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Under the shadow of New Hampshire’s White Mountains National Park, four TBG designers and two facilitators pressed pause on deadlines and meetings to sketch, hike, laugh, and reconnect with creativity. For the third year of our Summer Creative Retreat, the destination was New England. The goal, as always, was the same: step away from the rush of practice to rediscover the joy of creative exploration and process.

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The retreat, which has become an integral part of TBG’s culture and strategic plan to prioritize design excellence and creative thinking, focuses on discovery and slowing down to observe and understand the vernacular of place through active exploration and reawakening the natural rhythms of creativity. From traveling to the retreat destination, to excursions and activities, all are carefully structured over six days. The agenda and curriculum are intended to push retreaters towards discovering this new place, documenting their impressions along the way through various mediums, and wrapping up the week with presentations to TBG President, Bill Odle.

Much thought and intentionality goes into selecting the retreat destination. More than an environment that differs from the diverse ecological and cultural regions across our home state of Texas, the Summer Creative Retreat location must be awe-inspiring and rich in art, history, culture and natural beauty. From the lush green forests and rocky shores of Wisconsin’s Door County, a slender limestone peninsula that extends into Lake Michigan, to the pueblo-style architecture and pastel desert hues of Santa Fe, New Mexico, this year’s retreat to the White Mountains region of New Hampshire offered an immersive, multi-sensory environment for creativity to flourish. Led by TBG Principal & Design Director, Nicole Warns, planning the Summer Creative Retreat begins six months in advance of the trip. Described as “beautifully controlled chaos,” Nicole starts with a Miro board, capturing every idea, and mapping out every detail and the “why” behind it. Afterall, that’s the whole point – embracing the creative process.

The application process opens in early June, inviting all practicing designers across the firm to apply. The application itself is simple but purposeful, with two short reflections. Applicants share how they envision the retreat’s sessions and excursions advancing their personal or professional practice, and what takeaway they most hope to gain from the experience. While the prompts may only ask for 250 words, the responses reveal much: aspirations, curiosities, and even areas of burnout that might benefit from time away.

From this firmwide pool of applicants, four designers were selected for 2025: Megan Lowry, Jessie Jacobs, Rainie Madsen, and Luiza Mola Curi. Guiding them were facilitators Nicole Warns, Principal & Design Director, and Meade Mitchell, Principal in Houston. The selection process is deliberate and layered, considering not only the written responses but also diversity in backgrounds, office locations, and career stages. The goal isn’t simply to choose a group, but to curate an experience that is both personally meaningful and reflective of the firm as a whole.

The retreat began in Portland, Maine, where the group’s first impressions were shaped by the city’s waterfront character – lobster rolls along cobbled streets, seagulls circling the pier, and winds rolling off the Atlantic at the nation’s oldest lighthouse. Soon after, they crossed into New Hampshire’s White Mountains where their deeper exploration began. Waiting for each participant was a custom Summer Creative Retreat tote stocked with creative tools including sketchbooks, watercolors, pencils, and a hand-crafted accordion notebook to fill page by page throughout the week. A woodcut stamp, designed by Principal Jeff Raudabaugh in collaboration with the Branded Environments team, served as a personal mark for the thoughtful journey ahead.