Up until 2019, The Nest Community was truly a grassroots, volunteer-led organisation. With no operational funding and limited revenue apart from workshops and fundraising, the organisation had hit a crossroads.

With a grant from Wesley Mission, co-founder Roz Holt was able to take on a full time role as CEO and develop new strategies to shore up The Nest’s future.

At the time, the terms social enterprise and circular economy were being bandied about and it piqued Roz’s interest. It gave her the inspiration to seek a new revenue stream that was based on volunteer interest.

At the time, The Nest Haberdashery was nothing more than a Facebook page. The donated textile resources were contained in a few boxes and dress racks. Stock was wheeled out to the verandah, on a Wednesday and Saturday for limited hours and then packed away. But the way the volunteers sorted and repacked items, resonated with this idea of a circular economy.

Even in its infancy, Roz saw how women connected over textiles. They shared ideas about what to make with it, dissected a fabric’s suitability for a project and consulted others about which colour to choose.

The Haberdashery had become the heart of the organisation.

It started with a $5000 budget and community support

Known affectionately as ‘The Habby’, it grew in notoriety and became known as a ‘treasure trove of low-cost resources’. Demand followed and it became obvious that compared to the workshop and gardening programs, the Habby was the key to The Nest becoming sustainably self-funded and making the biggest social impact.

But the first challenge was to create a secure space where products could be permanently displayed. With limited funds, building a retail space seemed challenging. But once again the local community offered support to help transform the existing concrete space under the house.

Smartline, Now Networking Group, Black Bear Investments, Alderley Automotive and Road Boss Rally were all local businesses and organisations that contributed to the $5000 budget.

Additionally Mitre 10 Mitchelton donated the building supplies and our thrifty Shopfitters sourced much of the fitout, like the counter, from shops they were renovating. We also sourced second hand display shelves.

The Nest Haberdashery finally had a permanent set up and started trading six days a week in mid 2019.

From humble beginnings and through a global pandemic

Longstanding Nest volunteer, Jacqueline recalls how simple the shop was in those days.

“We didn’t have a cash register initially and people mainly paid in cash. I helped Gladys (Roz’s mum) with banking and we used to think we had a huge day if we made $100.”

Just as business was starting to build, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia in early 2020.

Of course the global pandemic forced all businesses to change the way they operated and The Nest Haberdashery was no different. Craft supplies were in high demand as people craved for something to do during extended lockdowns. Virtual shopping was trialled but ultimately, people preferred to ‘mask-up’ and shop in-person.

As the pandemic continued, many volunteers like Chris Eaton, took on extra roles. Everyone chipped in to keep processing donations. Volunteers would take huge crates of donations home and bring them back ready for the shelf. Chris and her sister were like little elves and restocked the shelves when everyone had gone home.

Victim or our own success, something had to change

In the 1989 Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams, his character famously said “Build it, he will come”. It leans into the idea that by manifesting something people need, it will attract the right people.

This principle is what led to the huge success of launching The Nest Haberdashery, but in fact it fell victim to too many people coming. Once the pandemic subsided, traffic in and out of the residential front yard sometimes got to boiling point as access proved difficult.

When it rained, it was all hands on deck to secure the perimeter and dig trenches to divert water flow. And then there was the daily battle against dust and possum wee.

Eventually we reached another ‘where to from here’ moment when Brisbane City Council advised that we needed zoning permission to continue trading as we were.

Operations had reached a commercial scale and by early 2021, the search began to find a unicorn. A commercial premises with easy access and loads of parking. It needed to retain a feeling of home, preferably have a garden but with the storage capacity of a shed.

Luckily, we found a place called The Sheds and it’s been home to The Nest Haberdashery since September 2023.