A Little Background Story

You know that amazing feeling you get when you know something is just so right? Your fingers tingle, your heart starts singing, and you know that the thought you've just had is IT - the right thing to do. You are giddy but focused, and know that you'll do whatever it takes to make this electric idea happen. 

We recently had one of those moments and we'd like to share it with you!

It all started one evening when I (Tania) was reading Flying Lessons by the inspirational business woman and artist Kelly Rae Roberts. Kelly was talking about how she had wanted to meet other strong female creative entrepreneurs who were going through the same things she was. Together with a friend, she set up a retreat and the women that met together that first year became life-long friends and support systems for each other.

I was struck really hard by that. It was at that moment my skin went all goosebumpy, my eyes welled up, and my heart starting singing. Yes, I want this too! I immediately contacted Deanna to help set up a creative retreat. We wanted the retreat to be a welcoming, comforting, and inclusive get-together where female creative entrepreneurs could join together and learn from each other. We'd talk about creativity, our successes, our failures, and our creative and entrepreneurial dreams. We'd build a community of strong women that we could count on, be there for each other, and go through this crazy journey together.

The Creative Dream We Are Bringing To Life

We are so proud of the retreat we've created - Spark, the Creative Entrepreneur Retreat is happening in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico from May 3-7, 2012 at the GORGEOUS Hacienda Dona Andrea. We've got superstar headliners who will lead us through amazing workshops, geared towards reigniting our personal and business creative fires once again.

Alexandra Franzen works with and is trusted by powerhouses such as the fire-starting business guru Danielle Laporte, marketing and business ass-kicker Marie Forleo, and master intuitive Hiro Boga. Alexandra is going to help the participants reconnect with their authentic voice and get them writing themselves into creative motion! Jessika Hepburn is a creative community-builder extraordinaire. She has taken Oh My! Handmade and turned it into one of the most important resources in the world for the handmade community. During the retreat, she will help participants reconnect with their playful creative side and get them exploring new creative possibilities. It's going to be incredible!  

What We Need Help With

We need to raise $1700 for a scholarship fund to bring one lucky lady to our retreat at no cost to her! One incredible, talented, and creative entrepreneur who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend.

There are so many people out there who may have lost their creative fire - those with busy lives and unending commitments. Those women, who used to shine and spark with creative energy, but who sometimes get overwhelmed with all the demands in their lives. They sometimes lose that spark - it can sputter and eventually snuff out entirely. Many women push aside their creative endeavours in order to serve others before listening to their own inner voices. For others, who run creative businesses and tap into their creative well every day, it may simply be a matter of reigniting that passion for their craft so they can think of new products, new designs, and new and authentic ways to market their business.

Just like our bodies need sleep and care in order to stay healthy, our souls need love and attention to feed our creative expression.

There are so many women out there who would love to come to the retreat, to jump start their creative engine, but can't for financial reasons. By raising the funds, we'll be able to sponsor one amazing woman at the retreat. She'll be able to attend at no cost to her, and have the opportunity to reconnect with her authentic, creative self while building deep connections with other powerful, passionate business women. She will grow in so many ways as she pushes past her comfortable, creative limits. We will nurture her and support her as she digs down deep inside and rediscovers what makes her creative soul her own. She's going to get to clown around, play, and experiment with new ideas and skills. And she'll come out of the weekend with a kick-ass support team, business mentors, and life-long friends.

The $1700 scholarship will pay for her accommodations at the Hacienda Dona Andrea, the beautiful adobe inn where the retreat will take place, just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, from May 3 to 7, 2012. It will also cover all her meals, as well as the cost of all the workshops over the weekend. A very small portion of the money will go to administrative costs of setting up this scholarship.

If we don't reach our campaign goal, we will still try to do everything we can to make this dream a reality for one lucky creative soul. Only your contribution will help ensure we reach our goal and help one woman get the tools and techniques she needs to be able to tap into her creative energy any times she needs to.

