Bodlondeb Studio & Retreat
Our Story
The Morgans
Bodlondeb Studio & Retreat is very much a family run business with all four of us playing an integral part in creating the experience.
We are dream team Steph, Iain, Fox (6) and Pip (4).
It's hard to know where this story began...
I know it began before the renovation of the old barn and before we bought the house and moved to Wales in December 2018.
Perhaps it’s because mum used to bring us camping in North Wales when we were little and there’s something familiar and safe about the sounds and the smells and the way it feels in my heart.
Perhaps it’s because I used to manage performing arts summer camps for the YHA which turned into action adventure camps when the funding was cut but I carried on blending the two.
Perhaps it’s from watching The Young Ones (1961 film) starring Cliff Richard when I was five which awoke dreams of having my own theatre fuelled by community.
Life has taken some turns & naturally my dreams have changed along the way...
My need to have my own theatre turned into a need for a space. A space that could be home to anyone. A space where people returned to. A space that felt safe and had a sense of belonging. A space with enough space to reflect and grow into someone you didn’t know was possible. A space that somehow gave you permission to be honest, real and open. A space of unity - of self, with others and the bigger picture. A space sprinkled with adventure.
I have often wondered how I arrived to this very place. But then when I look back I can’t imagine I could have landed anywhere else.
Bodlondeb (Welsh) = Contentment, satisfaction, willingness (English)
It's been a journey...
The conversion from derelict barn to what it is today...
A couple of days post emergency c-section with my second mancub, Pip, you will have found me sat in a meeting with our architect, Gareth Lloyd, babe in arms and barely able to move. I wouldn’t exactly say I was on the ball but we came up with a plan. We knew space was tight and we were going to have to get seriously creative in order to serve the dream.
After forward and back with the structural engineer and our local planning authority we were finally ready to get our hands grubby. We widened the drive and dug out the footings and then… Covid Hit. Everything came to a grinding halt including finding someone to take the build on. There was a frantic and desperate few months where it looked like I was going to have to let go of the dream but along came brothers Matt & Andy McLelland. Talk about hitting the Jack Pot!
They started the next day. They are two of the most creative and detailed men I know. They never came to me with problems, just the solutions to the problems they’d discovered. They tidied up each day. They worked hard and were focused. It’s very rare for me to feel so safe with someone else doing something that’s deeply important to me but I can’t do myself. They were gentle with my fears and my exhausted brain and my questions. They welcomed 3 year old Fox out onto the diggers with them and a crawling Pip pulling at stuff. Did we encounter problems along the way? Of course we did, many. But. The overriding story is that these two brothers are the exceptional backbone of what this building is today.
Many other people played a huge part in this dream becoming a reality and I am grateful for all of them. Especially Debbie who stopped me from mixing chrome and brass and who introduced me to the awesome sofas that ended up in the snug!
Half way through the build we had already blown our budget - prices of materials had rocketed thanks to Covid and Brexit - and it looked like we weren’t going to be able to complete. We remortgaged the house, took out more loans, begged and borrowed (no stealing) and we managed to make it almost to the end.
We were all out of money but actors who I’d been training got in their cars and vans from around the country to finish off the plastering, the tiling, the painting, the wood staining and so much more. I will never forget the rallying around me that happened in June / July of 2021.
Bodlondeb Studio & Retreat was built with so much love and support from family, friends, aquaintances and everything in between so it is fitting that it continues to be a deeply supportive and nurturing space filled with love, creativity and kindness.
Stephanie Morgan
Founder & Coach
Hi, I’m Steph, I work with humans, and I love it deeply.
I’m a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, HeartMath coach and mBIT Master Coach (where neuroscience backs up ancient wisdoms). I’m also the cofounder of Both Feet Actor Training - as an acting coach I specialise in The Meisner Technique, a training tool which is specifically about getting out of your head and becoming less self conscious. However, it's pretty useful for all humans too!
I am ever curious how we can reconnect & reunite our heads with our bodies, because that's the journey I am on - we teach the thing we need to learn the most, right?
You can find out more about my personal journey here.
Iain, Pip & Fox Morgan
Founder & Coach
Iain was a chef, kitchen manager and food developer for nearly 15 years but hung up his whites in 2018 to be the main carer for the mancubs, allowing Steph to focus on her coaching, directing and running the businesses.
Iain looks after the building and arranges the food and takes great pride in the fresh smelling bed linen!
Fox and Pip help out with the cleaning and can often be found supporting various retreats with their playful and curious hearts. They don't have to work hard at being present and there is so much to learn from them.
