Wendi La Fey can do many things exceptionally well. One of her life-size portraits in oil won the People’s Choice Award in Taos, New Mexico, where she was president of the Taos Society of Portrait Artists, and owned and operated three galleries. Since moving to Eureka Springs, she has continued fine art painting including large murals downtown and other work.
La Fey is also a belly dancer and belly dance teacher, a fire dancer, makes colorful costumes, and is a regular performer in Eureka Springs’ numerous parades. She teaches art, does carpentry and interior decorating, is a photographer, does face painting at local events, performs weddings, and is a singer and a percussionist who performs with two local bands.
Now she has combined all that to establish tourist lodging at her home off Passion Play Road. In addition to lodging in a private suite attached to her home, she has several Gypsy wagons parked in a circle around a fire circle next to a former miniature-horse stable.
La Fey started offering lodging through Airbnb this spring. She has a one-bedroom suite with all the conventional amenities of her home, and something for guests looking for a unique tiny house “glamping” experience at her Gypsy Camp.
She is able to fit more than you might think possible in a gypsy wagon. One of her listings says, “The Gypsy Rose Suite in the Gypsy Camp. One bedroom with queen bed, full bath, living room with queen sofa bed, front porch with seating, recliner chairs and cafe table for 4, central air conditioning, campfire ring and chairs, great view of the Crescent Hotel and spectacular sunset views!”
A recent guest at the Gypsy Rose Suite, Brian, wrote a review that said, “Not only is the location prime, but the view is absolutely amazing – looking out the front you have this amazing, green valley and then a pristine view of the Crescent Hotel. Finally, the absolute best part of staying at Wendi’s was Wendi herself. I only spent a few minutes with her, but she was so helpful, and an absolute delight. I simply cannot recommend Wendi and her place enough. Thank you, Wendi!”
Mable and Leland Marlin, who had miniature horses that performed at local events such as Pine Mountain Village, previously owned the home. The tiny horses would also pull Mable and Leland in a reduced scale carriage in parades. Many pieces of antique furniture, including a life-size carousel horse wood sculpture, came with the house. Those antiques enhance staying at the in-house rental that sleeps four and has floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the surrounding woods.
The rental unit in the house and the Gypsy wagons are also adorned with La Fey’s original artwork. There are several fairy gardens that add to the charm of the property.
La Fey offers guests extra experiences including art lessons, belly dancing performances, a fire dance show around the campfire, belly dancing lessons (popular for girl’s weekends out), and guided nature trail walks including on nearby new trails being constructed at Marble Flats and on the large number of existing trails at Passion Play.
She also offers guided photography shoots around town, and will do photo portrait sessions of guests. Fairy oracle card readings and small weddings are available.
“It’s pretty cool creating a venue that enables me to offer all of my various skills and abilities at the same location, and to be able to share my beautiful and peaceful place with others,” La Fey said.
The campfire rings are a big hit with guests. It gives them an opportunity to enjoy being outdoors and interacting with other guests. There are deliberately no televisions in the Gypsy Camp to encourage people to spend more time with each other, surrounded by nature.
Right now, she has two to three gypsy wagons available with a total of six planned.
In addition to providing unique lodging to visitors, another focus of the project is education. La Fey has lived off grid for a total of about six years in several different places, and has designed the gypsy wagons systems to be simple but comfortable without wasting electricity or water.
“I consider the Gypsy Camp to also be a teaching facility where people can learn about tiny homes, eco living, and off-grid systems that are really simple, but also have a cozy and luxurious feel,” said La Fey.
So far guests have been charmed by the Gypsy Camp. Visitors have ranged from people from big cities who really need stress release by unplugging from a fast-paced life, to an ideal spot for girls’ weekends. The site is also a good fit for people who ride mountain bikes on nearby trails.
“It is a very convenient location for hikers and bicyclists,” La Fey said. “My first guest was doing a 1,000-mile bike race. Eureka Springs was on the race route. It was a nice break for him.”
More information is available on Airbnb and on La Fey’s Facebook page, The Gypsy Camp. More of her artwork and photography can be viewed or purchased at www.wendilafey.com.