Wandawega Blog Archive

Our Camp Scent :Pinewood ForestSmells like :campfire. Smokey. Mossy. hints of pine. (Basically, Wandawega in a can).The story on the back label: Camp Wandawega is tucked away on 25 wooded acres. Years ago, while cleaning out old buildings, we found a stockpile of axes and two-man crosscut saws. They are artifacts from a century ago, when they where still felling the trees here by hand. As a tribute to the way things used to be done here, every season we now clear a few more of our fallen pines in the back acres to help keep our campfires burning. And so that visitors can leave here carrying the scent of pine with them.And we dropped on our fav quote: I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees. – Henry David ThoreauDETAILS:- 8 oz. Hand-poured soy wax- Made in the U.S.A. (In a one-man shop)- Cotton Wick- Comes with a church key opener on a leather tie.- Each candle assembled with hand stamped seal, packaged in a linen bag (and stuffed with camp swag)Take a deep breath.Matchstrike by @grandmontstreet First couple and last pics by our friend @stemsandforks

July 24, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

The newest addition to the camp store was designed over 80 years ago.The classic chrome model a fantastic piece of simple engineering that will quite literally last a lifetime.As we always do, we started by researching the old school versions that every gas station & supper club made as promos for their VIP customers. Then we did a range of graphics, took a vote (slide 5) and this is the design yall picked! 9 FUN THINGS YOU DIDNT KNOW:* Zippo @originalzippo gained a contract with the American Army in WWII; it allowed troops to purchase the lighters in Army Exchanges.* In 1960, a fisherman caught an 18-pound pike & found a Zippo lodged inside it, the lighter lit up on first strike.* Zippo doesn’t care whether you bought yours in 1937 or today, they’ll always repair it for free – forever.* A Vietnam veteran reported that the Zippo his wife gave him took a bullet during combat, saving his life.* Frank Sinatra was buried with his beloved Zippo.* Zippo was featured in TIME Magazine as one of the 100 greatest gadgets of all time.* Every Zippo is still, to this day, made in a single factory in Pennsylvania.* All Zippos have a date code on all lighters showing the month & year of production. (Check yours when you get it).* Zippo has a 15,000 square foot museum (that is now on our bucket list).ABOUT THE WANDAWEGA ZIPPO:This Chrome lighter has a unique horizontal brushing technique, that creates a subtle horizontal texture on the front and reverse sides.The sides are buffed to a high polish finish for added contrast. This finish was created in 1933. Comes packaged in the Zippo presentation box with warranty. + Genuine Zippo windproof lighter with distinctive Zippo “click”+ All metal construction; windproof design works virtually anywhere+ Refillable for a lifetime of use; for optimum performance, we recommend genuine Zippo premium lighter fuel, flints, and wicks.+ Made in USA; Lifetime guarantee that “it works or we fix it free+ Fuel: Zippo lighter fuel (sold separately)SPECS:Height: 2.25″ Width: 0.5″ Depth:1.5” Weight: 0.18 lbs. *launching in the camp store this morning -First two pics @bobcoscarelli

July 17, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Summers spent at camp are the best summers.@alexhperry80 , Ches and fam (of the @rightwaysigns family) – came to spend some time with us while Ches hand lettered some of our newest amenities & additions. Always love to have these guys back.

July 16, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

I love you, but you dont know what youre talking aboutexcerpts & scenes from a couple at camp.July, 2022 (also, the best Moonrise quote ever)The summer of lovers at a little lake in Southeastern Wisco.@gigilxs + @prezpipe

July 15, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Leave your mark.Our newest addition to the camp store. We’ve been in love with the little wooden matchbox holders for a long time.Matchboxes were originally made from wood before cardboard, long before the card stock matchbooks of today became the norm.Like many things we over-invest time into around here, these carry a little detail that may only hold meaning to us – when we first bought camp nearly 20 years ago we found 2 wooden boxes of metal stamp letters & numbers. We finally figured out that they were the original house stamps used to mark the storm windows, key fobs, label valve tags – everything that needed to be named and organized in a permanent way. So we felt like it was time to put them back to work by hand stamping each of these little matchbox covers, for each order. For a little light and history in your pocket.HOW THE BOXES ARE MADE:Crafted from German silver (an alloy containing nickel and copper) each piece is handmade. They have a surprisingly substantial heft and feel solid in your hand. With an applied vintage finish, they feel and look like they could have passed through another era.HOW THEYRE SOURCED:Our beautifully rough & simple base box is fabricated by J. Alexander Rustic Silver (whose pieces are inspired by the work of classic Navajo silversmiths from the late 19th and early 20th centuries). Each one is crafted + tooled by artisans using techniques that have been around for generations.HOW THEY ARRIVE:Customized: Hand Stamped + W for Camp (from our house stamp tooling kit). They head out our door in a little stamped linen bag, wrapped in swag – cause if youve met us, were obsessed with the details.HISTORY:The postcard shows silver stamping. Our matchbox cover is not Native American design, but we do love to learn more about this history of the craft. For more on this art shown on the postcard, check out The Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives Silversmith Hammering Silver on Anvil; Tools Nearby.DEETS:* Hand stamped German silver* 0.5 2.25 1.375 in* stocked with white tip wood matchsticksMake your mark, carry it with you.

