Photo: Doug Van Tress
Doug Van Tress, co-owner of popular shopping destination The Golden Triangle, has taken his design knowledge on the road with curated retreats. Hosted in collaboration with MindCurate, the trips offer meditation and mindfulness mixed with cultural exploration, sightseeing, shopping and dining, ideal for design lovers and wellness enthusiasts alike. Here, Van Tress chats about this latest endeavor.
Why and how did you start these retreats? It was somewhat random—I was at a party with Vanessa Palmer of MindCurate and I mentioned that we also have a store in Thailand. She suggested the idea of a retreat to Chang Mai. I agreed, but I thought I was writing a check that would never be presented to my bank to cash. Vanessa and her partner Nora Schneider are very persistent though. They kept clearing the path, removing all obstacles.
What do participants do on these trips? Each day begins with mindful meditation and yoga, then my part starts. I lead the exploring from an insider’s perspective, visiting famous sites as well as obscure ones, with great food, history, culture and, of course, plenty of opportunity for shopping and shipping back.
