison location where the Wandawega suite is (and we want to visit them all).Got to work with @gwenlemos – and now Graduates lead stylist : @williammgolden (who is also Charlies godfather and a designer). Such a small world that keeps getting smaller.If you dont know @graduatehotels – you gotta check them out – and this compilation book Graduate Hotels by @rizzolibooks photos by the best: @bobcoscarelli Featuring our friends @nicolemarietoalson and @petercreigtoalson
Well- I was not prepared to happy cry this early in the morning – But then read @jessica.eileen.drogosz last post (about how a young couple met- And I just cant. Handle. )Jess has spent the last couple of days here.- and has shared more on the unbelievable story of how an elderly couple made the universe align for these two young strangers a single act that set off a string of events that would change all of their lives forever.It needs to be a movie.So Im spending time with Jess.Weve been learning that she is a storyteller who witnesses, captures & documents other peoples feelings- to help them find a way to hang onto them (deeply) to help be in the moment – to make other folks feel something What she sees and grabs in her lens just happens to show up sometimes in the form of a photo.So I just found this posted (scroll ) this morning .. she strung together a series of these little feelings. So we can relive them- she an empath and a medium who channels her compassion through her lens.And well (*welp)Lets just say that this is something that we are going to hang onto.If youre looking for someone to help show you what you may be missing- help bottle up the fleeting moments- shes your girl
LOOK WHAT WE JUST FOUND Holy Crap – Zoom in. Then scroll right then zoom in again.Just found this next picture of our Sunporch on a post somewhere- thought something in the room looked off- then realized that its not our lakeview cabin – its a tiny scaled model replica of it that this artist in Austria(whose middle name is Teresa) built. Down to the freaking tiny books on the shelves.Now of course I want her to build one of the canteen – because Im obsessed with tiny things – as we all need a miniature can on Manwich in our lives. Or at least I might Dear@oeufoeufdesigns -We havent met, but Im obsessed with the tiny worlds you build. (Last picture is the shot that socially made its way across the world when @countrylivingmag shared it in their feed- shot by @bobcoscarelli )
Freezing time.We have some families that come back every year. Weve watched their kids grow up through their family vacation pictures. .Thanks for sharing, @christinaglickman (we havent done a family portrait in years- this makes us wish we had been capturing the years as they fly by)
Scroll You will never find this sign at camp again. (Weve heard there were a few of those sentiments during the early church years but those days are long gone).We embrace both here now and have more than a few bars scattered across the grounds. So we thought a flask would fit right in. We partnered up with our friends at @claytonandcrume and now offer one in our little camp store.The deets:The Original Glass FlaskInspired by Iconic Kentucky Distilleries:Theres a reason distilleries have been bottling spirits in glass for decades its the only way to preserve the integrity of the spirit and avoid tarnished taste that comes from cheap metal flasks.It’s time we craft a flask that matches the quality of the spirit it carries. Full-Bodied Glass + High-Quality Leather:English Saddle, full-grain leather is wrapped securely around 200 ml of full-bodied, break-resistant glass and finished with steadfast stitching, built for a lifetime of service guaranteed.Completely Solid-Brass Cap & Funnel:Leave no bourbon behind. Finished with a solid brass cap and funnel for a mess-free pour everytime. The detailed knurling offers a unique, yet highly functional component to the flask – built for easy grip to open and close.The final touch : A hand-stamped Wandawega logo. ABOUT Clayton & Crume :(As they share it)We founded Clayton & Crume on a simple idea, we believe all leather goods should last a lifetime. Raised in the heart of bourbon country, we grew to value what was storied, tested and enduring. The traditions of our upbringing taught us the value of honest, hard work and the pride thats earned by creating something with your own two hands.We show up to work with an agenda of serving our customers well and making products that will live to tell the story of those who invest in them. It is our mission to create goods that, like a barrel of good Kentucky bourbon, only get better with time. Dimensions: 200ml | 5.9″ x 3.1″ Made in USAFirst 2 shots @stemsandforks Last shot : @bobcoscarelli
