registration tips

this page Is here to give you some pro-tips on

a few things you can do ahead of time to make

your registration go as smoothly as possible.

last year, I was able to accommodate a handful of additional guests and I never expected that the retreat would sell out so quickly. the only slots that didn’t sell out on the first day were the bunk beds 🫠🤣, hence my search for a house without them for next year’s event (success)! I can’t predict how registration will go this time around but if you’d like to join us on this truly incredible experience, I highly recommend that you be ready at your keyboard when registration opens. particularly because there is a form this year that has to be completed prior to checkout, I thought I would provide additional tips on how to speed up your registration to get the room/bed of your dreams. read on my friends! and don’t forget to set yourself a reminder that will give you time to get your browser up and ready, just in case.

Registration

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6.24.25

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Noon EDT

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Registration 〰️ 6.24.25 〰️ Noon EDT 〰️

tip #1

direct links to room registration pages

bedroom 1: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/1

bedroom 2: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/2

bedroom 3: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/3

bedroom 4: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/4

bedroom 5: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/5

bedroom 6: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/6

bedroom 8: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/8

bedroom 9: https://kateoatesdesign.com/ko-retreat/p/9

bookmark your

room

registration page

at left, i’ve included direct links to each bedroom listing (they won’t be live until registration opens, nor will the button below). once you have chosen your room, you can bookmark the page that goes directly to the listing so that you don’t have to scroll through all of them. If your slot has already been taken, use the button below or go directly to the KO homepage to see what is available.

tip #2

pre-fill your checkout form

this will be one of your biggest time savers. I do loads of planning ahead for my retreats to give each guest the best possible experience. in order to do this, you’ll fill out a form during checkout to help me tailor your retreat to suit you just so. all the form “questions” are required but if any of your answers change between now and the retreat, it is absolutely no problem at all. you can contact me anytime to let me know if you’ve changed eating habits or sizes or transportation, etc. if you do not contact me noting changes, your form is my "guide” to you & I’ll be using it to prepare throughout. a full preview of the form is below so that if you want to save time during registration, you can type out your responses in a document or note to copy & paste them once you get to the form. unfortunately, my website doesn’t provide a setting where something stays in your cart for a few minutes while you fill out the form. but just remember, everyone has to fill it out!

  1. Email

    provide an alternate email address, different than the one you use at checkout, just in case of typos or spam filters

  2. PHONE

    provide a phone number that can receive text messages. it will be used only if absolutely necessary, for example, if we can’t find you in downtown charleston or I am unable to reach you via email to provide critical retreat information

  3. travel info

    this is a drop down menu and It's completely ok if you are unsure or if your selection changes

  4. Name Tag

    you’ll be provided with a lovely wooden handmade name tag for the duration of the retreat so I want to make sure that your name appears exactly as you’d like it to. you’ll enter your first name(s) and then the first initial of your last name in parentheses just in case we have two guests with the same name

  5. merch

    while I haven’t planned all our merch for the retreat yet, there’s already one thing I know for sure that is going to have your name on it. in case you wish to have your name appear differently for merch vs your name tag, this is your opportunity to share. you’ll also fill in your initials, just in case.

  6. food allergies & dietary restrictions

    our personal chef will be taking care of both of these accommodations, but food handling/prep is a little different based on allergy versus restriction or preference so these are two separate form questions. if you don’t have anything to report, just write none or n/a!

  7. sizing

    there are two sizing drop down menus ranging from XS to 4x with an option for other; one is for unisex sizing and one is for women’s. if you need a size that isn’t listed, just contact me after registration and i’ll absolutely accommodate you!

  8. snacks & drinks

    not only is our personal chef cooking incredible meals for us, she’s also going to stock us up for snacks during our stay! here you’re asked your favorite salty snack, sweet snack & non-alcholic beverage (other than water as we will have plenty of that on hand) so that we can make your stay as personalized as possible. you’re also welcome to write more than one “favorite”.

  9. alcohol

    this is another drop down menu. Since I do prepare and serve a few drinks for those who want them, I ask this question just to better estimate how much to have on hand.

    options: yes | occasionally | rarely | never

  10. coffee

    you’ll be asked check any box that applies, i’ve included cream, sugar, black and don’t drink it. if there’s something else you need for your coffee, write it in one of the snacks & drinks questions so that we can have it on hand for you.

