• C R E F F T •
A creative retreat in West Wales with Zoe Murphy
“Come and spend time with me to open up your creativity and make some winning memories and new friends in the process!
Our carefully curated three day event in West Wales (plus evening & morning either side) features workshops and tuition in drawing, mark-making, fabric dyeing, and textile printing, all in one of my favourite places - pretty Pembrokeshire! We’ll have you marching home with a pile of fabrics and pages of your own inspired designs, along with a strong dose of my confidence and enthusiasm to inform your way of looking at the things that you go on make in the future. All food, refreshments, transport & thoughtfully selected group accommodation for you to choose from are part of the experience - a trip with every moment looked after, just for you.” - Zoe
Is this creative holiday right for you?
’Crefft’ (the Welsh word for craft) is a chance to spend time away from the distractions of everyday life, learning to draw, dye, and screen print with a practicing furniture and textile designer. The focus is entirely placed on gentle and uninhibited learning in a small group, fostering an environment where attendees feel welcome, supported, and confident to experiment. The days on your retreat offer a mix of travel and tourism exploring the local Welsh region with Zoe, creative making in a furnished design/print studio, and socialising with your hosts and other new friends. You don’t have to consider yourself good at ANY creative practice to join our trip, you don’t have to feel like a confident or chatty person, you don’t even have to know much yet about Zoe and the work that she makes. The trip is all about your enjoyment, learning at your own pace, and being met right where you’re ‘at’.
Cozy Comforts
Thanks to a lot of lovely local connections in Pembrokeshire, our retreat is furnished with the products of some superb regional suppliers and businesses.
We’ve partnered with local accommodation to provide you with a well-connected and central place to retire and sleep for the four nights of your stay, this is booked directly with the venue and includes all sleeping comforts, car-parking, and a delicious breakfast each morning. We find that this helps for guests to book the room and accommodation facilities that they wish for, while all receiving the same experience from us on the retreat itself.
As part of your retreat fee, you will enjoy our daily activities and travel within West Wales for our three days of fun, a seasonal lunch, dinner & refreshments of soft drinks and cakes are all included in the stay for every single guest. We provide a vegetarian menu in order to cater for the widest number of tastes, but can accomodate all dietary requirements.
The Studio Space
In a newly refurbished (and very big) industrial boat shed in the neighbouring town of Pembroke Dock, Zoe has established a second studio for her working holidays and retreats. It’s in this ground floor space that you will find ample room for group drawing and mark-making classes, and your own print space for learning how to screen print and decorate cloth objects during Crefft. There is a little outside garden space, big old wooden doors, and a stone pier at the end of the road.
Crefft exploring
An important part of our retreat is the sight-seeing and creative exploring we undertake on day one. Along with Zoe and your new crowd of friends, you’ll take a trip to coastal and rural locations to take photographs, draw, and learn about the Welsh industrial heritage. Our creative packs furnish you with everything you might need to fill a sketchbook while you learn from Zoe, and of course there will be time to ask questions about the area or buy souvenirs at any woollen mills we visit along the way.
What you’ll go home with
Memories of a packed creative trip with a great bunch of people
Friendships that endure - our group chat from the last retreat is still going and meeting up
A more personal connection with an international furniture & textile designer
Insight into Zoe’s way of thinking, drawing & making, with advice on your own work too
Skills in drawing, mark-making, dyeing, colour-mixing & screen printing
A sketchbook with your own patterns and motifs
A pile of your own printed and patterned fabric and perhaps even some finished printed products too
A greater knowledge of West Wales textile history, coastal & rural locations, foods & people
A goodie bag from Zoe gifted to you during your stay, including special access to retreat-only items in our West wales studio store
The price of your retreat
4 evenings & 3 full days of creativity, adventuring, friendship, food & fun - £990 (not including the cost of your chosen room at our partner hotel)
What is included in your retreat booking:
• A welcome dinner and drinks on the first evening, where you meet Zoe and her team.
• 3 days of tuition with Zoe: one travelling and exploring the Welsh drawing locations (seaside, rural, Welsh mill) and two in her Pembrokshire textile printing studio.
• All tools and equipment to use during your stay.
• A creative pack of drawing materials and sketchbook for you to take home with you.
• Materials and inks to create your own printed fabrics, as well as a studio ‘shop’ to buy (at cost price) readymades to decorate with your new skills.
• A beautiful seasonal lunch and evening meal provided on all days.
• Plentiful teas, coffees and cake at the studio and on excursions.
• Minimum 3 x accompanied suppers with Zoe and her team.
• A gift bag of treats and handmade items to take home with you from Zoe.
What is not included in your retreat booking:
• 4 night stay at our partner accommodation, (Monday night to Thursday night inclusive). This is booked directly with the Mariner’s Hotel and prices for a single occupancy room start as little as £95 per night. The hotel is a 10-15 minute walk from the train station and is central to the town of Haverfordwest.
• Delicious daily breakfast, which is supplied as part of your stay at the Mariner’s Hotel.
• Alcoholic drinks, although these will be available to you to purchase separately.
• Your own travel to and from the retreat.
• Your individual travel or trip insurance
Sleep
For our Crefft accommodation we have partnered with the oldest hotel in Haverfordwest. Listed as having been established as early as 1625, Hotel Mariners is a cosy & inviting, old-world, family-run hotel that has a welcoming team, a big mix of great value en-suite bedrooms and a delicious morning breakfast included in the cost of your stay with them. It’s the perfect place for our guests to be centrally located, looked after all together under one roof, and we will even be adding our own little decorative touches to your rooms ready for the beginning of your stay. Hotel Mariners has a guest car park, is within easy walking distance of the centre of town and train station, and prices start at £94.00 per night for a single room, £105.00 per night for a single occupancy small double, and £135.00 per night for a two person double or twin bed room.
You may check into the accommodation from 16:00 on Monday 15th September. There will be a meet and greet at 18:00 with your fellow guests and Zoe’s team at Hotel Mariners before a welcome evening meal. Check out is by 10:00 on Friday 19th September.
