As part of the Morning Lazziness series highlighting empowering women who are making a remarkable impact with their ideas, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rebecca van Bergen.
At just 24, Rebecca launched Nest in 2006 from her apartment in St. Louis, inspired by the transformative potential of craft-based microentrepreneurs to drive social and financial impact. Today, Nest has partnered with global brands including Etsy, Madewell, Patagonia, Target, and West Elm to promote transparency, improve well-being, and expand economic opportunities for handworkers—ranging from skilled artisans to home-based workers across the globe.
Under her leadership, Nest has built a worldwide network reaching 380,000+ handworkers, 2,800+ artisan businesses, and 125+ countries. Its initiatives, such as the Nest Guild and Makers United, provide artisans with training, resources, and access to markets while elevating the role of handcraft in building more inclusive economies.
In 2017, Rebecca spearheaded the launch of the Nest Standards for Homes and Small Workshops at the United Nations—introducing the first industry tool to improve the rights and well-being of the world’s estimated 300 million home-based workers. This groundbreaking initiative also established the Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft, the first consumer-facing certification ensuring handmade products are ethically produced.
An award-winning social entrepreneur with a Master’s in Social Work from Washington University, Rebecca has dedicated her career to creating sustainable pathways for artisans worldwide—unlocking the power of craft to transform lives and communities.
In this interview, she talks about the obstacles she’s overcome, the milestones she’s achieved, and the wisdom she’s gained along the way.
What inspired you to start your business, and what problem were you passionate about solving?
When Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, enthusiasm for microfinance solutions exploded. New organizations and corporations emerged to put Yunus’ principles into practice, many too quickly and without foundations in community building.
Having just completed a Master’s in Social Work, I was learning about human-centered design approaches that focus and build on the needs and opportunities that communities self-define, which is why this rapid scaling of lending took me aback. In the United States, a loan creates debt not a business in and of itself. The sudden conflation of these two concepts was worrying to me, particularly when it was not coupled with business education and other supportive services.
I founded Nest to counter this approach. I was interested in creating economic opportunities in developing economies without the burden of debt. My vision was for a sustainable model that offered recipients holistic business development. I didn’t want to simply finance a woman purchasing a sewing machine, but to give her the skills needed to improve her sewing to grow a sustainable business.
How has your business evolved since its launch, and what key decisions have helped drive that growth?
At Nest, we have always believed in the power of craft to drive social change and economic opportunity. Over time, we expanded beyond focused support for global artisans and created Makers United, a program for U.S.-based makers, recognizing that creative entrepreneurs everywhere face unique challenges to establishing and growing their businesses. Another example of growth is that we have recently added climate as a programmatic focus area. We heard stories of artists and makers impacted by changing weather–from being devastated by natural disasters to raw material scarcity. We realized we needed to give focused attention to understanding and supporting our communities adaptation to the changing climate. Our evolution was, and continues to be, guided by listening to our constituents’ needs to ensure our work remains relevant and impactful.
Our business also evolves as the industry around us changes. Brand and retail needs change based on the global social, political and economic context but also just on consumer trends. Our work is possible thanks to our deeply engaged network of brand, retail, and philanthropic partners, whose purposeful collaboration enables us to target and scale our programming so we continuously listen and evolve alongside of them.
In your view, what truly sets your brand apart in today’s competitive market?
In a world that is becoming increasingly tech-dependent, Nest aims to celebrate handcraft as an economic driver and a way to preserve cultural tradition while connecting us to our shared humanity.
Thoughtfulness and intentionality are at the core of what we do, from programs we develop alongside our global artisan community to the brands and companies we choose to work with. It is this approach and our proven impact that has led Nest to become a trusted partner for leading retailers, enabling them to confidently source handcrafted products and provide their customers with unique, high-quality goods.
How do you stay connected to your ideal audience and understand their needs or behaviors?
As an organization that serves artisans, makers, and creative entrepreneurs worldwide, as well as leading brands and retailers, and mindful consumers, we are always listening.
Internally, our programming team hosts office hours to hear from our maker and artisan partners in real-time and uses feedback surveys to improve our program offerings. Our partnerships team meets regularly with our brand, retail, and philanthropic partners for collaborative planning calls, and our communications team keeps up-to-date with industry and consumer trends by monitoring press and managing our social and channels.
We are committed to working across teams to provide one another with the information and visibility needed to do great, impactful work.
What does success look like for you, not just in numbers, but in purpose or impact?
For me, success has always been about impact rather than numbers. I define it by stories of makers and artisans whose lives and communities have been improved through participation in our programs. It also looks like building partnerships rooted in respect and collaboration, where everyone at the table benefits. And, in the resilience, creativity, and opportunities we help foster.
One example of this impact is our work with the Gee’s Bend quilters. These artisans live in a small town in Alabama called Boykin, between Selma and Birmingham. This community is known for its stunning, striking and uniquely modern quilts. They have actually gained some notoriety for these quilts and they can now be found in major museums and galleries. Yet, despite this growing reputation, Boykin is extremely rural and the poverty rate is high. The annual average income when Nest was first introduced to the community was approximately $16,000 per year.
