How do you blend craft, creativity and corporate restructure?
Volunteer spotlight : Meet Kay Hallt

Growing up on a 5000 acre property, Kay was an active child. When she suffered a hip condition, sewing was just one of the activities used to keep her immobilised and entertained.

“When I was six years old I was given a toy sewing machine by my grandmother. I used to watch Mum sew. She used to sew everything, and was a milliner. I used the toy sewing machine then graduated to a treadle machine. I bought my first sewing machine in my last year of uni – I made all my clothes for my first week of work. But I kept my toy sewing machine and it’s now on display in The Nest’s Heritage Collection.”

This early experience learning to work with her hands seems to have stayed with her and it’s what led Kay to become a Nest volunteer. About 5 years ago, while camping in St George, Central Queensland, Kay’s husband was meeting some other campers. He was asked “Where’s your partner?”

‘‘Oh, she’s crocheting, doing something with her hands.”

Lucky for us, two Nest volunteers (Jenny and Robyn) were also camping and by Happy Hour had introduced themselves to Kay. Inspired by what she heard, Kay signed up as a Nest volunteer in late 2020, when she returned to Brisbane.

From volunteer to Board member

“I asked how to volunteer – and those days it was very simple. I was told to go upstairs, fill out a form, then it was pretty much ‘When would you like to start?’” 

Because Kay has ‘dabbled in absolutely everything’ craft related, she’s a walking creative thesaurus for ‘Habby’ customers.

“I have a background in sewing, knitting, embroidery and crochet. I’ve sewn for myself and my children – including ballet costumes. Dabbled in – tapestry, cross stitching and recently Art quilts. I’ve joined the Art Quilt Society and they do a challenge every month.

It’s not just Kay who shares her skills and inspiration in-store, Kay says she also gets a lot out of interacting with customers.

“I really enjoy being at the front door to meet customers and find out what they’re doing, how they heard about us. Recently a customer came in looking for a felting needle, she didn’t know what it looked like – but one of the other volunteers did. You learn something every day.”

Kay knew first hand that the Everton Park house was starting to buckle under the public demand for reclaimed textiles. Kay felt she could contribute more, given her own experience running a management consultancy, specialising in training, organisational development, change and career management. She felt she could help transition The Nest to become a registered charity. She has been involved at board level since 2021 when she joined as an observer and currently holds the position of secretary.

Restructure, transition and exchange

“Because the Everton Park house was in need of repairs and access was causing issues it was clear that a commercial premises was needed. The COVID closures allowed us to make changes to our structure and I helped review the charity’s governance. Throughout the 18 month process of looking for a new location we maintained communication with our volunteers to take them on the journey with us. I’m pleased to say that when we moved to Brendale we had hardly lost any volunteers.”

When asked what she gets out of being a Nest volunteer, Kay talks about the exchange that happens.

“I’m thrilled to have been able to contribute my professional experience to help build The Nest into a strong, compliant organisation. But working in The Nest Haberdashery I’ve had an awakening of how to use things differently from their original purpose. Before I started at The Nest I just did watercolour painting. Now I’ve found a way of incorporating fabric or thread to introduce 3D texture. The same goes for my Art quilts. I now paint the backgrounds with different dyes and inks, collaging fabric or hand stitching. In my travels, I use these new skills to make postcards of the places I’ve been.”

Kay’s ability to tie all her passions together is exemplified in a little project she trialled with other Tuesday volunteers. She personalised her denim Nest volunteer apron with an appliqué of a bird she’d drawn. She gave the others a copy of the drawing. In true Nest fashion, they’ve embellished their own aprons, with their own interpretation of ‘the bird’.

You know what they say about birds of a feather.

 

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