ABOUT MOSS TENTS
MOSS TENTS BRAND STORY
CHARLES WILLIAM MOSS 1923-1994
Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1923, he joined the Navy after graduating from Ann Arbor High School.
After that, I enrolled in Layton Art School and Cranbrook Academy of Art.
In 1949, he joined FORD MOTOR COMPANY and became an illustrator for FORD TIMES, fulfilling his long-held dream.
In 1954, he created the world's first dome-shaped tent, "POP-TENT," which he designed for his own hobbies of duck hunting and fly fishing.
Around the same time, he devised the "PARAWING" tarp for use as a camp, picnic, and beach shade.
In 1960, C. WILLIAM MOSS ASSOCIATES was founded in Ann Arbor.
Married Marilyn in 1963.
1968: Development of O'DOME and PARADOME
MOSS TENT WORKS (1975~)
1975: TENT WORKS INC. Later, MOSS TENT WORKS INC. was established in Camden, Maine (CEO: Marilyn Moss).
In 1980, the "OPTIMUM 200" large cotton tent won "A National Endowment For The Arts Award".
In 1982, the "STAR GAZER II" became the only camping equipment to be permanently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and the silk "STAR GAZER" was also exhibited at the Louvre Museum (PARIS).
In 1983, BILL MOSS left MOSS TENT WORKS. He later divorced MARILYN, and MARILYN MOSS continued to run MOSS INC. as CEO (until 2001).
In 1994, MOSS INC. sold the design blueprint rights of its CAMP TENT division to Walrus. Walrus manufactured tents as a contract manufacturer for MSR and REI. Later, REI acquired Walrus and MSR, and MSR inherited only some of MOSS's design know-how. The Seattle model began appearing on the brand logo around this time.
In 2001, MOSS INC. was sold to EXHIBITS company.
In 2019, JWMOSS ENTERPRISE (USA) and SOLO STAR JAPAN CO., LTD. (JPN) signed a contract as the main licensee to use the MOSS TENT BRAND trademarks, archives, and materials (Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan).
In 2020, MOSS JAPAN INC. was newly established to inherit the ethos of the MOSS TENTS BRAND.
From POP to OP (1955-1980)
The world's first auto camping.
POP-TENT (1955~)
In 1955, Bill Moss designed the world's first dome-shaped tent, which was a comfortable and portable alternative to the cramped and dark "A" frame tents that had been in use since the Civil War.
Hating flat surfaces and composed of curves, the inner volume of this "POP-TENT" is about 1.5 times larger and can be set up as easily as an umbrella, making it a symbol of American outdoor culture in the 1960s.
In America at that time, due to the station wagon boom and the two-day weekend system, the product recorded excellent sales along with the "PARAWING" tarp, a masterpiece released at the same time, and auto camping expanded in America. This was such a social phenomenon that it was featured prominently in TIME MAGAZINE and NEWSWEEK. In 1961, the number of campers was 16.5 million, an increase of 2 million from the previous year.
In addition, a scene of setting up a "POP-TENT" was shown in the 2019 Tom Hanks starring movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
The Elegance of COTTON TENT
OPTIMUM TENT (1978~)
Before creating OPTIMUM TENT, BILL used TENSION FABRIC TECHNOLOGY to produce large structures for the event market, such as parties, trade shows, and car dealerships. At the same time, they also released family camping products made of nylon materials, such as "ARCADIA," "THE ENCORE," "THE DOMUS," and "STAR GAZER."
BILL envisioned fabric cabins for summer housing in lakeside areas, forests, and resorts, and in 1978, they unveiled prototypes of "OPTIMUM 200, 350, 600, 1500." (*Floor area: OPTIMUM 200 is 200 sqft = approximately 18.5 square meters, OPTIMUM 350 is approximately 32.5 square meters)
This large tent, which uses COTTON DUCK for the inner layer and COTTON POPLIN for the fly, is excellent in terms of breathability, livability, and light transmission. Above all, its structure, composed of graceful curves reminiscent of nomadic gers and muslin temples, has won numerous design awards and possesses a unique presence even in modern times, more than 40 years later.
"A tent to me is a piece of sculpture you can get in." - BILL MOSS
"I brought my art off the wall, it became art to live in, spend time in." BILL MOSS
As BILL said, OPTIMUM TENT's products are "livable works of art," and MOSS TENT WORKS employees lived in them for nearly two years, equipped with mattresses, rugs, chairs, tables, beds, cooking stoves, and TVs, under the light of Coleman lanterns, enjoying what we now call a high-quality and comfortable "GLAMPING LIFE."
The COTTON tent is expensive and produced in small quantities, and its high artistic merit makes the "OPTIMUM" tent a symbolic presence of the MOSS BRAND.
2020: The thought of being or living outdoors.
Letter from
Marilyn Moss Rockefeller
Jeffrey W. Moss
moss TENTS Presentation in November 2020
MOSS X SUNNY GC [archive]
AN EXCLUSIVE CAMPING
As a living work of art (a beautiful sculpture)
What you'll find there is the expansive Sunny CC golf resort and lush green trees reminiscent of the state of Maine in North America.
Enjoy a rustic outdoor dinner (BBQ) around a campfire under the night sky at an altitude of 1100m on the Saku-daira Plateau, listening to the sounds of birds and insects.
The pristine white canvas tent is bathed in the morning sun, marking the start of a wonderful day. We believe that staying in our most iconic "Optimum350" tent allows you to feel connected with family, friends, and loved ones, and that it can be a catalyst for learning a philosophy of life as a whole.
Nature is the greatest architect, and our luxury camping experience with MOSS TENT, inspired by a deep and boundless insight into nature, is a unique accommodation plan that allows you to experience the ethos of BILL MOSS, who left behind the words: "Tents should be beautiful sculptures, tents that you can take out into nature and love, tents that will always make you happy, and we will continue to create them."
OPT350 RAIN FLY & INTERIOR
OPTIMUM 350 Rain Fly
The Optimum350 dedicated rainfly has been reissued. Designed to be a size larger than the Optimum350, which boasts 350 sqft (33㎡) of inner space alone, this rainfly is specifically designed to prevent rain from blowing into the tent, giving it an overwhelming presence among BILL MOSS tents. (First time in Japan)
INTERIOR
Interior Concept
The dining space, furnished with outdoor items, features a powerful, rugged atmosphere centered around a table and bench made from recycled, discarded boat lumber.
Furthermore, by combining modern tastes with heavy, substantial sofa beds and easy chairs, we aim to provide each space with the perfect atmosphere for you to spend your time as you please.
Alternatively, by swapping the locations of the dining space and the easy chair (Layout B), you can create a space where the living room, dining area, and bedroom are more clearly separated.
EXPERIENCES
We offer luxurious facilities to accommodate groups of any size, from two to six people, providing an elegant experience for everyone.
From the back: ① Center House (for 4 people)
② Fire Pit (with firewood)
③ Optimum 350 (for 4 people)
④ Parawing 19' (Tarp)
⑤ You can use the SUNNY CC public bath free of charge.
⑥ FREE WIFI (within the area)
⑦ TOILET (C.HOUSE, MW)
⑧ Kitchen (inside C.HOUSE)
⑨ TV & Refrigerator (Inside C.HOUSE)
⑩ JBL speaker (inside Opt350)
⑪ Barebones LED Lantern ⑫ ZipDee Chair x 4
⑬ Nanga sleeping bags x 4
MOSS x CITABRIA [archive]
