INDIAN SUMMER: Top Five Tipis
MOVE OVER WENDYHOUSES, the Tipi (Tepee, Teepee, Wigwam, whatever) is the new mother of fantasy undercover play. It is all, says Beth Davies, the 38-year-old owner of Native Play Designs, a children’s tipi design company based in Newport, down to the fact tipis “have captured a desire to escape from modern day, gadget riddled living.” Parents, says she, “on the whole crave an escape from the technology that has infiltrated every aspect of our daily lives. The dream of living outdoors with bare necessities and no reception seems to come together in the romantic silhouette of the Tipi.”
As for the kids, the appeal is that “children love a den. And ours in 100% cotton are a refreshing antidote to garish polyester pop-ups; they’re cooler inside as well.” [ED: Ah yes, we remember with fondness the sweltering heat inside those plastic wendyhouses of yesteryear.] “Give a child an imaginative play environment and a few simple toys and watch their imagination run away with them,” concludes Davies, whose own interest in a modern play version of the tipi came from “nostalgia and childhood memories of hours spent desperately trying to tie sheets around bamboo poles.”
Whilst trying to make your own is still a fun idea, if you’d prefer a bit of readymade tipi action, click here for Native Play Designs, and its choice of 3 models for 2-6 year olds [pictured above]. Another larger model for 6-10 year olds will follow later in 2008. (Currently, there’s a plain cotton canvas, a 12oz waterproof one and three striped woven cotton ranges. Poles can be bamboo, aluminium or you can order without poles if you are willing to source your own. Tipis from £75 - £160.)
And below are our four favourite alternatives….
1. Best for fashionable textiles: Habitat’s perennial design, the Geronimo, features new textile cover designs each season. Which from early Autumn means the Skytrain design pictured, £75. Find your store at www.habitat.net.
2. Best for tighter budgets: Graham & Green’s calico wigwam decorated with horse, sun, bunny and lizard motifs is a sturdy construction with 6 wooden supports, and can be used inside and out. £55; 190cm high x 140cm deep.
3. Best for authentic play: Wigwam Sam’s children’s tipis are based on authentic Sioux designs. Along with their adult versions, these have featured in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie and I.D mag. Complete with flags and ventilation for in-tipi fires. Not cheap, but very much the real deal. £305 - £505 for a 6ft-10ft tipi.
4. Best for families and back-garden camping: The Celia Birtwell-desigend Monkey Puzzle Tepee, £99.99 from Millets is a tent-tepee large enough for families (sleeps four comfortably), is made from waterproof polyester, has two doors, groundsheet and is made for cool festival living. And it’s pretty tempting for your garden too.
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