  11. swap!

    final question! we are going to have a stitch marker swap as part of our “get to know you” exercises on the first evening. you’ll simply indicate whether or not you’d like to participate. the maximum number of markers you’d bring (If the retreat sells out) is 14 to swap.

s&b ‘26 checkout form

tip #3

subscribe to my newsletter

scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe. no no, this isn’t because I’m trying to weasel my way into your inbox…but subscribing will trigger an automated e-mail. if you don’t receive my e-mail within a few minutes, you’ll know that your server has decided i’m trash 😂 it’s ok, I don’t take it personally! seriously though, this step is to make sure that my e-mails will get through to you, because otherwise you won’t get your registration confirmation or the communications I send to my guests leading up to the retreat.

tip #4

put me in your address book

add help@kateoatesdesign.com to your address book or contacts. if your address book has a “favoriting” option, do that too just to be on the safe side. the more steps you take to let your mail server know you’d like my e-mail to land in your inbox instead of spam, the better. as of late, i’ve been hearing from customers that g-mail is being particularly overprotective.

tip #5

create your account before registration

this is a big one! create an account on my website by clicking the button at the top right corner of your screen. you’ll then be prompted to log in or to create an account. after entering your e-mail address & creating a password for your new account, you’ll receive an e-mail verification (hence my reasoning for dealing with your inbox in the tips above. click on the e-mail verification and then you will be able to add & save your payment method along with your address and therefore when you are registering, you will have cut a few minutes out of the process as there will be much less for you to type at check-out. for the record, having an account on my website also gives you permanent access to your order history so that you can download past pattern purchases any time. this also means that if you think you’ve registered but you haven’t received a confirmation e-mail, you can simply log in to the website to confirm your registration in lieu of digging through your spam folder.

tip #5

be logged in & on your bookmarked page

now that you’re getting my e-mails, have an account & know what you want, it’s time to set your reminder. you’ll want to be logged in and at your keyboard a few minutes prior to registration, set that reminder accordingly. you can go ahead to your bookmarked page ahead of time, just make sure that you refresh it precisely at noon edt so that the listing(s) pop up where before there was a page error (if you’ve marked a specific listing) or blank shopping section (if you’ve marked the general registration page. listings are scheduled and will automatically go live at the appointed time, so as long as you’re on one of these pages at the appointed time, all you’ll need to do is refresh your browser for access!

at registration

what to expect

the main registration page is the same page that has been live since I announced the retreat. it still includes the retreat overview, but now it has the listings section at the top so that once they appear, you can’t miss ‘em. on the top of your screen, you’ll also see that i’ve categorized the slots. you can view all the slots of a particular room style by clicking “single”, “double,” etc or you can click on a particular view or floor to see the bed options available.

when the clock hits noon, it’s go time: to secure your slot, you’ll simply click the listing for your bed and hit check out! the listings themselves are short & sweet, including only the photos and basic bed description since I’ve created entire pages with stitch & beach details about our beachin’ itinerary, accommodations, & featured artisans so you know exactly what you’re signing up for.

once a slot has been reserved, it will either display with “sold out” in bold red text underneath the image or it won’t be visible at all. you will not be able to add a sold out listing to your cart, but it is possible for the slot to appear in multiple carts as it won’t turn over to sold out until the check-out process has been completed. i’ll be doing my best to remove sold out listings as quickly as I can so that they don’t muddle up your screen, so if you don’t see your bed listed at all, it means that it has already been filled.

retreat pricing differences are solely based on beds & number of roomies! if you’re traveling with a group and you’d like to stay together, i’d suggest nominating your fastest keyboard warrior to book the beds simultaneously for the best opportunity to book the appropriate number of beds in the room(s) you want. if you do book separately, make sure that you’ve all talked it out and know which bed is for each of you to eliminate any confusion. friends or groups that book under one order confirmation will absolutely be able to provide additional contact information for each guest after the reservation is made.

one more note about staying together: if it turns out that you and your buddy, are not able to book the room(s) together that you were hoping for, all is not lost. as soon as each member of your group has a confirmed booking of any bed, you can contact me and explain your situation. registered guests will absolutely have claim over the bed they booked, however, let’s say that pair of knitters that don’t know each other end up in a double bedroom but you and yours get singles and would prefer to be together. I will reach out privately & confidentially to the guests in a double room to see if they have any interest in swapping with you. i’m more than happy to make inquiries like this but if i am able to arrange a swap for you, it will be up to the two knitters who are switching to work out the financial side of things.

when all retreat slots are filled, the listings section will magically turn over to a waiting list form. ok fine, it isn’t magical, i’ll have to do it manually ☺️ but i will do my best to pay attention and get it posted asap. if you do arrive at the registration page (after registration opens) and see no listings & no form, e-mail me immediately. this will secure your place in line and i’ll manually add you to the list according to the time stamp of your e-mail. this applies only for knitters who land on the registration page before I have time to make the swap. once the form is up, I will no longer make manual additions.

if a registered guest is unexpectedly unable to attend the retreat, I will reach out to those on the waiting list one by one and in proper order. if you are offered a slot, you have 24 hours to reply, otherwise the opportunity will move on to the next person on the list.