About Us
Born, raised and indeed privileged to have had a childhood on a sheep farm, Gareth Collie’s roots stem from the small rural town of Otautau, South Island New Zealand, a truly dynamic arena in which to harness practical skills that would come to the fore later in life.
After being educated and gaining a diverse range of experiences in the university city of Dunedin, also South Island New Zealand, Gareth packed his bags for Perth, Western Australia in 2000.
Upon arrival and encountering certain adversity, Gareth called on the positivity of his upbringing to delve into his passion for clothing and the fashion industry.
Gaining the necessary sewing and pattern drafting skills from local Perth craftswomen, Kim Banting and Joan Hutchinson ensured a new beginning was well on track.
A focus on men’s and women’s jeans opened the door to working with heavy industrial sewing equipment and the importance of precision and finishing became clear.
In early 2005 a casual chat with a dear friend exposed a gap in the market for an alternative, indoor/outdoor form of functional furniture.
A period of experimentation with different shapes, designs and heavy weight fabrics ensued. After creating many prototypes, the Otautau Designs Nest concept was born.
Towards the end of 2005, while attending a Fremantle fashion show, Gareth was introduced to a local designer, Jessica Wilkes. Formally trained, Jess was designing, producing and retailing unique, hand formed, textile based fashion in Fremantle’s West End but she was also inspired by this new found creative direction.
What transpired was uncanny. Two individuals from very different backgrounds and life experiences, yet both homebodies, entertainers and perfectionists who also shared very similar creative ideals, work ethics and a passion for textiles and high quality workmanship, began to share a similar outlook.
Gareth and Jess started collaborating on a selection of designs part time in 2006. This process developed and in 2007 it was time to unleash what is before you today; The Otautau Designs Nest Collection, a merger of creative visions that form a balance of practicality and aesthetic appeal. They are not only wonderfully comfortable pieces of custom made furniture but unique and highly adaptable pieces of art.
A message from Gareth and Jess
Otautau Designs is an ever evolving business. We are open minded and look forward to introducing not only new designs, fabrics and accessories within the Nest Collection but also diversifying into other exciting concepts and products.
We have used Warwick™ macrosuedes and Defab® canvas as our benchmark fabrics in launching The Nest Collection simply because they represent and possess outstanding commercial grade attributes.
Our studio is in Fremantle’s West End where all processes from designing, cutting and sewing, through to the finished product are undertaken.
We are incredibly proud to be 100% Australian made. Furthermore we are community people and to be supporting the textile and sewing industry not only at a national level but more importantly at a local level gives us great satisfaction.
We hope you take the opportunity to enjoy The Nest Collection as much as we do.