Live Courageously: Rebloom Retreat

Colleen Sutton (Retreat Co-Founder)

Colleen Sutton is the owner/operator of RIchwood on the River. Starting out in the hospitality industry at the age of 14, she began working at an Upstate NY popular vacation inn. Vision the movie Dirty Dancing and you would be correct. This instilled in her a love for creating opportunities for people to make unforgettable memories. She quickly discovered Event Planning and knew that was her heart's passion. In 2010, after working for event venues in Colorado, Indiana and Ohio, she started her own company, Ava Rose Event Design, LLC, named after her daughter. She began creating spectacular events in the Tri State area as well as Park City, Utah and Boulder, CO. Then in 2014 she took a class at her church, Unity of Garden Park, that would change her life forever. The class was Mary Morrissey's PROSPERITY PLUS. Colleen set her sights and vision on becoming a Wedding & Events Venue Owner. In 2015 that manifestation became her reality in the purchase of Richwood.  

Being the owner/operator for Richwood on the River is a dream come true for Colleen. A wonderful friend said to her during the purchase process, “If your dreams don’t scare you, then you are not dreaming BIG enough!” She holds onto those words daily. Thanks Tania!

She hopes to inspire her daughter, Ava Rose, to fully understand to follow her dreams and to always do what truly makes her happy. The money will follow. Hearing the laughter in the halls of the mansion from guests enjoying the warmth of a fire and the love of family and friends is exactly what her hopes were and are for the property.

"I love sharing my home with you and hope to have my small part in creating memories that will last a lifetime." ~  Colleen

 Cara Fox (Retreat Co-Founder)

Cara Fox is the visionary owner behind Little Golden Fox, a delightful haven for creativity and community nestled in Madison, Indiana. Born and raised in the Midwest, Cara's journey into entrepreneurship began with a profound passion for fostering artistic expression.It was her desire to cultivate a space for hands-on artistic exploration that led her to establish Little Golden Fox in 2011.

With a discerning eye for talent and a commitment to showcasing local artisans, Cara has curated a diverse range of workshops spanning painting, sewing, crafting, and more. Her studio has quickly become a cherished hub for both budding and seasoned creatives, known for its welcoming atmosphere and personalized customer service.

Beyond her role as a business owner, Cara is deeply involved in the Madison community, supporting local charities and initiatives whenever possible. Her dedication to both her craft and her community has earned her respect and admiration from all who know her.

As she continues to nurture and evolve Little Golden Fox, Cara remains steadfast in her commitment to providing a one-of-a-kind space for artistic expression and connection. With her unwavering passion and determination, there’s no doubt Cara Fox is poised to leave her mark on the creative landscape for years to come.

Lori Siebert (Creative Session Leader & Co-Founder)

When asked to define her artistic style, Lori Siebert says that she likes to be a bit of a chameleon. Constantly experimenting with different styles and mediums feeds her insatiable curiosity. She has a very whimsical design sense and loves to play with color to give each collection that and she designs its own unique personality. She started taking private art lessons at the young age of 7 and continued to study art throughout high school. This lead to a degree in graphic design from the University of Cincinnati. She opened her own design firm just 3 years out of college in 1987. Her firm, Olika Studios, has developed branding and design programs for influential clients such as Target, Bath & Body Works, Nickelodeon and Universal Studios. Lori began the art licensing arm of her business 15 years ago and now works with several top manufactures in the gift and home decor industry. Her client list includes Demdaco, Creative Co-op, Studio M, Lang and many more. Her licensed products have been sold through many key retailers and small gift shops throughout the United States and Canada. She has been featured in “Where Women Create” and “Where Women Create Business.” She is also the co- founder of ArtBizJam and ArtBizJam Abundance, which provide helpful business tips and networking opportunities for women artists. And, she hosts and teaches at several creative retreats each year including her first European retreat in southern France in 2019 and will be repeating it again in 2022. One of her greatest honors is being an amdassador for Gudrun Sjoden, her favorite fashion and home textile designer. 

She creates everyday in her home studio in Kentucky...sewing, sculpting, drawing, painting meeting with clients and developing concepts with her very talented design team. Her husband, Steve, is her business partner and she has  two children... Kenzie (who is a designer and works closely with her mom at Olika) and Tanner (who is a mechanical engineer.) She also has two grandchildren who light up her life!!!

Pam Kravetz (Creative Session Leader)

She’s a mural makin’, street paintin’ quilt sewin’, yarnbombin’, curatin’, flashmobin’, tutu wearin’ rootin’ tootin’ art monster. She is a regionally & nationally recognized visual artist with more than 50 art exhibits & installations.

