It’s not uncommon to open social media and see videos about crafting, which could be anything from junk journaling to knitting. While it’s easy to find this content, it’s also easy to be pulled away by your day-to-day responsibilities. But what if you could have uninterrupted creative time in the company of others and instructors who can help guide you? Mischief & Makers Camp, running August 7-9, is a new creative retreat offering exactly that, all against the backdrop of Vashon Island. 

Just southwest of Seattle and reached by ferry, Vashon is minutes from the city but removed enough to slow the pace. 

“Vashon Island operates on island time, and there’s a sense of exhale,” says Court Walker, a Vashon-based potter and owner of community pottery studio, Of the Earth Collective. “The second you get on the boat and get off, there’s a chance to be with your own thoughts.”

For founder Heidi Finley, the retreat is also a chance to bring people together over the kind of cooking and care that have always been central to her work.

Courtesy of Heidi Finley

Marie Browne, a retreat participant and longtime Vashon resident, was drawn to this retreat because it fit into her larger practice of having a creative and joyful life. She’s also worked through the Artist’s Way—author Julia Cameron’s guide to building a regular creative practice—a few times, both on her own and in classes, and she was drawn to Mischief & Makers as a place where she could continue to flex her creativity. That, and the promise of meals made by Heidi Finley, founder of the camp and Maven Meals.

“When I heard about Mischief & Makers Camp, I thought nothing could be better than a weekend of Heidi’s cooking,” Browne says. “I shared it with a group of friends whom I’ve known for 50 years, and we thought this would be a great way to get together for something special.”

A quiet corner of Vashon sets the scene for a weekend of creative play with others.

The camp will have 32 participants for its first iteration, including people coming from out of state and arriving, to a secluded location on Vashon Island (organizers are keeping the exact location private). To bring this retreat to life, Finley drew from her intersecting interests in food, community, and making things with your hands. She had previously hosted an adult summer camp at her house, and it was a great way for everyone to feel like kids again. 

“My true love language is feeding people and creating an environment for people to sit down, slow down, and enjoy each other’s company,” Finley says. “I wanted Mischief & Makers Camp to be a place for adults to work with their hands and leave with things they have made themselves.”

Similar to summer camp, Mischief & Makers is a place where you get to let your mind roam free and participate in expert-led workshops, all while being taken care of. A big part of the experience is the meals, which Finley will be cooking on-site for the multi-course welcome dinner, brunch, and snacks throughout the retreat, including a packed lunch to take on the ferry ride home, served with seasonal ingredients like stone fruit and summer vegetables. 

“My team and I [at Maven Meals] send out thousands of meals to doorsteps across Seattle, and I don’t get the joy of watching people enjoy the food,” Finley says. “To be able to create an atmosphere and menu using ingredients from Vashon Island and watch people enjoy it is the ultimate dream come true.”

Workshops include beginner-friendly projects like painting on water, ceramics, felting, paper marbling, and stained glass.

Courtesy of Heidi Finley

Creating space for creativity

When it comes to the schedule for a creative retreat, there’s a delicate balance between having structured activities and giving room to explore. For this reason, participants will choose four of nine beginner-friendly workshops that cover everything from hand-building ceramics and felting to learning Turkish paper marbling or making a stained glass and cedar suncatcher.

“Even though I think it would be fun to try something new, it means I have to go out and find all the supplies, sit down, and do it,” Browne says. “Having someone offer that experience on a platter lets me focus on having fun.”

The retreat will kick off with a welcome dinner and a ceramics session led by Walker. During the workshop, participants will build stacking terracotta bowls they can take home.

For Walker, clay is a magical medium that can become almost anything, and there’s something special about making things in the company of others.

“Pottery can pull us out of our minds and into our hands, which frees up space to find quiet, release stress, or allow our thoughts to come to the forefront,” Walker says. “It’s also a way to express yourself creatively by bringing your vision to life.”

With each workshop, participants will be encouraged to dig in and start making something, even if it’s imperfect. This comes with embracing the unknown of what the final piece might look like.

“There’s a sense of surprise and delight that comes with doing something with your hands, like when you’re picking up a needle and thread to stitch something or making a collage,” Finley says. “It’s beautiful to start something without knowing where it’s going to end. When you’re done, there’s a sense of accomplishment in making something yourself.” 

Vashon-based potter Court Walker will lead campers through a ceramics session.

Courtesy of Court Walker

During the retreat, participants are encouraged to unplug and focus on whatever is in front of them, which is a benefit of having a weekend dedicated to connecting and learning new crafts using materials like dried botanical flowers, reclaimed fibers and yarns, and beads.

“The world is chaotic beyond description, and we’re being bombarded with information all the time from our devices and elsewhere,” Browne says. “We may not even realize what a toll that takes on us to be on all the time. This retreat is an opportunity to be off the screen and be face-to-face with other people, where you can focus on creating beauty and being together.”

Everyone will also receive a welcome bag with crafting kits so they can finish some of the projects and continue their creative exploration at home.

“I hope this retreat can light something inside people and remind them that they are capable, even if the things they make aren’t perfect,” Finley says. “I also want them to feel like they can go home and continue to make space in their lives for creating.”

And as for the weekend at Mischief & Makers Camp itself, Browne is excited to spend time crafting and exploring some new forms of art, all in the company of others.

“I have a vision of spending the weekend with great people and food, and walking away feeling like I’ve made some memories that I can look back on fondly,” Browne says. 

At the camp, coil basketry turns reclaimed fibers and vintage yarns into something colorful and new.

Courtesy of Heidi Finley

Keep the spark going

Beyond the retreat, Finley hopes creativity continues to be the point of focus for the participants.

“I want to reawaken people’s desire to do things that fill their cups and have an outlet for making things with their hands,” she says. “I hope people have that feeling and a way to tap into that.”

And if you can’t join this event, there are ways to make room for creativity.

“Think of what you wanted to do when you were seven years old, and do that regularly,” Walker says. “Have a weekly time on your calendar, put your phone on airplane mode, and make things, whether it’s pottery, jewelry, watercoloring, or a walk around the neighborhood.”

Creativity can show up in many ways, whether you’re at a craft camp or not.

“I want people to feel inspired to make something every single day, even if it’s drawing a stick figure while waiting for their coffee,” Walker says. “It’s also a way to slow down and make something with their hands, whether or not you identify as an artist or creative.”