Nest, with CFDA and Made51, celebrated its Refugee Artisan Accelerator program on Tuesday evening with an impressive turnout at Le Jardinier’s chic Sereine Room. CFDA members Kay Unger, Jeffrey Banks, Gigi Burris O’Hara, Diego Binetti, and Rebecca Moses were joined by Joel Towers, Claire-Aude Staraci, Lori Weizner, Fern Mallis, and more.

Nest’s commitment to supporting women, home-based workers, and maker communities across 120 countries has helped elevate the artisan economy to a place of visibility and value in the global market.

This specific program is an extension of Nest’s support to UNHCR through a business accelerator specifically designed for artisan enterprises that work with refugees.

Nest tapped Ghanaian architect tapped sustainable fashion designer Mimi Plange to serve as a mentor to the Social Enterprise (SE) cohort on a collaborative project. Plange mentored the SEs on design and development, and several of the pieces were on display and for sale that evening.

Nest Founder and Executive Director Rebecca van Bergen spoke to the power of mindfulness and the importance for hand heritage for healing.

“A full year ago, I was speaking at an event about writer Rebecca Saltzman, who was talking about climate change and how, in times of change, important it is that we have scientists and policy makers, but that we also have artists, and that storytelling and the preservation of beauty and humanity remains critical to our survival and to our ability to remain and retain help. This project speaks to that.”

CFDA CEO and President and Nest Board member Steven Kolb added, “At the CFDA, we believe fashion is one of the most powerful forms of storytelling. It’s a space where tradition and innovation meet—where cultures, identities, and histories are stitched into every design. That’s what makes our collaboration with Nest and MADE51 so meaningful. Over the past year, we’ve had the honor of supporting six remarkable artisan-based social enterprises from around the world. Through mentorship, shared learning, and connections with CFDA designers, we’ve seen how design can be a bridge.”