With Pam, Contemporary Art is not a spectator sport – it is understandable, accessible, interactive and community oriented. Truly, she is inspired by the beauty in the chaos of the everyday. Her artwork ranges from street art, Artworks installations at Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital to monumental Memory Quilts in the lobby of the Contemporary Arts center. Recently Kravetz was the Art Director for The Blink Parade, a Board Trustee for Artworks ,The Art Academy of Cincinnati, Ish Festival, HRC (Human Rights Campaign), and is a Co-liaison for the National Council for the Ceramics Arts (NCECA) Conference in Cincinnati.

She is the creator & face of CAC-tV and the curator of the live art performances. Her alter ego, Pinky Shears is the notorious Mastermind of the Yarn-Bombing Collective – the Bombshells of Cincinnati and the performance art collective The Polyester Spy Club. Her current exhibit on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum Rosenthal Education Center – Ace Ramone, Mr. Doodle-Boy & the Peanut puts the best parts of herself & her art into an interactive wonderland. Her interactive exhibition, I Think My Uncle Gershun Was A Golem, at The Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati, Ms. Kravetz used her artist voice and platform to talk about her family, her Jewishness and antisemitism. Currently, she has an installation at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center in the Creativity Center’s UnMuseum, titled Pinkolicious Pamajama’s House of Wonder and Silly Scooter’s Playhouse. Kravetz is also a CityBeat newspaper Best Artist of 2022, an Enquirer Cincinnati Women of the Year 2017. She has numerous awards and recognitions as both an artist and art educator. Pam is always up for the next larger-than-life art bonanza!!

Britta Borden - Tabor (Speaker)

Meet Britta Borden-Tabor, your go-to digital influencer and empowerment coach who specializes in inspiring women over 40 to live a life beyond their wildest dreams. Blending motivational speaking with the transformative power of fashion, faith, family, and femininity, Britta offers a one-of-a-kind roadmap to personal development and holistic success.

Her online community, The Hive, serves as an empowering space where women learn to embrace their individuality, elevate their style, and live unapologetically. With Britta, you’re not just finding your style or your next travel destination—you’re unlocking your true potential.

Devon Kerns (Speaker)

• 25 years of business development and entrepreneurship
• Over 11,000 hours of leading, teaching, coaching and consulting
• Leading the vision for 3 Boards and 3 Non-Profit Boards
• Worked with Political Leaders, Fortune 500 Senior / Exec Leadership, Executive Coaches, Private Equity and more...
• Founded companies in Investments, Consulting, Fitness and Nutrition, Marketing, Relationships / Dating, Youth Wellness and Education
• Nonprofit Development with the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and The Lion Project
• Co-Founder of BloomTV, MadeTV, Amagaya Media, Zeal Remote Living, Social Capital Agency.
• Vested Interests in Media, Sustainable Development, 3D Printing of Homes, Advertising, Land Conservation and Restoration, Remote Living and Remote Working.

Dionne Woods (Speaker)

Dionne Woods of The Turquoise Iris is an artist, creative coach, podcast host, BloomTV expert, and MadeTV Network’s Director of Community Engagement and a contributing maker. Dionne is known for her vibrant and expressive style of painting that began on furniture and has since been featured on canvas, clothing, accessories, journals, and more. She is also the founder of The Turquoise Iris Journal, a printed media platform for artists and creatives to share their work and experiences. Through her membership groups, one-on-one coaching, podcast and the Journal, Dionne helps others tap into their creativity, follow their passions and find their unique voice through art. Her latest venture is turning her artwork into a velvet fabric collection.

Jamie Jamison (Social Media Consulting)

Jamie lives in Youngstown, Ohio and Chautauqua, NY.  She is a natural light and still-life photographer with a passion for flowers, vintage finds, and handmade treasures. As an Instagram Influencer (@alajamie), she connects with over 52k floral enthusiasts and has inspired people throughout the world with her uplifting photos. Jamie is a social media content manager and content creator for businesses as well as a brand ambassador for several national companies. She also provides coaching for Instagram, photography, and styling.  

Jamie is a communication Instructor at Youngstown State University and was awarded the 2019 Part-Time Excellence Award for teaching.  Her area of focus is Social Media Communication and Social Media Campaigns.  Jamie and Lori Siebert are proud hosts of the podcast ReBloom.  She currently a BloomTV Network Expert, an instructor at NYBG and formerly an instructor at the Flower School of NY and LA.  

Her photos and artwork have appeared in Country Living Magazine, Somerset Life, Bella Grace Magazine, Somerset Digital Studio, Somerset Memories, Artful Blogging, Somerset Studio Gallery, Somerset Apprentice, and the Torpedo Factory Target Gallery.   

