This year I decided I wanted to host a full day creative retreat, so I had the idea of approaching my friend Jodie Rose Calligraphy with the idea of hosting a retreat together, and sharing our skills in watercolour and calligraphy.

Jodie and I met when she attended one of my watercolour workshops at Cuppies ‘n’ Cream in Hartley Witney last year, and we struck up a great friendship, sharing our experiences of running our creative small businesses.

I visited Jodie in January when she kindly created a hand painted calligraphy blackboard sign for me to use at my live illustration events, and we started discussing the options for a co-hosted creative retreat later in the year.

Location Location Location

We knew that finding the right venue was the key first step to hosting the retreat, and spent the first few weeks researching lots of different venues. However, we found it really hard to find out about possible venues, and we ended up finding some through unusual means. I initially heard about the first venue I considered via the Business Nest Natters podcast, as Robyn the host was interviewing a guest who was hosting a retreat at a beautiful local venue. Sadly that venue wasn’t available for the dates that we were hoping for, so we went back to the drawing board.

Jodie and I host workshops at lots of venues in the Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey areas, and we heard about the Garden Gallery through another artist that we knew. It really sounded like the perfect venue. It’s located in a seculded walled garden at the back of the Museum of Farnham and the indoor space is beautifully bright and spacious, and fully wheelchair accessible too. We got in touch with the venue, and luckily they had availability on the date we wanted, so we quickly booked it in the diary.

The Art of Collaboration

Although Jodie and I have had years of experience working on our own businesses, and running workshops, it was the first time either of us has hosted a full day retreat, so we had to do some serious planning to make sure we knew what to focus on. We had regular meetings to talk about the tasks from budgeting, to researching suppliers and making a marketing launch plan. We both helped research possible food and materials suppliers, and Jodie also found our wonderful breathwork coach Sharon Swyer who is local to Farnham and will be hosting a workshop at the end of the retreat.

I created a marketing plan for each stage of our launch, and started talking about the retreat to my mailing list audience, as well as setting up a waiting list for early bird tickets. Jodie put together a brand kit for our brand colours and we both collected a range of beautiful photos of our workshops to use from recent photoshoots with photographer Annabel Crich.

Once we were ready to launch the retreat, I created a series of email newsletters to send out and I also built the retreat product page on my wesbsite. Jodie also included details of the retreat on her own website and in her newsletters and social media posts.

Jodie created our social media account and we have both been creating posts and reels to share details of the retreat.

We have also now been reaching out to local press to share news of the retreat and we have been visiting our wonderful venue in Farnham to plan the day in more detail.

Planning the Workshops

During the retreat both Jodie and I will be hosting 2.5 hour workshops and we have worked together to make sure they compliment each other on the day.

I will be hosting an mindfully creatitve autumnal florals watercolour workshop which will be exploring a range of leaves, berries and flowers that are found during that time of year.

We will have a range of seasaonal floral bouquets to reference on the day, and I will be teaching how to mix a limited colour palette, demonstrating painting techniques and guiding retreat guests to help them create a beautiful final composition.

Jodie will be hosting a modern calligraphy workshop which will explore the basic strokes of calligraphy and practice writing the alphabet, learning how to join the letters up to make words

More Than Just Art

As well as the wonderful workshops hosted by Jodie and I, we wanted to make sure that every aspect of the day is inspiring and indulgent.

We will be serving welcome drinks on arrival, and we will be providing a delicious buffet lunch from a local grazing board supplier.

Each retreat ticket will also include a personalised art box for each retreat guest so all the materials you need for each workshop will be included, from watercolour paints and brushes, to calligraphy dip pens and ink, as well as reference worksheets.

To keep with the mindful theme of the retreat, we have also invited Breathwork Coach Sharon Swyer to host a breathwork session at the end of the retreat to help you decompress and relax.

And we have plans for more suprise treats throughout the day, including a small shop at the end of the day where you will be able to browse calligraphy and art materials, as well as products from local suppliers.

Planning Tips for Aspiring Retreat Hosts

Having gone through the process of planning a retreat, I can share some tips on what to consider if you would like to host a retreat of your own:

1. Finding the right venue is key. Make sure you spend time researching possible venues in detail before you commit to booking in your retreat. Until you have this in the diary you won’t be able to plan other aspects of the retreat and to start promoting it.

2. Make sure you are clear on your budget. Do your research on other retreats that are local to you and what is included in them. Make sure you have priced your tickets fairly for what will be included in your retreat, and make sure you find suppliers that are the right fit for your day.

3. Communication with Suppliers. Make sure you get a range of quotes from suppliers, but be polite and courteous when you receive details from them and are confirming your booking. Keep communication to emails where possible so that you have record of quotes agreed etc. Do make sure to get copies of contracts and invoices where needed.

4. Set up a Shared Planner. Jodie and I use Google Drive to share our spreadsheets, photos, marketing materials and more. It makes a huge difference in being able to track all the detals of the retreat and we can access everything quickly when we need to. Other planner options might include Airtable, Trello or Notion.

The Power of Community

We created this retreat as we felt it was important to create a space for connection and creativity. When we host our workshops we often work with local businesses and love how they support and champion us, and we are helping to bring a new audience to them as well. We are also supporting and using local suppliers and businesses wherever possible. Many of our retreat attendees are coming with friends, but we are also excited to see some guests booking spaces just for themselves. We hope it will be a wonderful opportunity for them to meet new people in a relaxed and inspiring setting.

We would love for you to join us on the Flow and Flourish Retreat on 15th September.

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