Bertha Bean 

My sister always reminds me of the Mary Oliver quote, “you have one wild and precious life.” We had the opportunity to buy Bertha Bean and we leapt. Bertha Bean is named after my great, great aunt who originally owned my farm, before selling it to my Gramps and being passed down to me. And bean, because she looks like the Chicago bean…all shinny and reflective.

 

I had a rough vision, lots of excitement and zero skills to refurbish a 1971 Airstream. What I did have were some really incredible, and exceptional people in my life who are smart, creative, fun and ready for an adventure.

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This project hinged on the support of a couple of people. The first is my best friend, husband, and unwavering supporter of my wild ideas, adventures and following my bliss.

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The second is one of the most talented, creative and skilled craftsman, Matthias. He was able to riff with me and shared my vision of what could be instead of what was through every little detail.

 

Together, in collaboration, in friendship, with candor, connection and creativity we built something exceptional. Most importantly, we didn’t do it alone. We brought together an incredible team that helped us source wood, shop for curtain fabric, cane a sunburst, sew some covers, sew some pillows, rewire some lights and so on. And, most spectacularly, Bertha was moved from under a tree, when she was facing impending doom, during a storm.

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The joy of building something with those you love was incredible. We had coffee and donut parties and some called Bertha my clubhouse, but it was more than that. She became a place to share, connect and create.

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Bertha has moved North, to hang out on the farm, on the big lake, and to give family and friends a beautiful spot to play a record, or read a book, while listening to the waves and picking cherries or ramps.

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She exemplifies what is good about co-creating. Ideas were built upon, shared, crafted and through trust of each other, and the process, we built something beautiful.

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Thank you to Neil, Ryan, Matthias, Len, Mattie, Pamela, Jane, Ron, Josh, Reede, Jerrod, Liz, Charmaine, Janet, Maria, Jean, Gary, Joe, Lauren, Gramps, Mom, Dad, Andrea and the crew at P & S Trailer. Without all of you, and your talents, Bertha would not be what she is today. Thank you, thank you, thank you.