Honeymoon workshop
⏳ 5 min read
This week I had the chance to welcome the loveliest couple in one of my workshops, during their honeymoon in Japan. What a delightful idea, I never imagined it being part of such a special trip! Laura has been a long-time follower of my work and I was very thrilled to receive her booking for this occasion, and when she told me it was part of their honeymoon, my heart felt even warmer! As you know, I am not offering a regular schedule for my sewing workshops at the moment, and I welcome participants for private sessions instead. And last Thursday comforted me in my idea that private sessions are the best. For them and for me. When the class was finished, they were so pleased that I thought I was going to squeeze them tight and drop a few tears…(don’t worry I didn’t) But on that evening I asked myself when was the last time I treated myself with a meaningful experience like this with someone I love…the answer is: too long ago!
So, in today’s post, I wanted to talk about what I think are the ingredients of a unique bonding experience. And I encourage you (telling that to myself at the same time, of course!) to try, whenever you travel, to make time for this special day or half-day with your loved one(s). You might even find this experience close to you, without having to go anywhere.
A bonding experience
I often had small groups of friends and families booking my workshops over the years and I could always see the fun they have learning a new skill together, sometimes competing with each other, sometimes helping each other…
A very special participant comes to mind as I write these words, also named Laura, who used to attend my Spring workshops every year in Kyoto. She would always gather a group of friends and book the whole session just for them. I knew that a day with them would always be a joyful day!
In both cases, I mean for both of these dear Laura, I think what made a difference is also that I could adapt my schedule to their pace and offer them the time they needed to complete the experience without rushing, allowing chats and laughter to set the rhythm of the day.
Also, my workshops offer various options to make your bag one of a kind throughout the process, which allows each participant to express themselves in their creation. Everyone follows the same pattern and guidelines, but everyone will leave with their own unique souvenir. One of my favourite moments of the day is to see participants commenting on other’s creations and congratulating them on the beautiful outcome. I also think they always are so beautiful and so different from each other, and this is usually when I think to myself “Mission accomplished”.
My vintage and oh-so reliable sewing machines accompanying my workshops since 2019. (Vintage machines are underrated.)
Meet another side of your character
On Thursday, I think Laura was as amazed as I was to see David mastering a full sewing day when he had never touched a needle before! I like to think that if it wasn’t for their trip to Japan, how long until she would have discovered her husband’s secret skill?
It happened to me with Kintsugi for example. Not that I mastered a class, quite far from it actually, but I joined a friend in their class out of curiosity, and to share a good time with the person, and ended up enjoying it way more than expected! And I have loved practising kintsugi since then, and this was 8 years ago. This is also why I have such a hard time saying no when people ask me if I am interested in discovering this or that because I might not know it yet, but it could be my next favourite hobby!
Especially when someone teaches you about what they truly love, passion can be contagious!
Happy couple and beautiful bags (or is it happy bags and beautiful couple?)
A peaceful parenthesis
Booking a class during your holidays is a nice way to slow down the pace while focusing on yourself. Visiting new places is so exciting, but we all know that after a few days, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when there is so much to see! Creating a peaceful parenthesis during the trip sounds like a smart thing to do. As my participants mentioned, they walked so much during their stay, trying to see all the beautiful places Kyoto has to offer (and there is certainly no shortage of that!) so, they treated this day as a break in their busy schedule. On Thursday, they knew they didn’t have to go anywhere else and that everything would be planned for them. Indeed we spent the day in a warm and cosy environment, learning about Japanese textiles, and creating beautiful bags, and the lovers had their meal in a nearby shrine I recommended. I also realized they could use this day with me, a local, to ask for further information on some topics and some specific recommendations that they wouldn’t find online.
Matsuo Taisha Shrine, 10 min walk form the studio, hosts delicious soba restaurant perfect for the lunch break.
If you want to do as Laura and David and book a private worskop with me, head to this page. Honeymoon or not, I will be happy to organize it for you!