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Welcome to the website of Wigwam Sam.

We make, sell & hire Tipis from children's Tipis to large lodges.

If you wish to buy or hire one or a group of Tipis we strive to provide a high quality service, drawing from 15 years of experience making and using tipis.

Whether making or providing hire Tipis we exercise the same philosophy of creativity with attention to detail combined with high quality materials and craftsmanship.

The Tipis that we provide are sewn in our workshop in North Devon.

We cut our own Tipi poles from sustainably managed woodlands in our local area.

We have made & hired Tipis for Warner productions Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, Hollyoaks, The Eden Project, M&C Saatchi for Orange, The Brit Awards and numerous outdoor forest schools projects.

Our Tipis have featured in I.D, You magazine, Selvedge, The Guardian Weekend, Red & the book Small Family Gardens by Caroline Tilston.

The Tipi

Tipis have a majestic presence and clever design.

Conceived by the plains Indians the tipi is a conical shelter which was devised to be pitched and transported with relative ease.

The poles and cover hitched to a horse also served as travois (sleigh) to transport possessions when moving around. Traditionally the cover was made from buffalo hide which was readily available. These days we make them from canvas.

The pole frame and cover were designed in such a way to improve the ability of the cone to resist wind and enlarged the spatial arrangement inside.

Ventilation in the Tipi is controlled by the smoke flaps which are adjusted by the smoke flap poles depending on wind direction. The smoke flaps act like a chimney and help draw up the smoke from the central fire.

The Tipi lining aids the draw of the smoke upwards from the fire and creates a warm draft free interior space. It is usually around 6ft high and catches any rain dripping off the poles keeping the sleeping area dry.

Cool in summer and warm in the winter the tipi offers a calm, peaceful comfortable atmosphere close to nature.