Event: Nestination India

Last week I was excited to photograph the first London 'Nestination' event at La Portes de Indes restaurant in Marylebone, London.  Nest is a charity close to my friend Sarah's heart, as she worked along side them during her two years in India and Nepal. 

"Nest is a nonprofit dedicated to alleviating poverty, empowering women and promoting peace through the successful creation of artisan businesses."  And excitingly, they have joined forces with luxury ethical fashion brand Maiyet and together aim to "provide training and development that will focus on artisans in the developing world who exhibit comprehensive economic and humanitarian benefits to their communities."  

I knew the evening would be interesting and creative - and I was right!  Nest is an American based charity, and the recently formed London chapter did an absolutely amazing job organising the evening, it was so special.  There was a market selling artisan products, and activities such as card printing, bead threading, saris to try on, a silent auction and a delicious Indian meal. 

As guests were welcomed to the event they received traditional beads for the ladies, and spicy apple chutney for the men.   A lovely touch.

I loved watching as guests tried on saris, they were just stunning.

One of the ways Nest continued to raise money during the event was through a Silent Auction.  There was a huge range of prizes on offer and I have to say it got quite competitive towards the end!  Prizes donated ranged from individual items such as beautiful cushions, signed footballs and cookery books; to  experiences such as tea tasting, cinema vouchers, beauty treatments and much more.  There was even a photography shoot with me up for grabs...I'm very excited to meet the winner.

The beautiful prints on each table were made by the ladies in India, each table had a different design.

The evening was brought to it's conclusion with a delicious desert, coffee, and speeches from several of the team.  Nest's founder Rebecca Kousky was delighted to be present at the London chapter's first fund raiser and spoke passionately about Nest's work with artisans across the world. She also introduced Kristy Caylor who is president of Maiyet.  Kristy was excited to launch the new collection, and bought a small sample along with her.  Gorgeous. Well done to all the team involved with the evening, so much work had obviously gone into making it a success and I was honoured to be part of it.