June
3
2009
By Charlie Scott
The White Mountains of New Hampshire would seem an odd place to begin a private, custom safari.
And I suppose if you’re looking for the Big Five, you’d be barking up the wrong trees. But let’s say you’re not interested in lions and elephants; you just want a cool canvas tent of your very own. A small slice of safari you can pitch in the yard, at the cottage, or anywhere you care to call home. Well then, you’ve come to the right place.
Just above the Jem Coin Laundry, in a simple clapboard building in the small town of Conway, you’ll find Tentsmiths—the answer to your prayers. For over a quarter of a century, Peter & Deborah Marques (the owners) have been crafting superb canvas tents of all shapes and sizes. Their forte is 'authentic period tentage', which basically means they make amazing historical tents. They’ve been cutting canvas for the movie industry for years (you can see their handiwork in ‘Last of the Mohicans’ and ‘The Crucible’), but they’re just as happy making extraordinary tents for ordinary people.
We went to see them a few months ago when a client asked us to create a tented camp in the jungles of Guatemala (true story). With zero prior experience in the world of tentage, we had no idea where to start. We just knew we wanted something romantic yet rugged, classic yet convenient—the sort of tent Ralph Lauren might make were that his metier. Mercifully, Deborah knew exactly where to start and graciously walked us through the options, explaining the merits of things like mud flaps and tiebacks.
About six weeks later, ten not-so-big boxes containing five enormous (12’ x 17’) tents arrived by FedEx. Included were hand-forged stakes, hemp rope (cut to length, of course) and detailed instructions on how to set them up. We chose a traditional wall tent design dolled up with extra windows and mosquito mesh doors, and filled them with proper beds, portable toilets and solar showers. They weren’t on par with the ultra luxe safari tents you’ll find at top camps in the African bush, but they beat the fly off a nylon pup tent. And best of all, you can try this at home.
www.tentsmiths.com