Co-founder James

James Foreman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up in both Minnesota and Crested Butte, Colorado.

The opportunity to experience two very different ways of life in America was priceless; from a mainstream suburban lifestyle in Minneapolis to a radically alternative lifestyle in Crested Butte. It was instrumental in developing his unique view on life and his passion for understanding the underlying aspects and qualities of human existence.

This passion led to a focus in Theater, Dance and Performance Art, starting at the age of 11 at the Crested Butte Community Theater, and in High School. He went on to further studies in all forms of performance at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California.

After graduating from AADA, James studied Dance and Liberal Arts at Sonoma State University, in Rohnert Park, CA. The "small University on the edge of Wine Country" offered a learning environment that first sparked his entrepreneurial spirit. This spirit went from starting the SSU Student Housing recycling program to producing a variety of Performance Art events. After graduating and being accepted to a Masters program at The School of Visual Arts in New York, James chose not to seek further education but to start his first business and begin a high quality of life.

The immersion in the creative process, and many incredible experiences traveling, living and working at Retreat Centers in Europe and the U.S., led James to further develop his talents as a Chef for Retreat and Conference groups in Northern California. The seed for this was his Mother Betty who was a Cooking Teacher and Chef at a Retreat Center in Sonoma County, CA.

This led to co-founding Feather River Culinary Artists and then self publishing and designing a Cookbook, Cooking with the Palette of the Seasons, which was his first journey into Graphic Design. The Internet was in its infancy and James used IRC (Internet Relay Chat), and early forms of email, to communicate with friends in Europe before websites were ever created.

The Internet and the web was an ideal place for James to further express his creative talents and live a life where anything was possible. In 1998 it was time to start a website for Retreat and Conference Centers, All About Retreats, after realizing that there were no sites listing Centers on the Web. After weathering the storm of the Internet bubble burst in 1999-2000, he has gone on to become highly proficient in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Web Design / Development.

James now happily lives in Vermont after taking life and business to over 7 States (Minnesota, Colorado, California, Wyoming, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont). Keep posted... there is much more to come and who knows where it will lead next!