Here's a little more about how our world textiles tour began:

​

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am the founder and owner of The Sewing Retreat. In June 2019 my partner, Louis, and I left the UK to work remotely and travel the world.

​

This crazy idea was born in Croatia and - with a glass of wine in hand - scoping out the prospect of living there. We realised that it wasn't just about living in Croatia, it was wanting to see so much more of the world.

At this time we were stuck with the questions everyone always asks us; how can we do this continuously without putting our careers on hold and without running out of money? Well, there are two answers, the first one was to wait until we retire and the second one was to go for it and become this thing called a digital nomad (not a title we love but a title that makes sense).

The idea of waiting until we retired made my heart sink and we both knew that we want children in a couple of years time (I'm 30, Louis is 32) so it was now or the retirement plan. 

We went for the 'now' plan and somehow within 6 months we'd rented out our London flat, worked out how we could afford to travel for a few months if we couldn't work out this whole digital nomad thing, said goodbye to our friends and family & packed our lives into a suitcase and a rucksack each.

From deciding to leave to the day we left was about a 6 month process of constant decision making. However, my biggest worry wasn’t what to do with any of my possessions as I like to live minimally anyway, the biggest thing holding me back was what to do with The Sewing Retreat. 

I'd built everything from scratch pretty much single-handedly and it encompassed all of my values and interests. I just didn't want to give it up but I couldn’t get my head around how I could send out all of your orders and travel at the same time. 

Then one day I was on the phone to my Mum, Elizabeth, voicing this concern and she said that she could send out all of your orders. I’m not sure she realised actually how long this was going to take at the time but I checked she was sure a few times and here we are today. 

You’re still getting all of your lovely orders, dispatched from Cornwall, England & I am able to bring you stories from around the world and expand other aspects of The Sewing Retreat to bring it to a new level. Between us we are making sewing more eco-friendly and accessible to people around the world.

So here I am, traveling the world and I wanted to share my experience of the different sewing & pattern cutting techniques used in different places, the costumes of different cultures as well as the values different places have of being environmentally friendly.

If you would like to know more about any of the places I have visited, or are visiting, or if you have any tips about a place you think we may like please email me at:

hello@thesewingreatreat.co.uk

Thank you for all your support,

Sarah x