Camp 4 Wine Café
Location: Modesto, CA
Interior: Hannah Collins
Featured Fixture: Kōura
N. American Distributor: wakaNINE
Photographer: Lauren Edith Andersen
Restaurant: Camp 4 Wine Café
Tuscan Table
The Robbins family have been coming to Yosemite’s Camp 4 since the 1950s where Damon’s father, Royal Robbins, launched many expeditions as he pushed the boundaries of rock climbing & helped define the sport. The family spent may nights huddled around the camp fire with travelers from far and wide sharing tales of the day’s exploits. The camp is a gathering place, part of the Robbins family tradition and inspiration for the Camp 4 Wine Café, some 90 miles away in Modesto.
Damon Robbins has created a wonderful restaurant and wine space deeply rooted in the history of the area and the spirit of Yosemite’s Camp 4. The café occupies the building in Modesto, California that was the original facility that housed the clothing company launched by Damon’s father in the 1970s. Camp 4 Wine Café is a gathering place for sharing food, wine, tall tales of Yosemite experiences and exploration of life itself.
“Camp 4 in the Yosemite National Park is and always was a scruffy place. That’s one of the reasons we like it so much: it wasn’t neat and orderly like other campgrounds in the Valley. When we first went there, in the early 1950’s, it was already the climbers’ camp, a spot dotted with large boulders and with campsites in irregular places. Yosemite’s Camp 4 was our ‘home'[…]”
– Royal Robbins
father of camp 4 Wine Café founder Damon Robbins
The Koura
The Kōura fixtures augment the natural light from windows and skylights creating a light and airy space. As darkness falls the fixtures become a more prominent feature in the space. Distinct shadows are cast on surfaces close by. The lamps glow and draw in visitors, encouraging them to “gather by the camp fire”, tell tall tales of the day’s exploits while enjoying great food and wine
The Seed System
Kōura is part of the Seed System family. Seed System is a design philosophy we developed that minimizes the effects of shipping on the environment. This means thinking with this in mind right from design conception through to production, packaging and the consumer experience. On average every Seed System kitset is 1/30th of the size of a fully assembled light. The light is easy to construct by following printed instructions included with the kitset and an online video.
“As for the assembly; It was fun to be a part of the “creation” of the fixtures. They were indeed time consuming, but most great things are. Six of us grabbed a couple of bottles of wine, and spent an evening putting them together. All in all it was a great process.” – Damon Robbins Founder, Camp 4 Wine Café
“I learned about the lights and David Trubridge from a lecture he gave in San Francisco. He told his incredible story of his life on a boat and how it changed his perception of material things. His dedication to the simplicity, beauty and form of these light fixtures was mesmerizing to me. His ideology seemed to really align with Damon’s vision and dreams for the space and when I first met Damon, I thought of the lights and how perfect they could be. They sort of set the tone for the rest of the design.”
– Hannah Collins
Designer
In The Space
Fixtures Utilized: 4 Kōuras
Sizes Utilized: 1 size
Kōura 500 (20″h x 12″ dia.)
Kōura 750 (29″h x 17″ dia.)
Kōura 1000 (39″h x 22″dia.)
Kōura 1600 (63″h x 37″dia.)
Kōura 2000 (79″h x 43″dia.)
Kōura 2400 (94″h x 55″dia.)
Story
Kōura by David Trubridge is a droplet-like form, which mimics the curled form of native New Zealand marine species Kōura (named by the indigenous Māori people). The fixture is made from sustainable bamboo and is also inspired by the intricate traps used by early Māori to snare or store food.
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