Like most of my other wagons, I built the Trillium in collaboration with several other artists: a metal worker for the welded steel frame and some of the decorative brackets a graphic artist for the panel art and lining out and a stained glass maker for the windows. This wagon closely reproduced the look of a “bow top” style caravan that was produced by Bill Wright’s carriage shop in Leeds, England in the late 19th century. My last caravan was the “Trillium” completed in 2007. Starting in the late 1970’s I built, and traveled in, a very simple version affixed to the frame of a 1940 Ford 1-ton pickup.Īfter moving to the Northwest, I embarked on building more authentically designed and detailed vardos, such as this hardtop version pictured above. I also knew that the only way I would ever get my hands on one would be to build one. I finally got my hands on a clutch of glorious color photos of restored versions at Appleby Faire in England as well as some highly detailed drawings by John Thomson. Ever since having first seen this painting, and later highly romanticized illustrations of them in children’s books (see “Wind in the Willows” for starters) I began finding murky black and white photos of them taken at the end of the 19 th century. I learned that if you could live such a life in company with a cozy and enchanting conveyance in the form of a highly developed folk craft, then so much the better.Īn encampment of gypsies with caravans by Vincent Van Goghįor me, that conveyance was the English or Irish gypsy caravan (“Vardo” in the Romany language) as observed and painted by Van Gogh. I have long been fascinated with the traveling lifestyle, with life lived mostly outdoors, lived close to the edge-A life I lived for a decade or so in my youth. In my case, I’ve always wanted to build gypsy caravans because they are not there! (At least nowhere near me). The first answer that comes to mind, which is probably the one closest to the truth, is the opposite of what mountaineers say when asked why they climb a mountain: “Because it’s there”.
You can purchase the entire document from our shop page. What follows is Jim Tolpin’s introduction from the PDF on building Gypsy wagons or Caravans.
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