A thriving social enterprise built from dedicated community action
VALUES
MISSION
VISION
Fallon Cottage
2012-2014
Inspired by the power that the shared purpose of craft was having, as it created a community amongst the girls, providing them an outlet to express their concerns and a space to receive support and guidance from one another, the idea of a larger community dedicated to women of all ages began to grow.
By 2014, Roz had met with Rebecca Cason, founder of the Brisbane Brown Owls and together they realised that this dream suited an official association format. Later that year, this idea blossomed into a reality, as “The Nest Community” was officially founded, comprised of our 12 founding members ranging from 12 to 80 years of age.
By the year 2015 and with the support of local MP Tim Mander, they found a house and received a grant to cover their first year of rent, however their work was only just beginning. Working together, Rebecca and Roz facilitated over 100 workshops throughout the year in order to cover the overhead costs, eventually raising over $20,000 through their efforts to fund our community.
Everton Park
2015-2023
Co-founders, Rebecca Cason and Roz Holt (Fenson), facilitated over 100 workshops throughout the year with the support of other volunteers. Over $20,000 was raised through their dedicated community action.
Having always used reclaimed or donated materials to minimise the cost of workshops, The Nest Community started being inundated with donations of textile resources, particularly from deceased estates where families didn’t want to just dump a precious collection.
Fitting with our innate sustainability ethos, reclaiming and selling these resources became the solution to our need for consistent revenue. The Nest Community’s social enterprise, The Nest Haberdashery started simply as a display on a verandah.
Thanks to the support of Wesley Mission, Roz accepted the position of CEO in 2019 and ushered in a new era when we became a registered charity, The Nest Community Ltd.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the haberdashery flourished as people looked for iso-friendly activities and worried about the cost of living. Our low-cost, reclaimed resources and subsidised workshops were a panacea to a chaotic world.
Due to the growth in textile donations, the haberdashery moved from the verandah to a refurbished, 30 sq mtr space under the house. Its reputation grew and became loved by Brisbane’s maker community as a treasure trove of preloved, reclaimed resources.
But with popularity came issues with storage, a need for more sophisticated sorting systems, demand for accessibility and administration support for volunteers. Our operations were now at a commercial scale, hosting over 200 women a week.
We’d reached a where-to-from-here moment.
Brendale 2024
The non-negotiable was that it needed to be a space where women felt safe and we could run skill sharing workshops.
The universe delivered and Roz met property developers Doug and Jenny Fisher, Directors of Wattlerun. Doug and Jenny are passionate about creating communities with heart, built on ethical, inclusive, and sustainable principles that encourage people to gather, connect, belong, and thrive.
In September 2023, The Nest Community moved to The Sheds on South Pine Rd, Brendale and opened a Textile Recovery Centre with The Nest Haberdashery as its store front. With additional support from Wattlerun, the community also opened the Gladys Mary Studio to host our flagship skill sharing program, the Exchange Project.
We now host over 500-600 women per week as customers, program participants or volunteers.
The Nest Community Board
ROZ HOLT
Kath Horton
KAY HALLT
JAC GALLAGHER
EDDE ROSE FENSON
LISA WILKINSON
Lisa Wilkinson
Board Member
Degree qualified in Built Environment and Industrial Design, with supplementary qualifications in clothing production, data analysis and interior design, Lisa makes an immense contribution to the growth and development of The Nest Community with her intelligent and informed strategic advice.
In particular, her career background in design and communications has played a large part in how The Nest has developed its brand and social media strategy and sourced opportunities for government grants and tenders. Lisa’s unique knowledge of the ‘how to’ and ‘where to’ in understanding the ramifications of government service opportunities has made a huge difference in how The Nest advances funding opportunities to diversify their services.
Lisa now works as an interior designer for Concepts Unlimited Design, a premium residential design company. Since 2016, she has worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the Nest Community balancing study, full time work and volunteering her time on weekends and late at night to deliver administration and marketing support.
Lisa’s dedication and contribution combined with her passion for sustainability contributes meaningfully to the diversity and knowledge of our management committee.
Lisa is also a keen craftswoman and lover of handmade living, with an ever-growing collection of beautiful handmade treasures.
Edde-Rose Fenson
Junior Board Observer
As the daughter of The Nest Community CEO and Founder, Roz Holt, Edde-Rose has had a long association with the organisation, starting with the genesis of our community – The Craft Nest Project where she was integral in passing on skills and teaching other girls in craft workshops.
Edde-Rose’s interest in community and charity work developed in parallel with The Nest Community’s development. Even as a high school student, she used her creativity and passion for videography and photography to tell the community’s stories and connect hearts and minds to our cause.