July 14, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

This took a long time to get here. But the best things are worth waiting for and take patience.Our search for a historic American manufacture to make our house dishes led us to a company thats been making them since 1871. The folks at Homer Laughlin China dug up their Green Bay Stripe paint color from the archives, and took the time to educate us on the difference between traditional underglaze & real hand pinstriping, versus the fast & cheap methods most employ today in overseas factories.Ours turned out just the way they did over a century ago- because they were made in the same way. In the same beautiful old historic factory.Its not cheap.Or fast.Or easy.We might be crazy, but weve convinced ourselves that eating off of a piece of history somehow makes everything taste just a little better.The plates and cups shown here are part of our collaboration custom line of dishes, we now offer in our campstore. Also- our friend Betty at @stemsandforks (who took these pics for us) makes everything look better than it deserves – even a simple diner plate- thank you, Betty

July 13, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Always love to wake up to a little surprise – this morning was seeing the book that takes us on a mental vacation every time we crack its cover. ( @jennifer.garner -we feel you, wanna go there, too )Thanks for the shout out @artisan_books ( We love the Camp feature in @CabinTripping @thecabinchronicles by @dakkabearz )…3rd pic : @bobcoscarelli Link on their feed & here:https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf1UauzOUov/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

July 11, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

THE BOSS (Aka: Frankie)models our new staff uniform jackets.These are the old school camp director nylon un-fancy ones. Standard Park Ranger green with creme badge. (Were gonna get our teams names chain stitched in goldenrod yellow )THE DEETS:Like everything we do here, we started by researching the hell out of these things for color, fabric, style, fit (for what was standard camp counselor issue from late 60s and 70s) then to stay true to our blue collar Midwestern summercamp roots, we just remade the simplest version. These are just like the ones from camp back then (there was nothing luxe about them then, so we found the ones that havent changed a bit). Just a base shell layer for the weather, function over fashion.Just the way we like it.We only needed 9 for our small but mighty crew, so just decided to add the surplus to the campstore this morning. Heads up that if you show up here wearing one, were gonna put you to work stocking firewood. And other campers are probably gonna ask you where the mess hall & craft cabin is – (feel free to make something up, could be fun.)

July 10, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Its here IRL (last weeks post was a pre-vis)Come on in to the new (old) employee lounge. Its the smallest room, outfitted for the biggest people.Big not just by measure of height – although our Camp Operations Mngr @chase_kruger97 stands nearly 66 – but by the measure of the jobs they do here. The folks that find their way to us take pride in their craft, enjoy the outdoor life, hosting guests,and have found purpose and pride in their work.This room has no key because its open to all.You wont find a time clock in here.But you will find a library of 1940s National Geographics.And a radio with a crappy speaker that sound pretty perfect when Dolly is singing through it. It takes an army.And an army of any size needs a place to hang their hat & kick off their boots.They also need a place that will always have a 6-pack of Hamms (or whatever we pillage from the beer van on any given day).What this room lacks in luxury, it tries to make up for in character.Kind of our motto across the board here at camp.And pretty much everywhere else in life.FAV STRANGE THINGS BEHIND THIS DOOR:> Deadstock 3D Wisco relief map> 50s tramp art craft cabinet (now TV console)> Circa 1965 Naugahyde rust colored sofa can convert to an emergency nap crash pad > HS lockers on FB marketplace score (that are giving us some stranger things vibes, and worked around that)UPDATE REPORT FROM OUR OPERATIONS MNGR, CHASE:We still havent converted the TV to play vintage movies, but were not giving up yet.

July 9, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt