Theyre here! (Finally) Between 1940 and 1960, every self respecting tourist roadside souvenir shop stocked these. Every national park postcard rack boasted their own designs. They dont exist today.Postcards on Cardstock are so much cheaper, faster, easier, shinier… and modern. You can occassionaly find vintage wooden postcards like these on Etsy, eBay and antique stores. But the attempts at versions that are made today are actually just paper thin veneer run through digital printers. (If you look closely at the print surface on a veneer, the lack of ink bleed is on one of the tell tale signs) and – They are not nearly as hardy as the original old school ones were.The only difference between ours and the OGs is that back in the day of the Hoover administration, they would be retailed for a quarter and now they cost us $7.49 a piece to have custom made. (And ours will likely take a helluva lot more postage to get to their destination)Wooden souvenir postcards have always had a soft spot in our hearts, and now they have a little spot in our camp store.We just added them this morning. We arent kidding ourselves and realize that we very well may be the only ones in the country who give a damn about staying true to printing methods of souvenirs that date back to the 40s. Fourth pic here, design inspiration collection weve been building for more years than we care to admit.DEETS: 3 x 5 inches thick Cherry wood board silkscreened one pass black Photo feature is the first postcard made of (then named) Hotel Wandawega, Circa 1929 Made in the USAThe instructions were lifted from the originals, that explain to Write In Pencil. There is something weirdly satisfying knowing that the modern technology of a sharpie marker just wont work on these things.
It’s fall.Charlie should be back in school.She was looking forward to it, so were we.Like so many other kids, she’s remote learning.But instead of letting that feeling of pandemic anxiousness take over, we’re choosing instead to lean in on feeling grateful.Grateful for those in our lives who are making all of this so much more tolerable than it could be.Its the teachers. (That are educating, inspiring and literally helping to raise Charlie virtually.)Every teacher everywhere deserves some praise right now, But here in our little camp bubble, we wanted to pay respect to those holding court right now at Charlies school,@NearNorthMontessori.Its a place where they teach inclusion and acceptance. They teach kindness and math,They teach empathy and history. They teach the arts & science.They teach COMPASSION in a world that is sorely lacking.In a nutshell, they teach the power of community which in turns grows smart & caring kids.So today we are leaning in on that feeling of gratitude.For her school, the staff & fellow parents who check in on Charlie and invite her to remote play dates.For the huge part the school plays in helping to raise our daughter during a time thats harder than ever to be a parent.Every year, the NNMS community hosts a fundraiser to raise tuition for children from low income families to attend.We always donate a group camp stay.And although it’s not much when compared to what so many others give, we are grateful to have something with some value to donate to a meaningful cause, with human purpose.For the auction night, we make a film in hopes of encouraging folks to make a bid on our little donated family vaca package.We made this little birds eye view to accompany this years fundraiser auction item.Like so many other parents, we are hopeful that by the time the leaves are changing again next year, we’ll all be back in person, too.In the meantime – thank you, Near North Montessori.And thank you, teachers.This beautiful song is One Sunday Morning by Wilco – used with permission of our friends @wilco @glennkotche @stirratt2 (parents at NNMS).Thanks Jack for the footage! & @hows_it_golin for edit
ITS HERE!Look what just showed up in our mail box.If you are also a WESfan, you have to check out @accidentallywesanderson and this new book. As he says in his intro (zoom in)This book is full of all of the places that we have not yet visited, but intend toAlthough you wont find us in this global collection tour, you will find us in the three features posts theyve shared on their feed (shots 2,3 5) and in the story they wrote about camp featured on the books accompanying website: https://accidentallywesanderson.com/places/camp-wandawega-2/they even have a pop up in NYC for the book happening right now, (that we are so sad to be missing). Congrats to our friends Amanda & Wally on their gorgeous book! We are grateful to take a little vacation in our heads through your pages;)
At this time last fall we were hosting the crew from @goodbeerhunting For their annual Olly Olly event, a gathering of beer makers, beer lovers, chefs & friends.Weve been hosting this inspiring community of people for years, until this year (in an effort for all of us to keep each other safe).So were toasting yall virtually, friends – and sending everyone good vibes and well wishes from camp! Photos by the talented @beautyofthebeer
My sister Amy talks to animals..Shes a self-taught photographer.But what I find even more incredible is that she didnt pick up a camera until she had her two kids and was in EMT school, while also holding down two part time jobs. I dont know where she found the time, but she did – because she loved doing it. And still does. When it can feel like Instagram is dominated by selfies on made-for-social backgrounds its the hard-to-get moments like these that I respect so much.These photos meant getting up before the sun, to wait for hours on end for that animal to look right at her. I swear she has conversations with them.Its not fast or easy. The fact that she doesnt promote it, hustle her work or obsessively post is another reason I respect her work (and her) so much. She just does it because she loves it and then sometimes shell share it..There a quiet confidence in her photos – which is exactly why I think that we should take note and take notice. Someday if I can get just one damn chipmunk to look at me long enough to get one shot off- Ill feel like I accomplished something. Until then, Ill have to just keep using our taxidermy as models;they require a lot less patience.Well done, big sis: @amypoturnicki – And for the record, some of my fave shots are your BTS- that deer peeing will never get old ; )
Craft therapy. As things start to slow down here in the fall, we break into the craft cabin and start making all the things. Digging through some of my fave fall themed projects we make here, these are my top five (and one of my favorite styling gigs for a camp feature story we did for @SweetPaulMagazine )1- Sketching with white paint pens on dried leaves.2- Painting heads of pinecones in autumn palette3- String leaves & thrifted wooden beads on brass thread for a wall garland.4- Cut up antique photos into tiniest of leaf ornaments.5- gold gilding thrifted pottery Our favorite thing to do in the world is to make things with friends. It never gets old. Best styling assignment from @JolineRivera. Taking photos with @nathanmichael. Making garland & gilding bowls with BFF @finney____finney . And getting paid to shop for props on the holy grail for craft supplies – Etsy is my damn dream. (If only it paid enough to pay the mortgage on this place- Id change my job title to full time crafter).One can dream.