Thanks @cbs58news for telling the story of this old place. We hope more folks consider breathing new life into the old ones vs building new. Grateful to Stephanie Rodriguez & her team for sharing the layered history of Camp. David gives us a tour & Charlie even makes a guest appearance We are grateful to get to be the current stewards of this place- hoping someday shell want to continue on with our mission of preservation, restoration, and sharing it. .First shot : @bobcoscarelli
PLAY YOUR HAND.There has been a long tradition of gambling here at Camp Wandawega, dating back to our rathskellar during prohibition. This room (right off the dininghall) was originally a gambling room- where you could go to get bootlegged whiskey during prohibition) By the time we had taken over – it had been a bedroom for decades – so we finally decided to go back to its original purpose and turn it back into a gambling den.To be filled with sinners and vices.So we thought it was also a good time that we made it official and got our own deck of cards. These are inspired by the “Sportman’s” sets from the 1920’s.Our faces are the first advertising photo of camp, taken from the lake in 1925, when the “Wandawega Hotel” first opened its doors.The Joker card features our own camp Mascot, Frankie. Enjoy responsibly. DETAILS Cards are standard deck size (2.5″ x 3.5″) Cards have linen finish Each box sealed with luck and Wisconsin Gamer’s sealFirst two pics @stemsandforks Last shot @bobcoscarelli
Belly up.This bar has a seedy history:When youre at Orphan AnniesYoure in the Dining Hall of an establishment known over the years as Wandawega Inn, Wandawega Hotel, Wandawega Lake Resort, Vandavega, and Camp Wandawega. Originally established in 1925, it is now recognized on The National Register of Historic Places for its colorful past. In the decades following the construction of this modest lakeside get-away, a motley ensemble of Prohibition-era characters would eat and drink in this dining hall: gamblers, bootleggers, corrupt cops & judges, prostitutes & Johns.Throughout the 1930s, Anna Beckford Peck was the personality most associated with this place. During her time the modest resort would become known for more than its good fishing and real southern cooking. Annas hotel was a discreet getaway for gentlemen with very specific appetites. Orphan Annie was the innkeeper, bootlegger, and madame of Lake Wandawegas notorious bawdy house of ill fame.After multiple Federal raids and run-ins with the law for incidents including criminals on the run, illegal liquor, gambling, and prostitution, this era of Wandawega came to end in 42 when Anna was sentenced to serve three years at Taycheedah, the state prison for women. In the late 1940s, the Andzejewski family of Chicago resurrected it as a legitimate establishment, Wandawega Lake Resort, and served 3 meals a day in this room for resort guests. The Catholic Church purchased it in 1961 and used it as retreat for Latvian Catholic refugees who fled the war-torn Europe and made the American Midwest their new homeland.Artist in residency BTSWith @refueled.magazine documented by @stevenvisneauphotography
GUIDED TOUR: our field house.For those interested in furthering their education on botany, bluegill species & Midwestern insects. Our visitor Alex wants you to know what we stock in his favorite building at camp:Turtle shells, butterfly specimens, leaf identifying charts, slides of local deer & so much more. *disclaimer: He does not work here, do not expect him to lead your bird watching group. But he was celebrating a birthday recently, so when we saw that he posted new photos of the Fieldhouse, it is of course our duty to support his career and share them.More about our field house:Modeled after a 1920s National Park Ranger education center, our field house is stocked with supplies for outdoor learning, woodland brochures, tools displays and books- everything you need to learn more about Wisconsin nature.More about Alex:Alex is married with two kids, repped by Soul Artist Management, dmanagement group, and Front Management. He has been featured in many magazines including Vogue Mexico & Holiday. (Not sure what that one is, so now we must Google) He played football for the Cincinnati Bengals before being scouted to be a model. STATSBirth Date: May 20, 1990Birthplace: Chicago, IllinoisHeight: 6 1/2Waist: 32Hair: BrownEyes: Blue-GreenApologies to anyone that this may disappoint, but again- when you book here, you will not find him in our Fieldhouse. You will find other programming instructors and nature guides on occasion, who will always be fully clothed. Happy Sunday. Model photographer @aldrindelcarmen_