In the last four years she has worked with not-for-profit organisations with particular interest in the disability sector. She also commenced a degree in Social Work.
Edde-Rose currently works full time for Autism Queensland as a marketing and fundraising coordinator where she is dedicated to nurturing positive community initiatives and elevating awareness for autistic and neurodivergent individuals.
A belief in the power of inclusion and the beauty of diversity motivates Edde-Rose to make a meaningful impact and spark positive change within our community.
Jac Gallagher
Treasurer
Qualified as an accountant, Jac worked for over 10 years in the corporate sector before starting her own small business, Notch Above Bookkeeping which she ran for more than 16 years.
The inspiration behind her business was to teach customers how to leverage technology with cloud based Business Solutions so they could gain more time to serve their clients and win back energy and passion to live life on their terms. Following her own advice, Jac now only has a small number of bookkeeping and BAS clients, enabling her to dedicate more time to her family and pursue her creative dreams.
It was creativity that brought Jac to The Nest Community as a volunteer and she undertook the role of book keeping in our organisation. She has stepped into the role of Treasurer on The Nest Community board and brings a wealth of financial knowledge and experience to our community.
Roz Holt
Chief Exectuive Officer & Co Founder
Roz is one of the original founders of The Nest Community and has dedicated the last 10 years to fulfilling her vision of developing an organisation that is financially independent through community managed social enterprise.
She was instrumental in the development of two key initiatives – The Nest Haberdashery, which is now a thriving shop open six days per week, and The Nest Community’s affordable craft workshops, all 100% volunteer managed. This social enterprise plan has not only been instrumental in the community’s unique ability to grow without government funding, but also created an innovative, out-of-the box model within the provision of social networking services to the community.
Roz has a diverse background in the arts, entertainment and charity sectors, as well as experience in creating and growing her own art practice that supplied fashion jewellery accessories to major national and international art galleries. Roz brings insight, energy and creativity to The Nest along with her collaborative approach to leadership and management. She has a unique ability to share her artistic vision and ignite the imagination and creativity amongst those that work with her. The Nest volunteers and the management committee alike share in her capacity to inspire.
Under Roz’s strategic leadership, The Nest happily operates with a team of 60 volunteers rostered over 7 days each week to manage their haberdashery, workshop and garden programmes. Over the last 6 years, this equates to over 240,000 volunteer hours, and together they have touched the lives of over 10,000 women spanning postcodes from the Far North Queensland to the South.
Kay Hallt
Secretary
After a long career leading large organisations through significant change processes such as organisational restructures, introduction of new IT systems, consolidation and relocation of business premises and change in organisational strategic direction due to legislation and political changes, Kay quickly transitioned to retirement and a life of travel, craft and art challenges.
To assist with her transition to retirement, She had had plenty of experience in helping people and organisations through significantly challenging situations – through her constant and life long education journey starting with qualifications in Business Management, Marketing, Higher Education and Company Directorship. She successfully managed her own management consultancy business specialising in training, organisational development and career management; lectured in management, organisational change and communication at QUT before becoming a Senior Organisational Change Consultant for a variety of local councils and state government departments.
Many of the organisations that Kay worked with were community based and provided a multitude of services to community such as respite care, education and local government.
Kay rekindled her love of fabrics and all things associated with yarn when she volunteered at the Nest back in 2017. Her introduction to this community of talented and skilled crafters was through two sisters who noticed her crocheting when they were all travelling in their caravans in outback Queensland.
A passionate sewer, Kay has now broadened her skills to include fabric art and combines this with watercolour painting.
Becoming a member of the Nest Community and accepting a position on the Board has provided an opportunity for Kay to assist in developing a collaborative community and grow an organisation with a passion for sustainable skills and producing handmade items using reclaimed resources.
Kath Horton
Chair | Board Member
Passionate about leveraging connections between the educational, cultural and community sectors to drive change, Kath brings expertise in circular textile economies to The Nest Community’s board.
A Senior Lecturer at QUT in the School of Design, Kath has been teaching in the Fashion discipline for over 15 years, where she instigated the Fashion Communication major. As co-leader of the Research Group, TextileR, Kath collaborates on research into SMEs, industry and community groups focussing on solving critical sustainability issues faced by the textile and fashion industries globally.
Through her role as an educator, Kath has had the privilege of mentoring the careers of emerging creatives and plays an active role in Brisbane’s independent fashion community.
In 2010 she co-founded The Stitchery Collective, fashion-based design collective aimed at connecting communities. Between 2019 and 2023, Kath served on the board of Artisan, Queensland’s leading craft and design organisation.
Kath is inspired by the Nest Community. She is excited to work alongside the amazing team of volunteers and employees to continue to shine a light on the social and economic value that we bring to Southeast Queensland.