30 years crafting Nordic tipis

2019 marks our 30^th Birthday, a whole three decades since our founder and CEO, Bengt Grahn, started to make the prototype tents that now form the backbone of our global brand.

It was in 1989, in the village of Moskosel in Swedish Lapland, that Bengt had his ‘light bulb moment’ (he was actually changing a light bulb at the time), and decided that he would start making Nordic tipis. “I had a dream – to make the perfect tent. A tent to socialise around the fire. In Swedish Lapland. In the wilderness, near the Arctic Circle…”

As anyone who is familiar with Tentipi products probably knows, our tipi design was inspired by the kåta, a simple frame of wooden poles, covered by animal hides, with an opening at the top to let out smoke, used by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. “…. In this harsh environment the Sami people have survived, through the ages, using the traditional Nordic tipis. We couldn’t have had a better starting point!”

Soon after the Adventure range of camping tipis was launched, work started on what was to become the Event range as we now know it. The development of the Stratus 72 - with sides that can be raised - marked the beginning of the giant Nordic tipi event industry that now reaches to all corners of the world. The continual refinement of joining techniques, and an almost limitless number of possible configurations, is what sets the Stratus 72 apart from other temporary structures used in the event industry. It is central to the Tentipi story.

© Love Tipis, www.lovetipis.co.uk

As word has spread about the Stratus we have sold into more and more countries, for an ever-expanding range of events. From English country weddings to a Norwegian ski jumping competition. From Australian beach parties to yoga retreats in California. From music festivals in Mauritius to a semi-permanent dining space in San Francisco. From VIP areas at Glastonbury Festival to corporate events in the United Arab Emirates. This list continues to grow.

Here’s to the growing global family of Tentipi customers. Here’s to another three decades of developing, innovating and crafting beautiful Nordic event tipis. Here’s to the next 30 years of Tentipi.