At a Glance
Locations:
Sanur · Denpasar · Seminyak
Duration:
7 days / 6 nights
Date:
May 2027
There is a version of Bali that most visitors never find. Not the temples or the rice terraces, but the back rooms of the workshops, the studio floors covered in dye, the printers who've been pressing cloth by hand for thirty years. That is Alice's Bali, and for seven days, she’s inviting you to share it with her.
Alice MacGillivray has spent the past decade building relationships with the makers behind Bright Threads - not from the outside looking in, but material by material, dyer by dyer, village by village. This retreat is your invitation into that world. The places you'll visit are not on any tour itinerary. They're accessible because of trust built slowly, over years. That access is what makes this week genuine.
Based in Sanur, the retreat moves between workshops, factory floors and market streets. Spaces not typically open to visitors, but accessed through connections. Across the week, guests immerse themselves in the full textile process from raw cloth to finished piece, understanding materials and natural dyes to working hands-on with traditional techniques alongside local artisans. There is time to design, observe, and ask questions, gaining a deeper understanding of how these pieces are made and why they carry such meaning.
The retreat is structured without being rigid. Mornings are spent with Alice in studios and workshops; afternoons are designed to absorb, explore, or simply relax. Alice’s approach is immersive rather than instructional, learning happens through conversation and observation.
Across the week, you’ll design and create your own Bright Threads piece to take home. Before departure, a member of the team will guide you through selecting your base from the Bright Threads Simplicity Collection — think polka dots, gingham, or viennetta.
From there, the possibilities are yours: a dress, cushion covers, a table setting, a bed throw — or even a piece you already own, reimagined. If there’s something you love, you’re welcome to bring it along, with Alice and the team working alongside you to recreate it in your chosen print and colour.
This is more than a final piece. You’ll leave with something personal, a keepsake that carries the story of your time in Bali, alongside creative confidence, a deeper understanding of the craft, and Alice’s Bali.
The group stays at Meru Sanur, beachside and hand picked by Alice, for a sense of calm that makes it an ideal base for the week. Studio days extend into Denpasar, where Alice works closely with long-standing artisan partners. Time is also spent in Seminyak, visiting some of her favourite retail and homeware stores. Most days ends with an aperitivo, long dinners and the kind of table talk that only happens when the right people are in the right room. The retreat closes at Tandjung Sari, one of Sanur’s oldest and most quietly iconic hotels, for a farewell dinner that bookends a truly transformative week.
This is you access to the world of Bright Threads, the moments, the people, and the details that are rarely visible from the outside. It exists because of a deep love of linen, the craft and years of relationships. You'll leave with a piece you made, a story you'll tell, and a new way of seeing the world in colour.
Impossible Moments
The Bright Threads welcome with Alice & Sandi
Five curated workshops with Alice
Design & Create your own, one of a kind Bright Threads piece
Step inside the Bright Threads factory, where linen comes to life
Alice MacGillivray
Years with Bali team
9
Years visiting Bali
40+
I am Alice — the linen lover, long-lunch hostess and colour enthusiast behind Bright Threads.
Some of my earliest memories are of my parents’ extravagant dinner parties — Mum in the kitchen, Dad carefully selecting bottles from the cellar, voices rolling late into the night. Years later, I found myself hosting my own long lunches at Mum’s house. The tables were a glorious jumble of mismatched crockery and cutlery, and the guest list a mix of friends old and new — often people I had met only the night before. It was chaotic, colourful and completely joyful, and it cemented my love of bringing people together around a table.
The idea for Bright Threads first arrived while planning our wedding, when I couldn’t find bold, beautiful linen that wasn’t plain white. Years later, on maternity leave with my daughter — and finally with a home big enough to host again — the idea resurfaced, and this time I ran with it. I wanted linen that felt luxurious, colourful, made to last, and special enough to build memories around.
Finding the right makers led me to Bali, where I now work closely with traditional screen printers and a highly skilled sewing team who handcraft every piece with care and skill. Bright Threads has grown alongside me and today continues to evolve — still made slowly, intentionally, and with heart.
More than anything, I want to inspire people to be brave with colour — to mix patterns, break the rules, and create tables that feel warm, generous and full of life. For me, it has always been about the same thing: bringing people together, one beautiful table at a time.
This retreat is an extension of that — an opportunity to step inside the process, the people and the place that shape everything I create.
And if you're the kind of person who believes the best memories are made around a table — not behind a screen — I can't wait to welcome you.
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