How We Will Make This Scholarship Happen

How the heck are we going to choose this fabulous recipient?? We will be running a contest during the month of April to choose her! Women entrepreneurs will submit an essay telling us their story - we want to know who this woman is, what her creative passions are, and why she feels she's not plugged into her creativity at full power. What are the circumstances that have stifled her creativity? What are her creative dreams and what is holding her back? And, finally, we're going to want to know how committed this woman is to realizing her creative dreams and what she hopes to do once her creative juju is restored!

The Impact Your Contribution Will Have On One Creative Woman's Life

A successful campaign will allow one truly amazing woman to sparkle and shine!

She will:

• feel the fear of pushing past those creative limits and do it anyway!
• empower herself with the tools and techniques to reignite her own creative fire
• be supported by others going through the same experiences
• become a better business owner
• open herself up to new ways of creative expression
• stand strong in her creative power
• laugh and be truly playful, perhaps for the first time in months.... years?
• reconnect with her authentic, powerful inner voice
• ignite those around her with her infectious joy
  

The Impact Your Contribution Will Have on Others

Her customers will

• benefit from cool new products and spectacular customer service
• be inspired by her to reconnect with their own creative souls

What Do You Get Out Of This?

So, one creative entrepreneur will get an amazing weekend in New Mexico with several others who will be digging into their souls and reacquainting themselves with their inner artist. By contributing to this scholarship, not only are you helping to reignite the creative fire of one amazing woman, you are showing your support of all creative endeavours. 

So what else do you get out of this? Our unending love and appreciation! Plus, you know, cool creative stuff. 

$10 - Handwritten Thank You Card

Any and everyone contributing $10 will receive a handwritten card from both Deanna and Tania. We appreciate every little step along the way to reaching our goal, and want to show you our appreciation in an old-fashioned way!

$25 - Signed Winning Entry

- For $25, you will get a copy of the winning entry to the contest, signed by the lucky woman who gets chosen to come to the retreat! What more motivation could you have to find ways to reconnect with your own creative passions? 

- You will also receive a handwritten thank you card from both Deanna and Tania.

$50 - 10% discount on handmade goods and design services

- For $50, you will get a 10% discount to either Deanna's or Tania's shop. Deanna is a graphic designer and has many design services available for you to choose from (from logos to custom screenprinting and more!) - http://www.applesandorange.com. Tania makes modern goods for you and your home out of natural fabrics - http://www.manusmade.com.

- You will also receive a handwritten thank you card from both Deanna and Tania.

$100 - 25% discount on handmade goods and design services

- For $50, you will get a 10% discount to either Deanna's or Tania's shop. Deanna is a graphic designer and has many design services available for you to choose from (from logos to custom screenprinting and more!) - http://www.applesandorange.com. Tania makes modern goods for you and your home out of natural fabrics - http://www.manusmade.com.

- You will also receive a handwritten thank you card from both Deanna and Tania.

$250 Handmade Goods

- For $250, you will receive your choice of handmade goods by Tania or Deanna. Your choice of

          1. two linen tea towels (your choice) and a set of four linen napkins in a complimentary color;

          2. one linen apron (your choice) and a set of four linen napkins in a complimentary color;

          3. a graphic hand-screenprinted handmade sofa cushion.

- You will also receive a handwritten thank you card from both Deanna and Tania.

$500 - All Of The Above

- For $500, you will receive your choice of handmade goods by Tania or Deanna. Your choice of 

          1. two linen tea towels (your choice) and a set of four linen napkins in a complimentary color;

          2. one linen apron (your choice) and a set of four linen napkins in a complimentary color; 

          3. a graphic hand-screenprinted handmade sofa cushion. 

- In addition, you will get 25% off anything else in the two stores, as well as a signed copy of the winning entry.

- You will also receive a handwritten thank you card from both Deanna and Tania.

How Else Can You Help?

Use the following tweets to spread the word! You will have our undying love if you do!