I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees- Henry David Thoreau Great advice. It turns out that a fall walk in the back acres is a good source of creative inspiration.We took a walk yesterday to hang with friends @lori_seidemann @struggle_inc (last couple pics here of the path we take to shortcut to neighbors)And we also just came off of a visit this week from @nathanmichael & co (thanks for sharing your homemade booze, time, and photos with us).In 16 years of owning this place, we have never been able to spend so much time here. Getting to witness the seasons change daily has been an eye opener for new possibilities & new ideas…so weve been brainstorming and now hatching plans for options to share more of camp in new ways for next season. Apple trees getting planted Resurrection of our 90-year old stone walled terraces happening now w/ a new fire pit.A new (our first and long overdo) camp canteen to build out over the winter.A big flower cutting garden finally going in that Ive always dreamed about. Hatching plans for a dining experience with guests (in partnership with some of our local culinary friends).Excited for 2021 – but equally looking forward to soaking up as much of this fall season as we can before we move into winter. (In a few weeks well be sharing details about our limited cozy winter season rentals & activities).Were grateful for creative and inspiring friends (and for the 25 acres of wooded inspiration that this little camp is tucked into.)
HOTDOGS?A: roasted on a campfire with a whittled stickor B: grilled over charcoal on an old school Webber?We cant decide, but think that this one here may be the most handsome weve ever seen (and we cant take credit for it)Nothing makes us happier than friends + guests here, embracing the outdoors by cooking in it. The only thing we dont like the fall season is that it goes by too fast. And wed all happier if we took some counsel from our kids – jumping in the leaf piles, taking all color hikes and making more hotdogs- any style. Thanks for paying us a visit and sharing your stay with us, @nathanmichael @julia_and_child @thefoodiest Thanks for sharing your visit wirh us!Come back soon
The homes that raise us.These 3 lovelies grew up at a nearby Wandawega cottage. (Slide to see the years blow by).The middle sister Irene with Pat & Alice would meet the boy next door, fall in love, see him through the war & back, get married, have kids & spend the rest of their long lives together.The girls kept an album of their years spent growing up, growing families & growing old at their little cottage.The album is full of everyday lake life: mowing, sawing trees, birthday cakes in the yard & one sad shot waiting for the bus to take them back to the city.Decades after these photos where taken, our friends @brianguysmith1 & @geyer.morford found the cottage & restored it back to its glory days in spectacular fashion.Then one day Irene knocked on their door.They opened it to her, to share their labor of love restoration of her little cottage.This would turn out to be the first of annual visits, with Irene making the pilgrimage with her family to tour the house that had raised her.I only met Irene only once, at her 91st bday party that she came back to celebrate at her childhood cottage.(Nobody knew that it would be her last visit- she passed away soon after).Flipping through the album, it hit me that when we restore old homes, were also restoring a sense of pride for those who called it home first.If you live in an old house, and someday get a knock from a prior owner dont worry about letting strangers in (for fear of them seeing dirty dishes & laundry).See it as honor for you, a blessing for the home, and a gift for them.Because all they are going to see inside is their own childhood.Opening our door is more than opening up our homes & ourselves -it’s what connects us through generations, & stays with us long after they – and we – leave.Here at camp, we say that were just the current caregivers in a 100-year-long line.(We dont know if Charlie will choose to take over this place or not).But someday when we get to be as old as Irene was, we plan to come back here (with our memories in tow) and knock on the door.We hope theyll let us in.In the meantime,it’s an honor to always keep our door open.RIP, Irene
Back in the day, Hunting & Fishing licenses used to sometimes come in the form of pin-back buttons. We still find them at fleas and thrifts on old sporting jackets, angler caps and in antique tackle boxes.Weve always had a soft spot for them & wanted to make our own Sportsmans Badge Set as an homage.So we asked our lake Wandawega neighbor & good friend @busychristen (of @busybeaverbuttonco) to make our own custom set. So she did a bang-up job (we are adding them to the campstore this morning)Christens personal button collection is so impressive, that she opened up the worlds first & only @buttonmuseum – a must-see.The culmination of more than a decade of collecting has resulted in her new book with Ted Hake: Button Power- A Visual journey of buttons through the last 125 years. If youre a Design nerd/history buff/ culture fanatic, its the holy grail. Milton Glaser gave the best cover quote for it: A button is such a primitive communication device. We think about electronics and social media when we think of things going viral, but ideas can be spread just as easily by wearing a buttonTo check out where to get it (and to support a female-owned small business) visit busybeaver.net. We hope that you will join us in congratulating Christen by supporting Button Power. (It is honestly one of the most educational, inspirational and beautiful books ever ) We are damn proud to call her a friend, a camp neighbor and an inspiration. #ButtonPower #SupportSmallBusiness #LadyBoss(5th and last shot from the book)Thanks @marina.kozak for your mad design skills!
