An Embroidered Journey is a special thing… a bespoke tour, designed around textile history, for a small group of people. It sounds pretty simple, but let me share with you a few of the points I consider most important:
I love teaching art and sharing art history
I’ve really enjoyed being a teacher/professor throughout my life. I started teaching pretty early in my quilting career, and taught a few semesters of college before choosing to run my own biz; loved the students; the structure of academia, not so much!
To me, teaching a person is like unwrapping a gift with them, pointing out all the cool things under the ribbons and tissue paper, and then helping them take that new toy/knowledge and PLAY with it. It’s like birthdays every day to me!
“WOW! The gift bag is so cool and super thoughtful! What a fantastic surprise!” – S.
Take care of people and make things easy
Based on my own travels, I’ve found that having a certain amount of the arrangements made for me really eased my overwhelm, and increased my feeling of being pampered, things like a small tour group, and not having to share a room! So I built my tours around this feeling: I want you to just show up and know that I’m going to take care of you, from big things like finding a good hotel, to little things like travel apps for your phone. And I hire some incredible local guides to support us, too.
“What convinced me to take this tour was the group size. I was concerned about being overwhelmed in a big city plus the language barrier. This was more like being out with friends than “on a tour.” – Leslie
Deliver delight and exclusive experiences
I want these tours to have sweet moments of delight in them, from finally seeing something you’ve only ever experienced in pictures, to an unexpected pastry treat as we walk by a bakery. I look for exclusive experiences for you, ones that are not in the guide books, or that can only be had if you know the right helpers or secret password!
“This Paris trip was one of the most memorable experiences of any of my travels. I think that was mostly because of the ‘insider’ opportunities planned for us. They provided a richness that I haven’t had the luxury of enjoying on other trips and allowed us to see real people and places in the city—which was absolutely wonderful.” – Leann
Slow down to see
I want us to see the city differently. I keep us on the streets and using public transpo (rather than using private vans) so that we don’t miss the casual beauty everywhere. Our high-speed lives offer us the equivalent of speed-dating our surroundings, getting a fast peek at the surface of a lot of things; consider me your match-maker for a deeper date with a few really interesting experiences instead!
“Visiting Paris was on my bucket list and this trip was more than I had hoped for. Not only did I get to do normal tourist adventures but I got a more intimate artsy journey as well. Sam’s unique itinerary made the trip so special” – Lori
Get out of our culture
Travel broadens our capacity for understanding and compassion. One of my fave parts of travel is to experience how other people live, and to allow that to inspire us to change our own lives for the better. My life is a mosaic of little things from other places, both in terms of changing how I think and do things, to the physical souvenirs and treasures I collect. There is even beauty in the parts of other cultures that don’t fit you well, as it can really increase your gratitude for what you love best about your life.
“Our trip was a once in a lifetime and am so grateful to Sam’ superb organization and great guidance. It couldn’t have gone smoother.” – Ursula
De-mystify formal art
Ah, my beloved art world! Art is absolutely everywhere, but some of it is packaged up in intimidating, dense art-speak that feels rudely exclusionary to me. I want everyone to feel invited to enjoy art at any level of engagement. I love telling the stories about how the art was made – both the socio-political reasons for its creation, to the actual nuts and bolts of its material construction. I love connecting us, as makers, to the history of making before us. And I love hearing what *you* think about the art.
“Sam’s Museum Scavenger Hunt is funny! And it’s a great way to look at art differently” – S.
Create community
Over the centuries, the needle arts have been taught hand-to-hand by women in community. There is something special about sitting to stitch with friends… time slows down, stories are shared, and we find ways to support each other. By starting most days of an Embroidered Journey in a cafe, slow stitching, we bring a little of that traditional community back to our lives. I find that my tour peeps start looking out for each other in really sweet ways (like looking for a special souvenir, or finding an empty seat on the Metro) and it’s one of the best parts of the tour 🙂
“Loved the special mornings doing thread work while enjoying each other’s company.” – Lori
