2014 has been a year of great projects, milestones and continued growth. As we come to the end of another year, we reflect on some of the wonderful things that happened in 2014.
First- and most wonderful- there were baby boys. Dan and Emma became grandparents for the first time when their son Sam and his wife Lila welcomed a baby boy in October. One of our tipi department rock stars, Troy, became a first time dad in September, and Henry, our tipi department supervisor, will have another son before this year is done.
We had a great year in all respects. We got to know new customers, worked with old customers and saw exciting projects take shape for 2015.
To start our year, Dan and Emma took a trip to Spain to meet with a camp we’ve had a long relationship with. L’Arcada Camp houses their campers in large, custom-designed tipis. Our crew built the tipis, we painted them and sent them to Spain for the start of camp in late May. It was the first project to use a new tipi fabric, which we’ll be introducing to all of our customers in early 2015.
We also sent more tipis and tents to Coachella Music Festival. Ours is a multi-year relationship, giving Coachella the finest quality structures for their camping village at the festival. We love the photos they’ve sent of the fields full of tipis and tents.
Firelight Camps in Ithaca, NY installed a group of our platform tents for their exciting new glamping resort. The camp is hosted by food network star Emma Frisch and her husband, Robert. They are redefining luxury camping, and we’re honored to be partnering with them.
On the yurt side, it was a huge year for camp yurts. Many camps added yurts for the first time, and others added to existing yurt villages.
We started the year with yurts for our friends at Forest Home Camps in California. Their camp is a large, multi-site Christian camp, with different types of structures from tents to lodges. They added a yurt village in the spring of 2014.
We sent a bunch of yurts to Camp Tawonga in California. They offered yurt accommodations for the first time this year.
We worked with parks all over the USA, Canada and beyond- sending multiple yurts to Alberta, Utah, Minnesota, Oscoda Township in Michigan and a camp in Mexico to name a few.
In 2015, we have several big projects already on our schedule. We’re also going to unveil some innovative product improvements and enhancements, as well as new structures.
We’re looking forward to our 40th anniversary as a company in 2016. In these nearly 40 years, we’ve seen lots of changes- in our product, our projects and our people. Through the years, the focus has been and remains:
- To build quality alternative structures that fulfill our customers’ dreams, while always providing exceptional customer service
- To give our employees rewarding jobs that build on their skills, loyalty and talents, while providing a living wage
- To support our community, both locally and globally with conscience and compassion
As we wind down another year, we are grateful for the good fortune we have. We’re blessed to have a great place to work, good people around us, a beautiful place to live and the health and happiness to enjoy it.
