Spiffing Your Encampment

This summer I realized two things:

1) Modern things in camp really bug me.

2) Trying to just cover modern things with blankets and slipcovers was driving me crazy.

As of right now, I'm still working on big things -- namely period shelter. I bought a tent last fall, but due to... complications, I don't have poles for it yet. Once I get that done I'm hoping to make a canvas dayshade as well. But I decided that even if I'm camping out of a dome tent, it's important to me that my other gear all contribute to rather than detract from the "feel" of an event.

So I set out to make my stuff look better while also maintaining a high degree of usability. I don't have a lot of money to throw around, and although I drive a station wagon it won't actually hold as much as you might expect. Thus I found myself aiming for a nicer encampment, but with the requirements that everything I bought had to still fit in my car, not make my life more difficult while camping, and not bankrupt me. I feel like I can now offer some advice on the subject by relating my experiences.

Some General Remarks

Shop sales. Don't feel like you have to buy everything all at once. It helped me to have a vision of how I wanted my encampment to look when I was done. Plan and prioritize!

I knew it was worth it when at Sport of Kings in August (after most of this work had been done) Anne and I were eating breakfast and everyone who walked by stopped and looked at us and said "You look like a painting!" or "You look so period! That's amazing!" Little stuff makes a difference! Don't lose heart!

The Great Cooler Cover Project.

This was remarkably simple to make. At some point I'll be making a separate page for this, with full directions. I came to this project because I got sick of staring at my modern cooler, while also being sick of covering it up with a blanket. The blanket blows off and is difficult to get out of the way when you want to get into the cooler. Also, a cooler with a blanket over it still just looks like a cooler with a blanket over it. So I wanted to really disguise my cooler, while still being able to get into it. One morning I was somewhere between asleep and awake and I suddenly hit on this idea of making a cover that is basically a pillow with a really big skirt all around it. By putting velcro on the cooler and on the cover, it doesn't blow away and you can open the lid without having to remove the cover (actually I got the velcro idea from my Laurel's cooler cover). The added bonus is now you have a comfy bench in your encampment, too.

Cost: I think 20 bucks. I was able to use a lot of things I had on hand, but I did have to go buy velcro, stuffing for the pillow part, and the big piece of fabric. If you had more things on hand, this would basically be a freebie to use up old materials.

Final analysis: Great! Does not add significantly to bulk of stuff in vehicle, and the cushion is genuinely nice. Also, I did manage to get one person too look all around them in great puzzlement when I said that he could just grab a soda out of my cooler, which was right in front of him. I call that a win.

Chairs

There are a variety of approaches to the seating problem in the SCA. In my never particularly humble opinion, a covered modern camp chair still looks modern. I don't really think of medieval people as using slipcovers. Also, I really am pretty bad at sewing, so I decided this was just too much time and trouble. Another option is getting a very nice chair from a SCAdian woodworker. This was beyond my grasp. The compromise I settled on was to find a decent folding wooden chair.

A director's chair with a wooden frame (and plain rather than patterned canvas) is lots better than metal and day-glow polyester. Even better though, if you can find one, is a folding wood chair that's designed to be used outdoors. (That's very important, and why you should look during the summer for patio furniture. You might still want to put some additional finish of some kind on your chair just to make sure it will really survive.) Of all the things I bought this summer, the chairs took the most active hunting. I had a vision of what I wanted and I held out for it at the right price. Finally I found what I wanted at Cost Plus, and on sale even.

Where to shop: Target (but keep in mind that their inventory is highly seasonal), Cost Plus, Pier One, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. Especially shop the sales around summer holidays.

Final analysis: Substantially more comfortable than the old chairs, but much more bulky when folded. Also, I don't think I would have bought them if they hadn't been marked down -- the non-sale price was $50 which was just too much. And while I've never seen an image of an actual medieval chair that looks anything like the ones I bought, they fit in just fine.

The Wonderful World of Baskets

Baskets are a SCAdian's best friend. In fact, you probably already own several.

Not too long ago I discovered that carrying my garb in a small laundry hamper was much, MUCH better than using a bag. I can keep things more neatly folded and organized. Look for one with a cloth lining to keep your clothes from sagging. A basket that doesn't have handles that stick up is easier to pack.

I found a basket that's a chest (or is it a chest that's a basket?) that is very sturdy and cloth lined that I now use as my kitchen box at events. It's pretty easy to pack (because it's rectangular) and holds everything I need it to. Sometimes I worry that some horrible little creature is going to get into it and eat my bread, but this hasn't happened yet.

Small square baskets are a great way to keep your junk organized in the tent -- cell phone, toiletries, jewellery, whatever.

Where to shop: Target, Cost Plus, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. Try thrift stores, too, sometimes you luck out.

Dishes

I like having pretty dishes. One very functional and very pretty thing that I love having in my encampment is a ceramic pitcher. This allows you to have beverages out without cluttering the table.

Taking your food out of the plastic containers and putting it into something nice whenever you eat will make a big difference in the overall feel of your encampment.

To be continued...