About
A thriving social enterprise built from dedicated community action
VALUES
MISSION
VISION
Fallon Cottage
2012-2014
In early 2012, Roz Holt was running a small business called The Craft Nest Project. Assisted by friend, Jodie Behn, they hosted a Saturday afternoon group for their daughters’ friends, teaching handmaking skills.
Roz observed how having a shared purpose of craft, created stronger bonds amongst the girls. It provided them an outlet to express their concerns and a space to receive support and guidance from one another. This experience seeded the idea for The Nest Community, a nurturing space where women of all ages could connect purposefully through craft.
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
CEO | FOUNDER
Kath Horton
Chair
KAY HALLT
JAC GALLAGHER
Board Member
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, Lisa’s background in design and communications played a key role in supporting The Nest during its early development, especially through social media and marketing. She worked alongside Gladys Foley—after whom the Gladys Mary Studio is named—who made significant contributions to the organisation’s operations in the formative years prior to 2019.
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
Board Member
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
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Fresh out of college, Roz started working in the advertising industry and by the age of 22, launched Ozbods producing puppetry and special effects for television commercials. To further her career she decided to embark overseas, Don Blakley, MOJO Brisbane Creative Director, wrote her a reference that said: ‘When others say why it can’t be done, Roz is finding a way it can’.
This has been a common theme throughout Roz’s extensive creative and entrepreneurial journey and has ultimately led her to build a legacy of social impact through The Nest Community.
From Art Director, costume designer, event producer, Business Development Manager, and Artisan, each role has enriched Roz’s ability to found and evolve The Nest Community to fight textile waste by connecting women purposefully through craft.
Internationally, Roz ran the world famous puppet studio, Spitting Images in London, where she managed shows and costume development for Universal Studios and developed costumes for the Barney early childhood program in Texas. Later she worked for Hasbro UK and was one of just six Game Designers for the Asia Pacific. In Amsterdam, Roz worked as an Art Director for world renowned animation studio; Toonders, Amsterdam, and was awarded Outstanding Young achiever in business development.
When she returned to Australia she accepted a position as Creative Director for Channel Nine South Australia to manage promotions. When Chromakey was introduced to television production, Roz was given the job of restructuring the Set Department into a financially viable business. She created Drum Productions, a corporate event hire and planning business. As Director, Roz managed events from sit down dinners for 1000 guests to million dollar Christmas parties. The business expanded into Queensland with clients such as Carlton United Breweries and River Fire.
By 2002 Roz had a young family and started her own arts practice; Artisan Leather Goods, so that she could work from home with kids. She transformed the boundaries of leather production techniques globally and sold work throughout Australia in galleries and fashion outlets.
Highlights of her Arts practice include:
2009 Selected by Australian Craft and Designer for L’Artigiano Feira in Milan.
2010 Emerging Designer at Queensland Heat Fashion Program
2012 Showcased as leading Queensland Craft Designer for South Bank Tourist Centre Retail Outlet.
In 2012, Roz started The Craft Nest project in Everton Park to teach young girls handmade living practices. Originally it was an adjunct to her thriving arts practise, created to teach friends of her daughter how to make by hand. It quickly grew to a group of 20 girls. Observing how participants grew in confidence, sharing skills and helping others, Roz witnessed the benefits of women coming together to share a common purpose through craft. As demand grew, Roz looked for ways to engage other like-minded people and it became the genesis of The Nest Community.
The Nest Community Inc, was founded on 15 December 2014 with just 12 members ranging in age from 12 – 80, eventually establishing a ‘home’ in Everton Park by 2015.
In its early days The Nest was a volunteer-run organisation but Roz was very much the driving force behind activities, building a community around her to help fundraise and run low-cost workshops. Using all of her prior experience in business development Roz dedicated several years trying to secure funding, but the concept proved to be ‘too out of the box’ for most funding bodies.
In its infancy, The Nest Community was a passion project for Roz and worked full time as a Business Development Manager for Cystic Fibrosis Queensland where she introduced innovative fundraising programs and restructured their social enterprise book shop and re-invigorated the annual charity ball.
By 2019 it was clear that full-time strategic leadership was needed and Roz took on the role of CEO to establish The Nest Haberdashery as a social enterprise that would provide long term financial stability for the organisation. It quickly became the heart of the organisation.
Roz’s diverse background in the arts, entertainment and charity sectors, has allowed her to bring 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 Board share in her capacity to inspire.
In 5 years, under Roz’s strategic leadership The Nest became financially viable and relocated to commercial premises in Brendale in 2023 and now employs ten staff. The Administration team manages over 120 volunteers, rostered 6 days a week to operate The Nest Haberdashery and numerous programs including a Textile Recovery Centre and free mentoring program, the Exchange Project.
A testament to Roz’s determination and vision, in 10 years The Nest volunteers have contributed 29 years of their time, receiving 6.5 semi trailer loads of donations to reclaim 167 km worth of textiles alone. That’s the same distance as Brisbane to Gold Coast. By building a supportive environment where women can connect purposefully through craft, Roz has created a community hub that services over 25,000 people a year as either volunteers, donors, customers or program participants.
Kay Hallt
Secretary
After a long career in change management, leading organisational restructures, introducing new IT systems, consolidating and relocating business premises and changing organisational strategic direction, Kay transitioned to retirement and a life of travel, craft and art challenges.
She is highly experienced helping people and organisations through significantly challenging situations. Her education journey started 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. She 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
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.