Just because summer is over for this year, doesn’t mean we can’t look back and recognise great design in the making, right? As any other person with an all year-round job can tell you, summer is the best time for relaxing and getting away from the hustle and bustle. And which other activity would soothe the city-slicker better than good old fashioned camping? That’s also what the design agency Featuring – Featuring thought, creating a two-week survival camp just for designers. Well, less like camping and more like glamping.

Featuring – Featuring is a creative studio based in London that has an emphasis on collaboration. Formed by Bobby Petersen and Tom Gottelier in 2013, the agency’s philosophy is all about working together with people whom you admire and want to learn from through collaboration. That notion translated into the project ‘Designers On Holiday‘, which brought 18 designers from all over the world to Gotland, a beautiful getaway island in Sweden.

The mini vacation is an annual happening, always starting out with an empty campsite. The design adventure is a way of reintroducing the natural and playful side of design to people. The campsite acts as a blank canvas, prompting the designers to create and build whatever their heart desires. First things first, the designers built shelter for themselves. 18 constructed tents were the priority, and everything that came after that was a luxury. The list of amenities next to the tents goes on and on. According to the website of Designers On Holiday, they created “a symbiotic hot tub, a luxury outdoor shower, a wood fired bread oven, a one man sauna, a terracotta kiln, a viewing platform, a waxed cotton sailing boat, a herbal distillery, a sound instillation, a woodland cinema, a camp flag, a loom, soap made from the local flora, paint pigments made from the land, many a wonderful dinner, a few ceramic plates and countless hand-carved spoons.”

The getaway ended with an open day party, meaning anybody interested was welcome to take part in the event. Visitors could take guided tours on the campsite and enjoy some freshly baked pizza directly from the built bread oven. The open day culminated in music and a video projection in the woods.

The next time you’re going into the wild, draw inspiration from these guys. Instead of bringing a ready-to-assemble tent, bring along some building material, nails and a hammer. Or not, your choice!