Japanese Textile Retreat
Sashiko, Shibori & Mindful Mending with Sophie Cagniart
Belfort-du-Quercy, Southwest France | June 19-25, 2027
Retreat Highlights
Join artist Sophie Cagniart for an inspiring creative journey in France, where she will guide you through Hand-Stitched Sashiko, Indigo Shibori, and Mindful Mending. Learn the meditative rhythm of Sashiko, create intricate Shibori patterns dyed in natural indigo, and repair or transform your own textiles with thoughtful hand-stitched mending. Each session combines practical skill-building with creative expression, leaving you with meaningful, functional, and beautiful textile projects.
Under Sophie's guidance, you will explore Sashiko's history, grid construction and stitching, Nui Shibori resist techniques, natural indigo dyeing, and the art of creative textile repair. Hands-on projects include a bookmark, a small pouch, mended textiles, and a Shibori-dyed Furoshiki cloth transformed into a versatile bag.
Set against the stunning backdrop of the French chateau estate, this immersive experience welcomes artists of all levels — whether you are just beginning your creative journey or deepening an existing textile practice. Each day flows gently between dedicated studio time, personalized instruction, and creative exploration, offering a space to experiment, learn, and refine your technique. This is your invitation to slow down, reconnect with the joy of making, and return home with beautiful, handcrafted work and a toolkit of techniques to carry forward.
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www.silentwaveindigo.com
What's Included
- Art workshops, individual tuition, review sessions, and demonstrations with artist Sophie Cagniart
- 6 nights of accommodation at a French countryside chateau
- Exclusive use of the entire ~estate property with stunning views, studio and indoor workshop space, ample terraces, sauna, pools, and gardens.
- 6 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 6 dinners prepared fresh daily by a private chef . Complimentary glass of estate wine with dinners.
- Coffee, tea, water, and snacks available throughout the day
- Cahors market with time for shopping followed by lunch and Malbec wine tasting
- Saint-Cinq-Lapopie village exploration and lunch
- Daily walks/hikes to the private estate vineyards
- Fulltime concierge from arrival to departure, including planned outings
- Private transportation throughout
- Roundtrip private transfers from/to Toulouse airport at prearranged times
- All local tourist taxes and fees
- Two Zoom meetings prior to the retreat once the retreat guarantees
Not included
- Airfare/transportation to Toulouse airport
- Transportation outside group transportation
- Travel insurance
- Supplies - a detailed list of art materials recommended by by the artist will be provided three months before the retreat
- Extra costs guests might incur on their own, e.g., alcoholic, extra transportation, etc.
Retreat Package & Pricing
Single Occupancy: $3500-3900 USD, all private rooms with ensuite bathrooms with limited shared bathrooms with one other person.
Maximum Participants: 10
Length: 6 nights / 7 days
Deposit: $1,500 at time of booking
Final Payment: 180 days from arrival
Deposit: A deposit of $1,500 is required to reserve your spot and becomes nonrefundable once the retreat is confirmed/guaranteed.
Balance Payment: The remaining balance will be due 120 days before the retreat start date. This final payment and the deposit is nonrefundable.
We required all travelers purchase travel insurance to protect your investment in case of unforeseen circumstances, including personal emergencies, travel delays, or other events that may prevent you from attending. Please ensure your policy covers trip cancellation and retreat costs, see FAQs for more information.
Accessibility Note: Due to the historic nature of this property, accessibility is limited. Rooms are only accessible via stairs, and there is no elevator. If you have specific needs, please contact us before booking — we’ll do our best to assist.
The Property
Tucked into a quiet corner of the Quercy in southwest France, our home for the week is a private château estate with deep roots — a place that has belonged to the same family for generations. Its origins trace back to a fortified bastide and watchtower whose remains stood abandoned for centuries after the French Revolution, slowly reclaimed by weeds and brambles. Patiently restored, the château and old bastide have been brought back to life, and today the estate is a serene retreat of honey-colored stone, half-timbered façades, and gardens that open onto the rolling countryside.
Guests are accommodated across the château — home to six bedrooms — and three charming stone houses on the estate, each house with its own private terrace for morning coffee in the sun or a quiet moment with your needlework. Among the property's most enchanting features is a troglodyte house carved directly into the rock and finished in the medieval style — the kind of detail that makes this place feel like a story you've stepped into.
Set in the heart of vignoble country, the estate looks out over a patchwork of rolling countryside and distant vineyards — views best taken in from the terraces, coffee in hand, as the morning light moves across the hills. A gentle daily walk leads to the vines themselves, about twenty minutes away, where the family once produced their own organic wines.
The property offers a rare blend of history, beauty, and calm: a pool and sauna for slow afternoons, gardens and footpaths for morning walks, and light-filled spaces made for making art.
It is, quite simply, a place that invites you to exhale — to trade the noise of everyday life for birdsong, stone, and the unhurried rhythm of the French countryside.