My Cool Campervan

Revealing a world beyond the stereotype, My Cool Campervan celebrates the new wave of interest in modern-retro campervans. When people think of campervans, they almost always recall the iconic VW T2, that familiar, happy-faced van that embodies the virtues of enjoying the journey and taking your time. However, there is a world of forgotten campervans out there and an idiosyncratic world of individual conversions to campers. Join Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddon as they set off on a 3,500-mile trip to locate campervans and their proud owners, who share their memories of family holidays and long road trips. Delve into the world of road-tripping as they reveal a succession of delightful campervans, memorable locations, and classic models, at times beautifully restored, and at others well-loved and well-used. My Cool Campervan reveals a world beyond the stereotype and is a celebration of campervans' evolving styles and designs.

Discover over 40 different caravans of all vintages, from across the world Celebrating the wave of interest in modern-retro caravanning, this is a visual voyage into this stylish world and an idiosyncratic sourcebook for the design-conscious. Featured caravans include retro classics as well as mass-produced models from the 1960s onwards. "A beautifully shot celebration of classic vans from around the world...complete with style notes on how to achieve that period look." --Drive magazine

Say goodbye to roughing it. And hello to a new kind of freedom. With over 80 fabulously tasty recipes you can cook on just two rings and a few barbeque feasts and camp fire crackers, this is the dashboard bible for anyone who ever dreamed of hitting the road at the wheel of a classic VW camper. From finding and cooking your own food to passing muster with the surfing set, THE CAMPER VAN COOKBOOK will show you how to make the most of every single moment on the road.

It was invented immediately after the war, in the factory a far-sighted English military man had set up to turn the German economy from making machines of warfare to more pacific products. By the seventies that dream had been amply fulfilled, as the VW Campervan became the conveyance of choice for West Coast hippies, Australian surf bums and Europeans taking the overland route to find enlightenment and good karma in India. It had also become – indeed, still is – the first choice for any couple, or family, seeking a cheap camping holiday with wheels attached. So never mind the oddly off-centre driving wheel, the vagaries of the aircooled rear engine – the VW Campervan had become more than a vehicle – it had truly become a way of life. Mike Harding’s first ride in a Volkswagen Camper Van was back in 1961, when it was the carrying around the gear and bandmembers of his rock band the Manchester Rainmakers. Finally, in 2009, he could wait no longer, and bought his own, a 2001 Type 2 bay window Brazilian import Danbury conversion in hot orange and off white. Add in the endless curiosity of the author of eight monographs on church architecture, and the hilarious sense of humour of one of Britain’s best stand-up comics, and you have a wonderful social history of the postwar years through the prism of a single transport icon.

"A camper is not just a camper. It's whatever you want it to be." Introduced in the 1950s, the campervan has captured the hearts of people all over the world and become a much-loved symbol of travel and fun. Owners are extraordinarily passionate about their campers; some treat them as an extension of their home, others undertake epic journeys in them, across desert and sea, through Europe, Asia, and Africa. Some strap surfboards to the roof and head for the nearest beach, while others soup up the engines and take them drag racing. Many will spend hours restoring and customizing them, and even more talking about them with fellow bus owners. Campervan Crazy is a tribute to this passion, to the owners who have lavished time, effort, and inspiration on their vans, and, of course, to the campervan itself. It traces the cult of the campervan, from family runabouts, to holiday home and design icon. Above all else, the campervan is living history and you will find chapters dedicated to "births, marriages and deaths," "wide-eyed wanderers," as well as some "buses behaving badly."

'The Camper Cookie: Easy Recipes and Cool Tips for Your Campervan Life' is a friendly cookbook full of easy, delicious recipes that you can make in a campervan kitchen. The book also has some really helpful tips for cooking in a campervan like: how to create a capsule larder that uses the same ingredients for many meals or kitchen kit, like silicone lids, that help to make your cooking life easier. The recipes are also really good for weekday meals when you get in from work and want proper food but want something quick and simple. Summer is a passionate campervanner who also loves good food and she now blogs and writes books about the easy, home-style recipes that she creates for the campervan life. Summer and her partner, Glyn, had been camping for many years but got fed up with putting up a tent in the half-light on a Friday night or taking it down in the rain at the end of a wet weekend so decided to buy themselves a small campervan. They went to the campervan shows but realised that their very small budget would buy them barely more than a wheel there! But then they found a company that sold converted Toyota Previas for a reasonable price and their new campervan, 'Trev-the-Prev' came in to their life. Summer had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for many years but healed herself by researching, like a maniac, everything to do with mind-body health. She realised that nutritious food is very important to staying well and happy but found that it was not so easy to cook good food in the limited kitchen that you get in a small campervan. So she started to search for and develop easy real-food recipes that they could cook when they were out having adventures. She loves to share her recipes so she started up a blog (www.thecampercookie.com) and also writes recipe books for campervan cooking. She also demonstrates her recipes on YouTube and at shows.

Cars are frequently an expression of their owners' personalities and the wealth of examples included here along with their owners' stories are testament to the importance many of us attach to safeguarding this personal space while making it our public face. my cool classic car features 40 vehicles from around the world, including the small but perfectly formed Fiat 500, the Bavarian Goggomobil, Willys WW2 Jeep, the Plymouth Belvedere with its extraordinary trademark wings, the popular and trustworthy Morris Minor and the Mini, the design success of the 1960s. The book also includes details of extraordinary journeys (some short and some long) that some of these cars have made – London to Mexico; 2000-mile round trips to Italy; and forgotten time capsules untouched for decades along with heartwarming stories of how a car has become a priceless part of the family. The book uses high-quality, stylish photography to capture the beauty of these cars set against attractive backdrops. The photography focuses on the design specifics which have earned these cars the label 'classic'. The owners' stories and accompanying vehicle notes (which explain the influence of car design on the wider design community) offer interesting insights as well as inspiration to the design conscious.

This beautifully packaged book celebrates the humble and not so humble shed – from artists' studios to beach huts, My Cool Shed outlines the diverse ways of these small spaces and the unique ways in which owners are styling them make this title a delight for anyone interested in design.My Cool Shed features 35 sheds, including small cabins, garden rooms, beach huts. Modern architectural mini masterpieces and other small spaces are given purpose by their owners to pursue their hobbies, careers, creative endeavours or just to find some peace and solitude. The book includes high-quality, stylish photography to show a wide range of well styled and elegant sheds, cabins, dens and hidewaways in attractive locations.The owners' stories and accompanying style notes offer insight as well as inspiration. This is not a 'how to' book, although a sourcebook will be included, but more of a 'feel good' book and provider of design and lifestyle inspiration.