What we learned from these quilters is that despite the growing popularity of their designs, the women had no way to sell them. They had no brick-and-mortar shop, no stores carried them and they had no online presence. So, consumers who had heard of them and wanted to purchase a quilt, had to literally travel to Gee’s Bend and hope they ran into a quilter outside her home. Eventually, art collectors and dealers who made the trek to Alabama would offer to sell the quilts, but asked for such high commissions that very little money was left for the quilters themselves.
To assist these quilters, we approached Etsy who quickly became a partner. Nest helped the quilters form their own e-commerce shops on the platform and gave them the business assistance they needed to be successful entrepreneurs. Etsy, for its part, waived its fees for the launch, ensuring that all the revenue earned went directly back to the quilters themselves and funded our business education programs. Following the launch, the quilts sold out immediately and now the partnership has grown to include collaborations with the luxury fashion house Chloe, designer Greg Lauren and licensing agreements with Target and Crate and Barrel. Together, these collaborations have yielded more than 1 million dollars in direct sales for the quilters!
Can you share a challenge or setback that ultimately became a turning point for your brand?
Like so many (all?) businesses and organizations, the Covid-19 pandemic was a major turning point for Nest.
Almost overnight, we were unable to deliver our core programming, while our artisan partners, who often operate with razor thin margins, reported their purchase orders were being delayed and canceled. They were facing major layoffs which were likely to ripple out into devastating incomes for their workers and families.
We knew we needed to do something to support our partners in this critical moment so we quickly pivoted our programming to provide funding to artisans producing face masks. We ultimately produced more than 200,000 masks which were distributed to hospitals, the United States Post Office and NYC Public Housing, creating a magnified impact of both PPE production and needed income for makers.
This program enabled Nest, and our artisan partners, to keep our doors open during this crucial time. It also taught us the importance of being nimble in our thinking and program delivery. At the end of the day, our work is only as good and impactful as it can be if it is effectively supporting the people it’s meant to reach. Sometimes, to ensure this, we need to step away from our conventional way of doing things and get creative.
What daily habits or rituals keep you focused, creative, and grounded as a leader?
I am a big believer in what I call “microtasking.” My husband calls it multitasking and while I have been occasionally known to do that, this is something different. Microtasking is the ability to do a very small portion of work in singular moments of time. While I do certainly have periods of extended work where I sit at a desk for an unbroken length of time, the reality is that my days are more often broken up by meetings or time-bound assignments. I often find that this is personality driven as well. My brain is continually moving, brainstorming and ideating, and so, for me, small tasks are ideal since I can focus on one specific thing for a short amount of time and then detour as my attention naturally moves toward the next thing.
But, I think part of what makes this philosophy so unique is that it has positively impacted my life outside of work as well because I apply the same idea to self care. I have seen countless people–often women–wait for that unicorn of a large chunk of free time in which they can squeeze in a yoga class, a long run, or an uninterrupted phone call with their best friend. When this magical period of time never materializes (if you have a young family or a heavy workload, it often won’t), then self care never happens. Even for those of us who work remotely or have a flexible schedule, it’s still difficult to set aside an hour for an exercise class–especially if you have to add additional time for commuting and showering afterward.
Ever since I realized I could use the 15 minutes between calls to do a ten-minute stretch routine from YouTube or a meditation from Headspace, I have been able to work these easy, low-commitment mindfulness routines throughout my day and week staying more grounded and present for my work and my family.
How do you approach innovation and risk in your business strategy?
We are operating in a time in global history where change feels like the new normal. Nothing is static and we must remain nimble in our approach if we want to remain effective and impactful.
Innovation and risk–stepping outside what’s familiar and comfortable–can feel scary, but are often where growth takes place. Leaning into change is imperative. Iteration is actually a core value of our organization so we can strengthen our muscles of continuous evolution, while improving programs based on outcomes or because of larger policy shifts that require us to adapt and change course.
To ensure we are leaning into innovation and not taking undue risks, I seek the advice of professional mentors and actively engage our Board of Directors. I look to the perspectives and wisdom of those who are more seasoned than me to take better-informed steps forward.
What advice would you give to someone starting a business in today’s fast-changing digital world?
Don’t lose your hands-on connection to the world around you! While so much of modern business happens online, it is important to stay grounded and present in what’s happening around us outside of our phones, tablets, and computer screens.
Because we work with traditional crafts, I am often asked about the future of the handmade in a world that is increasingly robotic and mechanized. Truthfully, the more the world becomes automated, the more I think the human psyche craves authenticity and humanity so I see a counter-revolution already underway–one that focuses on humanity and the handmade. I see a future where we have both AI and authentic craftsmanship sitting side by side–one showing us the power of the future and the other rooting is our past and our heritage.
Where can our audience connect with you and learn more about your work or offerings?
You can learn more about Nest at buildanest.org or follow us on Instagram, and you can connect with me directly on LinkedIn.
