A RETREAT CALLED NOURISH AND NURTURE..
...to feed your creative soul
CardyNet House
16th Sept
(eve) to 20th Sept (b’fast)
Ali Ferguson (The
Purple Thread Shed) & Carole Fitzgerald (Lazy Sunday)
A very exceedingly excited HELLO!
I'm very exceedingly excited to introduce to you something that
I have been planning with my very gorgeous friend Ali Ferguson of The Purple Thread Shed for quite some time. Our ‘Retreat called Nourish and
Nurture’ is now a thing, having been on the slow burn for quite a few months and probably even longer. The tagline - '..to feed your creative soul' might sound a little high falooting (I'm ignoring the spellchecker!) but here's the point:
Ali is my go to stress/busyhead/overwhelm buster. I didn't know this the first time I went on one of her fabulous creative workshops a few years ago, but in the course of a single snowy day in her Purple Threadshed I remembered what it felt like to be not busy. I made something beautyFULL that I was proud of and that I could take home and feel happy about. I didn't look at the clock. I didn't check my phone. I didn't worry about the extra hours I would have to work to make up for my day away.
It was the next day that I realised that something had shifted in me and I knew what I had to do to make my business happy and to make me happy in it. Over the course of the next few months I did those 'things' and I am utterly absolutely convinced to this day that the creative snowy day away with Ali Ferguson in her quirky beautiful purple shed gave me the head space, the clarity, the motivation and the energy to unstick myself and move forward.
From then on, whenever we got together, stuff shifted for both of us. Ali loved my food and my photography and how I styled my business. I loved her beautiful, thought provoking, story telling stitched pieces of art, her lovely workspace, her calmness and her ability to take a thought and make it a story. We realised that we were at our best in beautyFULL spaces and that beauty in our surroundings and our environment is really important to us both.
We trusted each other which meant that we could really talk and work things through - usually without realising that that's what we were doing. Thinking out loud was a fabulous, luxurious thing and we gave each other the confidence, and often the permission, to just go for it even when the "it' was sometimes very big and very scary! And all the time we were making and creating and doing and chatting and being.
One day, Ali showed me how to make a beautyFULL scrappy journal that, unintentionally, became my thinking space. I started doodling and scribbling and making notes and then the ideas started flowing. When I shared this with Ali, we both realised that the gentle process of making and creating actually fed our inspiration, our energy and our thinking.
A retreat called Nourish and Nurture
And so our Retreat called Nourish and Nurture was born and we would love you to come join us in a house by the sea and
there enjoy the very simple beauty of making and doing and chatting and
being. We know that you will leave feeling inspired and motivated and energised and connected and valued. Your head will be clearer. You'll get the significance of living beautyFULLY.
We’ll provide the creative activities that will help to
‘unstick’ you. Creative sessions combined with beautyFULL food, gentle strides
along the beach and relaxation by the fire will feed your inspiration and chase
away the ‘stuff and stress’ that holds you back. Sharing ideas and experiences
and forming friendships and connections will give you the permission to think
out loud. And we hope that everything we do together, and sometimes on our own,
will bring clarity and headspace.
This Retreat called Nourish and Nurture will
leave you excited to get going and inspired to make a start. We hope that life
will feel more beautyFULL – however that looks for you.
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THE BEGINNING
It was important to us both, in the creating of this
retreat, that you came only with yourselves, a willing heart, a large appetite,
and a few bits and pieces of meaning to share. We’ll provide everything else,
including all the material and supplies, the food and the drinks, a wonderfully
creative library and gifts for when you arrive and when you leave.
THE ACCOMMODATION
We have chosen the very lovely CardyNet house in Lower
Largo quite deliberately. In Victorian times it was built as a fishing net
factory and employed 30 women to make nets for the then booming herring
industry.
But now, CardyNet house is a beautyFULL contemporary dwelling overlooking the often wild Firth of Forth and enjoying spectacular views across the water to Edinburgh. You can step forward onto the beach or step sideways into the beautifully mature and compact walled garden.
It’s the kind of space that makes you see differently.
And think differently. If you’re wondering where your ship might be heading, a
few days luxuriating here will clear your head, soothe your soul and possibly
even steer you forward.
That’s why we’ve chosen CardyNet House.
THE FOOD
“if you really want to make a friend, go to
someone’s house and eat with them. The people who give you their food give you
their heart.’ Cesar Chavez.
Morning, noon and night you will enjoy the most
delicious food, prepared open plan and shared round one long table. You’ll be
encouraged to join in the making – whether picnic, bbq, breakfast or feast- and
my focus will be on taking seasonal, local produce and creating WOW
factor dishes that are easy to prepare, packed full of flavour and served on
tables set, styled and foraged by us all. The conversation and the wine will
flow.
HANDS – ON SESSIONS; time well spent!
Sessions will be
ongoing across the 3 days but there will also be much time to explore your own
ideas. We encourage this.
· Journal Making – as a way to nurture
your creative thinking, Ali will help you to craft your own journal that over
the course of the 3 days with us can become anything you want it to be.·
Techniques shared will include:
o Using
wax to create stunning imagery (this is magical!)
o Creative
printing onto ribbon, feathers, wood and fabric
o Calligraphy
basics
o Using
gesso and old book pages to create layers in your work
· Styled shoot – Carole will lead you
through the basics of setting and styling the beautiful tables around which we
shall eat, using collective foraged
materials and her own treasure trove of beautiful props.
· Photography – With your mobile
phone or dslr camera, Carole will show you how to use your camera to take the
photos that will tell a visual story. So bring your camera so that we can
beautyFULLY capture the moments you want to remember and record
· Time out – We don’t plan to overfill
your days. Long walks, slow meals and drinks around the fire will all gently
feed your creativity and your inspiration. And if you would like time out
alone, to read books or to catch up, or to wander and explore, that’s fine too.
And last but not least..
We have decided for this, our first and very
exciting year, to offer our Retreat called Nourish and Nurture for a special
price.
£625 for a room on your own
£550 for sharing with one other
You will arrive early evening on Monday 16th
September and leave after breakfast on Friday 20th September. 3 whole days and
4 gorgeous nights and yes….we’re very aware that we’re asking you to take time
off work!
Spaces are very limited, so if this gets your
heart fluttering grab your place at the table now. Email me: carole@fitzgerald.co.uk