Jo Packham (Speaker)

Jo Packham began her career as a successful entrepreneur with her own publishing companies: WOMEN CREATE, WWC Press, Chapelle Ltd., and The Vanessa-Ann Collection, and has been a leading innovator in the handmade publishing market for more than 45 years. Beginning in 2023 and working with Monica Michelle of BloomTV, Jo left the world of publishing beginning a new career in on-line video and live streaming TV with the introduction of MadeTV. 

Jo was Editor in Chief from 2008 to 2022 of WOMEN CREATE magazines (WHERE WOMEN CREATE / Inspiring Workspaces of Extraordinary Women, WHAT WOMEN CREATE / Inspiration for Your Imagination, WHERE WOMEN COOK / The Heart & Soul of Cooking, and WHERE WOMEN CREATE WORK / The Passion of Success. At the Association of Magazine Media Conference WC was awarded the #1 Hottest Magazine Launched in 2018.

Jo and her publishing companies have authored, compiled, or packaged more than 1,000 titles to be self published or published by notable publishers such as Sterling Publishing, Barnes & Noble, Time Warner, Meredith, Rodale, Chronicle Books, Random House, and others.

Working with and supporting women has been Jo’s focus her entire career... and she always looks forward to tomorrow, the women she will meet, and the stories she can share.

Mandi Blackford (Speaker)

Mandi Blackford is the cheeky glam ma'am behind the Champagne Fabulous brand of gifts and home decor, and hostess of The Age Inappropriately Show – a weekly video podcast.

Have you ever been told you were too old/fat/____ to do something? Or stopped yourself from trying things because others wouldn’t think it was "appropriate"? Mandi shares how she found the courage to disregard societal influence and how it’s changed her life.

Pump up your self-confidence, stop caring about what other people think, and focus on being your authentic self - while laughing so hard you might snort. Join the #ageinappropriately revolution where we know perfection is a stupid myth and fitting in is not the goal.

Monica Michelle (Speaker)

Monica Michelle has an extensive background in marketing and entrepreneurship, and has spent her career implementing new ideas and building online communities across multiple industries. In 2014, Monica began working with an online magazine for wheelchair users, and later moved into digital marketing within medical industry, focusing on web design, community growth, and marketing tactics. In 2021 she developed a new niche media model meant to elevate creators, serving as a launchpad for individuals interested in elevating and expanding their brands through the power of streaming TV. In January of 2022 she launched a streaming tv network, built off of this model called “BloomTV,” where an array of floral focused content was housed for streaming, as well as broadcast in partnership with PBS12. In 2023, Monica co-founded a sister network called “MadeTV” that is designed specifically for makers and artists of all kinds, with the mission of helping them to share their creations and crafts with a wider audience. Monica believes that connection is key, and that through innovative ideas that combine technology with education, we can all experience life in full bloom.

Gucci Erasmus (Speaker)

In 2020 I had a wild moment of reckoning. The part I loved most about my successful corporate career in organizational change (almost 30yrs) was literally the part that was not in my job description. I had climbed up the ladder with very little support, bar a handful of great women who were ahead of me and one awesome (male) mentor. I had been overlooked, pushed aside, asked to tone it down, stay in the shadows – basically shrink myself. But I am a rebel. And my ‘revenge’ was to make myself available to coach and mentor and nurture as
many women as I could find. The global disruptor, Covid19 Pandemic, gave me the opportunity to start extracting myself from my corporate career in pharma (which included lots of travel because I had staff in 5 global HO sites) and to start thinking in earnest about a new business where my passion was the cornerstone of a practical service offering.

In 2021 My GEM Power was born. It took me decades to fight to be whole. Women should not have to pay that price. At GEM a woman can access my coaching program, group and masterclass learning, and be part of a private online group, to educate, stimulate, encourage and ensure that she recovers her core wisdom to live authentically and unapologetically. Now that’s bold. I’ve been honing my coaching skills for more than 20 years and I am a skilled Gestalt practitioner. And my most useful ‘tool’ is the life I have lived for more than 60 turns around the sun. “There’s always an empty chair at my table. Sit with me.” (For clarification when I say woman or women I mean anyone identifying as female, all or some of the time.)

Billie Mocabee (Speaker)

As a small business owner at The Roost Latonia, Billie Mocabee has created a cozy and welcoming coffee and all sorts of quirk shop in the heart of Latonia, Kentucky, for the past five years. With her attention to detail, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, she has captured a loyal customer base, a friendly and efficient staff, and a profitable and sustainable business. She is passionate about providing quality coffee, food, pre loved, and service to the community, and supporting local artists and entrepreneurs. In her words- “I am always looking for new ways to improve the customer experience and the social impact of The Roost Latonia. I value teamwork, creativity, and excellence, and I strive to make The Roost Latonia a place where everyone feels at home.”