Sneak Peek #1

Here's a little 'sneak peek' of just one of the setups for our event. 

{There are seven of them ;0) }

Are you coming out for our Spring Petite Retreat this weekend?!

We've arranged tons of Retreat vintage-style treasures for you, and
Poppyseeds will be here on Saturday with their wares!

Visit our event blog for map & directions:

http://petiteretreat.blogspot.com

plus info on other attractions & amenities nearby.

{images by Retreat; all rights reserved}

Whatta' Weekend: BarnHouse Season Opener, 2nd Saturdayz Debut, AND Petite Retreat Debut!

There is SO MUCH going on in the Northwest this weekend!

 The fabulous Boys of BarnHouse, Joe & Jermonne, are hosting their season opener show on Saturday May 8th, in Battle Ground, Washington (Vancouver area). Check here for info & directions.

We are so grateful to the Boys for their generous spirits - they asked us to bring them some Retreat products for this show and for their web site. To be asked is an honor, believe us! Then we took a look at the 'Guest' list and nearly keeled over... our little Retreat treasures will be presented alongside those from an absolutely stellar roster of Northwest vintage dealers:

Worthy Goods

Bella

Auntie Joy
Madison Park

Queen of Tarte

Little Cottage

Sparrow

Camas Antiques

Lynne G

The Withies

The Broughs

Busy Biddy
Retreat

 

If you can make it to their show, plan to arrive EARLY. These are madhouse events!

Saturday the 8th is also the debut of a new show in Seattle: 2nd Saturdayz at Sand Point!
Held in the 'workshop' area attached to Hangar 30 at Magnussen Park, this is sure to be a high-energy, high-quality show - Linda of Luluz, John Bob Cool Junk, and Janet of Blue Ewe are the promoters, and they know shows! We won't get to attend one of these until AUGUST because of our traveling schedule, but we are excited about them!!!

And of course we'll be hosting our own Spring Petite Retreat here at our farm on Camano Island both Saturday May 8 and Sunday May 9. We open at 10 both days, and Poppyseeds will be here on Saturday, too!

We hope you can make plans to attend one or more of these amazing events

Get out there and support your local vintage industry!!!

The Countdown Begins...

With just FIVE days to go until our Spring Petite Retreat, 

{Saturday May 8 and Sunday May 9, 10 AM to 4 PM}

we are hard at work tending to every last detail. 

Lots of fabulous treasures are making their way 

into our little barn shop, awaiting your arrival... 

we'll share a sneak peek each day to whet your appetite!

We hope to see you next Saturday or Sunday

{Remember that the Poppyseeds girls will be here on Saturday!}

Visit our Petite Retreat blog for map, driving directions, 

plus info about the artist studio tours 

and other events on Camano Island next weekend

{Images Ours}

Petite Retreat Special Guests!

A special announcement about our upcoming Spring Petite Retreat:

We are so pleased to share with you that our friends Julie and MaryBeth from Poppyseeds will be our special guests at our Spring event! They will be sharing their treasures with you here at Retreat Farm on Saturday, May 8 ONLY, so don't miss them!

We met Julie on our first trip out to the Island, when we just HAD to stop into a darling little shop, Poppyseeds, on the side of the highway through Stanwood. Ever since, we've been friends! Julie &  MaryBeth {cousins} have been wonderful about making us feel right at home in our new community. Within a month after moving here, we were renting a room in their shop and displaying our Retreat treasures, until January of this year.

The girls are constantly re-filling the rooms of this charming little cottage with wonderful finds & vintage style! Color is really their 'thing' - it's a happy place!

We've had a lot of fun doing special projects at their store, events, and flea markets both local and distant with them, over the past year and a half. Having them participate in our first little show is our chance to thank them for all they have done for us... we really are excited to share our friends and their business with you at our first vintage seasonal market.

So we invite you to bring along your love of color and whimsy when you come to our May event, because 'the Poppyseeds Girls' will have it in spades! Visit their blog to see more, and Follow them on Facebook, too!

For more information about our Petite Retreats, go here. 

{image credits: Poppyseeds, 
except second photo: Retreat }

Petite Retreat Dates 2010

We've got a graphic, so it must be official! 

2010 Petite Retreat 

Vintage Seasonal Market Dates:

Spring

May 8 & 9

Summer

June 26

Autumn

September 18

Join us on our farm

on Camano Island, Washington

as we open our small barn shop & outdoor areas

for an intimate gathering of friends & treasures each season.

Stay tuned for more details...

Workin' the Plan

Oh my gosh, it's been such a ca-RA-zy week! 

Our first event here at our farm went well... the weather didn't cooperate at all, but wonderful friends and long-time customers came out to see what we've been up to. Their support is priceless! We are more prepared now for our big launch in May, with a show on Mother's Day weekend that is open to the public. {Click on the 'Petite Retreats' Page link above to see more about that upcoming event!} Thanks to MaryBeth Sande of Poppyseeds, we have one photo of us that proves we were there. One. That's how crazy things were!

