First Annual Southern Bead Retreat - October 22 - 26, 2008 - Château Élan

My name is Paula. I grew up here in Middle Georgia. You wont find Middle Georgia on the map, though. Middle Georgia is slap in the middle of the state, half way between top and bottom and half way between East and West. Actually, I grew up in Montezuma; famous for the Mennonite Cafeteria, which I assume y'all are familiar with. I went to College in Macon, Georgia. They say I'm a peach to the core.

I was fixin to tell y'all about the Chateau, but as I promised, I'm taking you from the beginning. I'm sure you want to know just how I got into beading, being from the South and everything, so I'm going to tell you. I fancy myself an artist and have studied art in college. I became involved in beading when my father passed. I spent two weeks taking beading classes in Florida to help recover after his death and emerged as a "stringer". By this time I had several relatively brief careers. These included a hospital laboratory technologist, a technologist in the crime lab at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a nail tech and esthetician, and a pilot. From there I opened The Beadcage.

Well, we are now in the third Beadcage. The Beadcage is really a special place. It was designed with the beader in mind. It was architecturally planned to provide a tranquil stimulating environment to help stimulate creativity. It really is quite unlike any other bead store out there. A really good friend of mine describes the store as the "Nieman Marcus of bead stores." She'll be teaching at the Southern Bead Retreat, so you will have all the time in the world to get the low down from her.

This brings me to the transcendental portion of my history. I think you have to understand my philosophy to understand what we are trying to accomplish here. I want to be a little different. I want to push the envelope a bit. I don't want to change beading or take it away from its roots. I just want to put a little spin on the environment in which I am presenting beading and beads. It is all part of creativity and stimulating the creative juices we all have.

At the Southern Bead Retreat, you will experience beading in a different kind of environment than probably you would have ever considered when thinking about a bead retreat. While the retreat is in the South, it is not the good old boy hunting and fishing, barbeque and catfish eating Southern environment you may have seen on TV. The Southern Bead retreat will be held in a setting that includes all the electricity, and indoor plumbing you can imagine.

I am going to show you the modern elegant and luxurious South you may not have seen. You will experience all the niceties expected when thinking Tara and Gone with the Wind. I am going to make sure that you are pampered and relaxed like never before. No stone will be left unturned when it comes to taking care of the needs of each attendee of the retreat. All you will need to do is show up. Stressed or relaxed it doesn't matter because as soon as you become my guest, I will see to it that you become relaxed in this tranquil environment and discover a creative side you may never have seen before. It is my Southern way.

I have arranged an amazing group of some of the top artists and instructors in the bead world today. They are all extremely talented and personable. Links to their web sites can be found here on this site. They have all agreed to make this a very special event. My philosophy is to take care of my instructors so they will in turn take care of you. Trust me, they are really going to take care of all of us and we are going to leave the retreat with some pretty amazing pieces and wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

So why did I choose the Southern Bead Retreat as the first of the Best Bead Retreats? Well, as you know, I am from the South and The Beadcage is located in the South. We have many wonderful local beads stores in nearby Atlanta and throughout my State and the states of the South. I really wanted to have an event here in the South to showcase some of the wonderful things we have to offer here. Many beaders don't think of the South when they think of beading, but I assure you that after this event, many will. I wanted the first Southern Bead Retreat to be in my home state of Georgia. I am already working on the second annual Southern Bead Retreat to be held in a spectacular resort area of one of our neighboring states, the location being kept secret. I wanted the first retreat to be something very special and it is turning out to be over the top more than I ever expected special.

Well, as I have stated above, I wanted this event to be something spectacular and exclusive. I wanted something over the top to match the quality of the instructors that will be attending this event. I wanted this retreat to be something out of the ordinary. There are many places in Georgia that fit the bill. However, none worked as well as the Chateau when it came to covering all the necessities. The hotel is on the outskirts of the City of Atlanta proper, but still within a reasonable distance so that accompanying guests can enjoy all Atlanta has to offer during the day if they wish. The resort and accommodations are on a grand scale, while still being luxurious comfortable and quiet. The resort offers golf for an accompanying guest or for you during free time. For those wishing to come early or stay late, there is amazing shopping close by and in Atlanta. The restaurants and food at the Chateau are of the best offered here in Georgia. The grounds of the resort are spectacular with rolling hills, and vineyards. The amenities and spa facilities at the Chateau are world class and to die for. The accommodations that were specially made available to me for our classes, events, and our accompanying bead show were large, clean and comfortable. If nothing else convinces you that this place is an amazing choice, I want to let you know it was special enough for me to be married here.

Plans for this event have been in the works for over a year now. I have been working closely with the coordinators and chefs at the Chateau Elan. I am working with them to come up with special menus not typically offered. Menus will be in their typical French manner, but with a special Southern flair. I have made sure to include some of my favorite Southern staples in the mix. Along with the obligatory sweet tea, a special selection of drinks will be included for the gala dinner event to match the epicurean delights. The dinner will be so wonderful that you will probably want to bring a guest with you for this night. We are arranging for attendees to secure a spot in advance for their guest at this gala event, at an additional charge. It will be a dress to impress event and all will be bringing their most spectacular finished pieces from home to wear this night.

For me, beading has always been a way for me to relax and explore my innerself. The Chateau offers a quiet comfortable environment that really encourages creativity. After a long stressful day of beading, my husband understands the necessity of pampering at the spa. The spa facilities here are absolutely amazing. Even though there is so much to do at the Chateau, I know where I will be spending my free time. I'll be taking advantage of the massage and pedicure services before spending at least one evening at Executive Chef Marc Suennemann's Culinary Studio. I know I will be taking a break at the authentic Irish Pub, Paddy's at least once during my stay. I may also spend an evening at one of the many resort restaurants. The restaurants run the gamut from the exquisite Versailles fine dining, to the rustic but beautiful white linen tables of Café Élan, to intimate fine dining at Le Clos, to American fair at the Clubhouse Grill. There are nine dining venues at the Chateau. All are a short walk on the grounds of the resort eliminating the necessity of driving and finding a restaurant in the surrounding towns of Atlanta. Everything here is designed around relaxing, comfort, and luxury.