A Creative Retreat in Somerset This October: Design, Print, and Imagine
In October I'm running a six-day creative retreat at Court House Farm in Somerset, and I'd love for you to be there.
It's called Design, Print, and Imagine - and it's exactly that. Six days of making, learning, and getting properly into the process of how a wallpaper design goes from an idea in your head to something you can hold in your hands. Or hang on a wall. Or put on a sofa.
What we'll be doing
Every design I make starts with a hand-carved block. No computers, no shortcuts, just a chisel, a piece of wood, and a lot of decision-making about what belongs in the world you're building.
Over the week, you'll work through the whole process. Developing motifs, carving your own blocks, printing, repeating, experimenting with colour and scale. But here's the part I'm most excited about: by the end of the week, you won't just leave with samples. You'll leave with a design you made, and if you want to take it further, I'll print it for you as a finished product. A wallpaper. A fabric. Something real, made by you, that can actually go into a room.
That's not something you get from a workshop afternoon. A creative retreat is the right format for this. It takes a week, the right environment, and someone who's done it enough times to know where people get stuck and how to get them through it.
This creative retreat is designed for designers, makers, and creative professionals who want to go deeper into the craft and to understand how handmade pattern design works from the inside. It counts towards CPD if that's useful to you.
Court House Farm — why the venue matters
Court House Farm is a historic manor farmstead in Portishead, just outside Bristol and it feels like a proper escape the moment you arrive. Beautiful gardens, real studios, and a team who look after you in a way that's rare. The food alone is worth the trip. Helen and the Court House Farm team cook everything from scratch, and by day two you'll have stopped thinking about home entirely.
The week is fully residential - five nights in the manor or the Victorian Court Lodge just at the end of the drive, all meals and refreshments included. A creative retreat works best when you don't have to think about anything except the work.
If you live locally in Portishead, Clevedon, Bristol or nearby, there's also a non-residential studio pass option.
The details
Dates: 18–23 October 2026 (arrive 2pm Sunday, leave 11.30am Friday)
Where: Court House Farm, Portishead BS20 6PU
Pricing:
• £2,550 + VAT: own ensuite room in the historic Manor
• £2,350 + VAT: own room, shared bathroom
• £1,990 + VAT: shared twin room (per guest, booked together)
• £990 + VAT: non-residential 6-day studio pass (local guests)
All residential prices include five nights' accommodation, all meals and refreshments, expert tuition, studio time, talks, and activities. A £500 non-refundable deposit secures your place.
Why I'm running this creative retreat
I get asked a lot about the process from how a design starts, how the repeat works and how you go from a sketch to something that can cover a wall. The honest answer is that it's hard to explain in words, and much easier to show. That's why a creative retreat is the right format.
A week is long enough to actually get somewhere; to move past the tentative first attempts and into the work that surprises you. The small group means proper attention. And being somewhere genuinely beautiful, well-fed, and away from ordinary life means you can actually think. The best creative retreats in the UK give you all of that at once. This one does.
I've been doing this long enough to know that the making and the thinking aren't separate things. The block teaches you things the sketchbook doesn't. I'm looking forward to sharing that.
Who this is for
This creative retreat in Somerset is designed for designers, makers, and creative professionals who want to go deeper. Interior designers, surface pattern designers, textile artists, architects, illustrators - anyone who works with pattern or material and wants to understand where handmade design really starts.
No previous printmaking experience is required. What matters is curiosity and a willingness to work with your hands. If you've been looking for a craft retreat in the UK that takes you seriously and that treats making as thinking, this is it.
It counts towards CPD. If that's relevant to you, we can provide documentation.
Frequently asked questions
Is this creative retreat suitable for beginners?
Yes. This creative retreat is designed for people at all levels of experience. What matters is curiosity and commitment to the week, not prior printmaking knowledge. Designers, makers, and creative professionals find it equally valuable whether they've carved a block before or never touched one.
What will I leave with?
You'll leave with carved blocks, printed samples, and a developed design that's genuinely yours. If you want to take it further, I can print your design as a finished wallpaper or fabric - something real, made by you, that can go into a room.
Does this count towards CPD?
Yes. This creative retreat in the UK is CPD-eligible for designers and creative professionals. Documentation is available on request.
What's included in the residential price?
Five nights' accommodation, all meals and refreshments, expert tuition with Annika Reed, full studio time, evening talks and activities. Everything except travel.
I'm local - can I attend without staying?
Yes. There's a non-residential 6-day studio pass at £990 + VAT for guests based in Portishead, Clevedon, Bristol and nearby. You join the full creative retreat programme each day and return home in the evenings.
How do I book?
A £500 non-refundable deposit secures your place on this creative retreat. Book directly through Court House Farm at the link below. If the October dates don't work, you can register your interest for future retreats and you'll hear first when new dates are announced.
Book your place
Secure your place with a £500 deposit. Numbers are small by design.
If the dates don't work but you'd like to know about future retreats, register your interest through Court House Farm and you'll hear first when new dates are announced.