Homecamp launched in November with a carefully considered range of products, including their very own range of elegant bell tents and branded enamelware, alongside camping products and ourdoorsy accessories sourced from across the globe. Not surprisingly, American manufacturers are well represented here (after all, Portland, Oregon seems to be the epicentre of the hipster / lumberjack aesthetic) – they include Portland brand Wood & Faulk, as well as more established brands such as Stanley and Jacob Bromwell. The focus here is on simple utilitarian design, and honest, natural materials.
The industrious pair behind Homecamp are husband and wife team Doron Francis and Stephanie Pajic. Stephanie comes from a PR agency background, but took the plunge to leave her full time job last year to focus on setting up Homecamp, whilst Doron has a background in digital marketing. So how to two seemingly already-rather-busy corporates make the leap to launch an online camping store? Well, as with most great business… Homecamp started with a shared passion.
‘We have owned a bell tent for a number of years that we take to music festivals and other getaways, and we were always getting comments on it from fellow campers’ explains Stephanie. ‘We thought it would be a cool idea to manufacture our own version’. From there, the Homecamp offering expanded to include more stylish, quality products for the outdoors, inspired by Stephanie and Doron’s own experience searching for cool-looking gear for their weekend getaways. ‘We were pretty uninspired with a lot of other products on the market – a combination of daggy design and poor quality, or super technical gear’ says Stephanie. ‘We love camping, going to festivals and being out in nature but we also really appreciate good design and quality products that will last a lifetime, so Homecamp is a combination of those things’.
Homecamp also offer pop-up accommodation for events – weddings, celebrations and small gatherings. The events side of the business was a natural progression – a response to numerous enquiries the pair found themselves fielding even before launching their website! With this service, Stephanie and Doron aim to offer a really luxe outdoor experience – they’ve partnered with a bunch of great Australian homewares and soft furnishings brands such as Pony Rider, Major Minor, Armadillo & Co and Scout House to kit their tents out beautifully, both inside and out. ‘We are aiming for a ‘wow’ factor when people see where they are sleeping!’ says Stephanie.
Homecamp’s very schmick branding was designed by local design studio The Company You Keep, and they’ve been fortunate enough to have wilderness-loving local photographer Brooke Holm photograph their launch campaign – what a perfect pairing!
