Meet Varian Shrum and the team behind Camp North End

Left to right: Kadeeja is one of our Events Interns (her co-intern Zavia missed picture day). They support our jam-packed programming calendar. JL is our Marketing Coordinator and handles logistics for third-party events and photoshoot requests. #teamnodaysoff V (Varian) – that’s me! Community Manager. Alex is our resident Placemaker. He designs and builds all the magical public spaces you like to hang out in. 

Instagram Handle:

@Campnorthend

Twitter Handle:

@Campnorthend

Website:

Camp.nc

Brand:

Camp North End

What’s the purpose of your brand?

We’re redeveloping an industrial site into a hub for creative office and workspace, food and retail, arts and culture, and tons of events and community-building. With 1.3 million square feet of historic warehouses across 75 acres (the equivalent of 14 square block of Uptown), Camp North End is the largest adaptive reuse project in the US.

How long have you worked with/on your current brand?

1-3 years

How many people are on your team?

There are six full time employees in ATCO’s Charlotte office. I am the one staff person specifically dedicated to social media.  

How do you adapt your account to popular/trending themes?

I mostly like to incorporate subtle pop culture references. In my opinion, the best captions are ones that make sense at face value while also nodding at something a narrower audience will appreciate. And if you don’t know, now you know.

Tell us about the craziest mention you have ever received or conversation you’ve been pulled into…

#doitforthegram is my life motto, but guys, don’t walk around on a 94-year-old roof!

What is the post you are most proud of?

What do you wish people knew about your role/account/brand?

For the past two years I’ve built up the brand by highlighting the history of this place and showing you what’s happening at Camp North End today. It’s been a lot of content focused on people working/creating/building, random quirky inspiring things, cool architecture, and information about events. Now that we’re a bit more established and construction is in full swing, I want to show you more of what Camp North End is on track to become in the future. By spring 2019 our first major warehouse renovation will be complete with hundreds of people working in beautiful open office spaces, plus a curated roster of food and retail vendors. There’s five more where that came from and we’ll deliver a new one each year. DM for deets about joining the Camp fam! 

Whose social media do you admire? (locally or nationally)

Locally: Panthers Twitter is an instant classic. Love a good meme burn.

Nationally: I really enjoy the authenticity (and ice cream) of Jeni Britton Bauer’s personal Instagram. The Onion, FloridaMan, The Last Blockbuster, and Awkward Family Photos are my old standbys for insomnia fueled Twitter scrolling. I also follow 14 too many Instagram accounts devoted to house plants.

Anything else to share?

We’re a *little* excited for the upcoming Mistletoe Market on December 1st. Come for the missile puns, stay for the parade of dogs in sweaters.