Forage to Fabric with
Stacie Bloomfield
DATES: July 26-30, 2027
FEE: $2,750.00
We need enough sign-ups by April 26th to confirm this retreat. You can still register after that date if the retreat is running and space remains.
Need financial assistance? Please contact us.
Spend three creative days turning the natural world around you into your own mini fabric collection. Using The Smiley Manse property as inspiration, Stacie Bloomfield will guide participants through gathering ideas from flowers, leaves, branches, textures, colors, and other details they discover outdoors. From there, participants will bring their inspiration into Procreate, transform their sketches and photographs into digital illustrations, create seamless repeating patterns, and develop a coordinated three-pattern collection. By the end of the retreat, each participant will have a hero pattern, supporting pattern, and blender pattern ready to upload to Spoonflower, where they will order fabric samples of their finished designs.
For planning purposes, here's what we ask each participant bring:
• iPad with the latest version of Procreate installed
• Apple Pencil or compatible stylus
• iPad charger
• Sketchbook and any favorite drawing supplies
• Phone or camera for taking reference photos
• Comfortable shoes for exploring the property
FORAGE TO FABRIC RETREAT SCHEDULE
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4:30 pm | Welcome Gathering
6:00 pm | Dinner
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9:30 am | Light in-studio breakfast
10:00 am | Morning Art Session
Participants gather inspiration from The Smiley property. One person may be drawn to wildflowers while someone else notices seed pods, bark, winding vines, mushrooms, or an unexpected color combination.
– break for lunch –
2:00 pm | Afternoon Art Session
We’ll discover interesting shapes, lines, textures, colors, and details to make our own from the inspiration gathered.
6:00 pm | Simple in-studio dinner
– post-dinner studio time is available –
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8:30 am | Early studio access
Today we’ll start to turn the inspiration you gathered into an illustrated hero pattern. Stacie will share how to simplify and stylize, working with color, building a strong pattern composition, and creating and testing a seamless repeat in Procreate.
9:30 am | Light in-studio breakfast
10:00 am | Morning Art Session
– break for lunch –
2:00 pm | Afternoon Art Session
6:00 pm | Dinner at local restaurant*
– post-dinner studio time is available –
-
8:30 am | Early studio access
9:30 am | Light in-studio breakfast
10:00 am | Morning Art Session
Stacie will teach participants how to pull colors, shapes, marks, and smaller elements from their first design to create a supporting pattern and blender without ending up with three patterns that all look the same. You’ll look at your collection as a whole and make final adjustments.
– break for lunch –
2:00 pm | Afternoon Art Session
Together we’ll prepare the designs for fabric by: exporting the finished pattern files from Procreate, setting up Spoonflower accounts, uploading our designs, choosing the appropriate repeat and scale, and ordering fabric samples.
6:00 pm | Dinner at The Smiley
– post-dinner studio time is available –
-
8:30 am | Early studio access
9:30 am | Light in-studio breakfast
10:00 am | Final Art Session
1:00 pm | Light lunch & goodbyes
– optional studio time until 5pm –
*Not included in retreat fee. Date of dinner out also subject to restaurant availability.
About Stacie Bloomfield
Stacie Bloomfield is an artist, entrepreneur, author, and educator with more than 17 years of experience building businesses around her creativity. She founded Gingiber from her dining room table while working full time and grew it into a seven-figure art and home goods brand, with products sold in 1,400+ retail stores.
Today, Stacie shares what she learned over the years with other artists and creative entrepreneurs. Through Leverage, her educational programs, content, podcast, and online community, she has helped more than 150,000 artists develop products, market their work, create additional revenue streams, and build sustainable creative businesses.
She is also the author of The Artist's Side Hustle and host of the Art + Audience podcast.
“I felt relaxed and welcomed. Beautiful spaces, excellent food, and thoughtful details everywhere.”
— Ann
2024 Smiley retreat participant
Where You’ll Be Creating
Springfield, Vermont
The Smiley Manse Barn
Nestled up behind the main property is the barn. This turn of the last century post-and-beam construction with a slate roof that rises to a massive walled cupola, the barn is noted as one of the finest carriage barns in the region. Learn more about the history of The Smiley here.
Inside, you’ll find large flat work tables, each a place to explore and express your individual creativity, yet the atmosphere encourages connection and dialogue. Whether it’s the sound of a paintbrush sweeping across the page or folks discussing technique over coffee, the barn serves as a meeting ground for artists of all levels to create and build lasting relationships, exchange ideas, and learn from one another.
We strive to create a space where the act of making art is as much about building community as it is about self-expression.
Join us for a chance to unwind and create in an idyllic setting.
Your Retreat Includes:
Custom designed art curriculum by Stacie
4 days of creative instruction
Extra studio access before/after each full day
All meals (except 1 dinner out)
Tea, coffee, and snacks always available in the barn
Usage of our art supply stash during the retreat
What’s Not Included:
Accommodations – there are several great options nearby!
Transportation to/from The Smiley
1 dinner out at a local restaurant