In a few short weeks, we have the Remnants of the Past show down in California to attend, and we spent yesterday and today plotting, planning, and then setting up a mock booth to test our plan. Hmmmmmn.... lots of shuffling and swapping out of products goin' on! It's getting there. By end of tomorrow, we'll have it all sorted out. Then we can move on to the details of the displays - yay!

There are some funny things that happen when we do this - like the 'stand ins'.
Items that are still 'in process' in the shop or paint room get another chair or table that takes its place in the setup until the actual item is ready. A 'furniture stunt double', if you will! There is also the requisite moving of an item by infinitesimal increments over and over and over...'just a tch that way... no, that way'... multiple times. Usually until it ends up right back where it started. I messed with a table and chairs for about fifteen minutes and multiple rearrangements until I finally realized that the reason it just wasn't working was that I had the wrong chairs with the table. duh!

Just about the time I figured that out and swapped the chairs, the rain moved in again. Wind was blowing it in under the big 20 X 20 tent {where we set up the 10 X 10 tent!} and I was cold and cranky in about 30 seconds. Deb was done for the day!!!

Petite Retreat and not-so-petite Thanks!

Check out a few photos of today's 

Petite Retreat Preview Party 

on our Facebook Page 

More photos as soon as we recover... we were up at 4 AM dealing with wind!

We want to offer a huge THANK YOU to our generous friends Timi & Jay of Come Junk With Us, Patricia & John of Tippy Stockton Custom Jewelry, and MaryBeth & Julie from Poppyseeds for coming out to help us this morning. We cannot possibly thank all of our wonderful customers & friends enough for making the trek North in some absolutely hideous weather today - you are amazing! Your support of Retreat means the world to us.

Ready, Set...

Here we go!

{images: Deb Kennedy for Retreat}

Petite Peek #5

Things are movin' right along here on the farm,

  as we prepare for a very special private event

for some pretty special people!

If you joined our mailing list by March 1, you know what I'm talkin' about! 

{Seeeee? We told y'all to sign up!}

24 hours to go and the foofing has begun!

Petite Peek #4

Creating beautiful and inspiring displays is one of the parts we like best about what we do in our booths at shows. And at shows, we generally have just one day to set up. {Except at BarnHouse, where Joe & Jermonne basically invite dealers to move IN for the week before a show and take their time!}

So, can you even imagine how much FUN it is for us to have had all this time to get our barn ready for our Spring Petite Retreats?! We've got some really amazing stuff to share with you... very soon!

{image by Deb Kennedy for Retreat}

Petite Peek #3: Retreat's Extreme Makeover: BARN Edition

 Our Petite Retreat Barn.

It used to be painted RED inside, and was dirty as all heck. With no light.

So we cleaned, painted, and added french doors, 

a dutch door, skylight, the awning, barn door, & lighting. 

We are having a blast filling it up with all kinds of goodies 

and wonderful RetreatStyle decor... 

it may be Petite, but it's FAB! 

{images by Retreat,

all rights reserved}

Petite Peek #2

Come on in... it's lookin' fine!

These photos are from

the 'Extreme Makeover: BARN Edition' here at Retreat Farm

{after emptying, cleaning, adding doors, painting, 

hauling in cool architectural stuff & adding lights}

More sneak peeks to come!

{images by Deb Kennedy for Retreat}

Petite Peek

Over the next few weeks, we'll share some sneak peeks 

of our Petite Retreat barn transformation... 

We are excited about sharing it with you 

at our Spring Petite Retreat in May,

and hope to see you then!

Need a Little Retreat?

We are thrilled to announce our 'Petite Retreats': 

intimate seasonal vintage markets, held here on our farm.

We've prepared one of our small barns as a shop/showroom, 

opening one weekend each season to share Retreat Style with you. 

Our first Petite Retreat will be held

Mother's Day Weekend

May 8 & 9

from 10 AM to 4 PM

This event is open to everyone, 

so pass the news along - and bring friends!
{feel free to link to this image & post)

Several of our special friends will be joining us for this Spring market, bringing their fabulous finds to share. Though our market is small &  intimate, you'll find wonderful inspiration and vintage-style treasures galore. We'll have music and refreshments, and even sunshine... we hope you will plan to join us!

We chose Mother's Day because our Island hosts an Artist's Studio Tour that weekend - with over 300 participating artists. You'll be able to enjoy not only our Petite Retreat, but also the scenery, the beaches, artist studio tours, wonderful shops {like Poppyseeds in Stanwood!} and perhaps even a stop at the famous Diamond Knot Brewery or Cama Beach on your day trip here. We'll have info on all of the hot spots, so you won't miss them...

Put our inaugural Petite Retreat on your calendar for May 8 & 9!

PS: Camano Island is 15 miles North of Everett,

then a short, straight 7 mile drive from I-5 across a bridge. 

No ferries! 

Please note that our farm is open for events ONLY.

Address will be posted on our blog before the event.

{More Petite Retreat vintage seasonal markets

are planned for July, September, and November.}