Happy new year! I hope your holidays were wonderful and relaxing. I just sent my favorite kid back to college, and the month we spent together between semesters was exactly what I needed. So let’s get this new year started! I’m so excited!
We’ve just opened enrollment for TWO new Creative Madrid tours in 2026: April 11-18 and October 10-17. Won’t you join me?
As with our tours in 2025, we’re keeping the group very small (between 6-10 people), which gives us a more intimate experience and allows us to do more activities. I prefer a small group so we can really get to know each other and because many of the spaces we visit are small, so we can get up close and personal with the artisans and the environment. I work closely with our travel team to tailor each tour and to take advantage of special events for the week, and you get more hands-on time because of the small size of the group.
We’ve done a lot of preparation to give these tours a nice balance of structured and free time, and I’ve compiled an extensive list of suggestions for your free time in some of my favorite spots in Madrid that I think might be interesting to you. We’ll share some meals, have lots of opportunities to exchange ideas and try new things, and there will be time for you to ask questions (of me and our guides during the week). I love the team we’ve assembled: everyone is so enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and it’s such a pleasure to leave my laptop and sewing machine for a week and share this wonderful city with you!
Here’s an (incomplete) list of the things we have planned for the week:
We’ll visit the royal tapestry workshop, the royal glass workshop (with a glass casting workshop included!), take a private tour of the Prado Museum, take a private tour of the city (partly chauffeured and partly walking), learn the art of damascene with one of the remaining maestros in Toledo, visit a bullfighting tailor, visit a famous guitar luthier, take a behind-the-scenes tour of a famous historical notions and trims shop (you won’t believe your eyes), visit Madrid’s fashion museum, spend a little time in my own studio (with Q&A time), and share some delicious Spanish lunches and dinners (and enjoy some fusion foods, too). I’ll show you some of my favorite shops in Madrid, introduce you to some of the artisans working here, and expose you to the best that creative Spain has to offer. You’ll have a chance to explore the streets of the center city, visit the famous Retiro Park, and learn about the marvelous mix of cultures that have made Spain the country that it is. We’ll walk the tiny cobblestone streets of the old Jewish neighborhood in Toledo, spend a couple of hours in the house of the famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia (you’re going to love it!), see a flamenco performance, visit the aqueduct and Plaza Mayor of Segovia, and if we’re really lucky there will be a Real Madrid game–and I have an inside source who can get us tickets! (Guests from the first Creative Madrid tour told me this was a highlight, so keep your fingers crossed that they’ll be playing at home that week.)
This tour is not about sewing, and that’s intentional. I’ve deliberately structured it so anyone can enjoy it because it celebrates artisans and creativity of all sorts. So invite a friend or your partner to join you, but also feel free to come alone because you won’t be alone for long–you’ll soon have a group of close friends, me included, to spend the week exploring with you. Our first tour from last year is still in regular contact with each other, and I just love knowing that we’ve shared these experiences and have these memories together.
Interested? I really hope so! You can see more details for each tour and sign up right here:
Creative Madrid tour: April 11-18, 2026
Creative Madrid tour: October 10-17, 2026
Enrollment is VERY limited, so I encourage you to sign up soon. I can’t wait to meet you, and I hope you’ll reach out if you have any questions. It’s going to be so much fun!
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