Camping Gear
Loved by locals

We spent this exciting day lakeside with the Trebotich family, the creative minds fueling the outdoor adventure guide company, Food for Adventures. Meet Lee “Natty” and Megan, the Food for Adventures founders, and their spirited daughter Ziggy, who serves as the company’s fearless CEO of Fun. Our basecamp for this shoot was Camp Grier based in Old Fort, NC, home to Pisgah National Forests Gateway Trail System. Scroll below to delve deeper into this narrative and connect with more local makers!

Meet the makers

Nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains, SylvanSport is located just half a mile from the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest in Brevard, NC. Since 2004, they have empowered convenient, comfortable enjoyment of the outdoors with award-winning towable camping trailers and camping gear. Built on a foundation of good design, SylvanSport takes pride in building innovative products for a passionate community of campers and outdoor enthusiasts across North America.

Combining a passion for outdoor recreation and cartography, Pisgah Map Company began in 2009 with the Pisgah Ranger District map, and they’ve been busy ever since creating maps and guides for several regional public lands and rivers. They’ve been exploring WNC for over 30 years as avid mountain bikers, hikers, kayakers and runners, which is why their maps are more than just data on paper. They’re the culmination of decades of local knowledge and firsthand experience in the woods, rivers, rocks and trails of the Southern Appalachians.

Blue Ridge Chair Works creates hand-crafted portable wood furniture in Western North Carolina. Whether you are camping, enjoying the beach, or just spending an afternoon in the backyard with friends, their hand-crafted portable wood furniture is designed to elevate your experience.

We are proud to use sustainable and locally-sourced materials, ensuring that you receive a high-quality, durable, and environmentally conscious product that is built to last.

Based in Black Mountain, NC, Pirani is the home of  the sustainable and stackable party cup, built with vacuum insulated tech that’s here to end single use plastic. Pirani is a company dedicated to reducing our environmental impact one cup at a time. Every Pirani purchase translates to a direct contribution to the environment with 1% of all sales donated to non-profit partners through 1% For the Planet.

Recover Brands is an industry pioneer in sustainable textiles, specializing in manufacturing and marketing apparel and accessories out of 100% recycled materials and headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Their mission is to create the best, most environmentally friendly and socially responsible products possible, and to educate and inspire those around us to live and work for a sustainable tomorrow.

Located in Mars Hill, NC, Fifth Element Camping creates modular camping components to create a Honda Element Micro Camper System — a home on the road. They turn the interior of Honda Elements into a micro camper for two, installed or removed in minutes without modification to the vehicle and made to fit every Honda Element made and can be transferred from Element to Element

Located in Boone, NC, Tarpestry combines the functions of a tarp with the beauty and softness of a tapestry. Born in Colorado and built in the mountains of North Carolina, Tarpestry is a soft and durable weather-resistant picnic blanket/tarp that puts a beautiful buffer between you and the elements. 

Based in Weaverville, NC, Cactus to Pine Goods creates unique and individual upcycled rope-ware designs, woodworking and more. Every piece, is handmade with care, and owner/artist, Shelby, is always at work conceptualizing new, innovative and beautiful designs to upcycle outdoor gear and keep it out of the waste stream.

Born in Asheville, NC, Hellbender Paddleboards was created out of a sheer love of paddle boarding from whitewater mountain streams to paddle surfing beaches around the world. The result is a durable and diverse selection of boards that come with custom designs and specs to suit customers’ dreams, along with a fantastic warranty and top notch attention to customer service.

    These mountains make us industry leaders, thinkers, builders, growers, dreamers, makers, athletes and caretakers. How will these mountains make you?

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