About Us

DIRECTOR

BA (Hons), PGCert

Tavienne is Director of the Tim Stead Trust, leading the organisation through a period of renewed activity, conservation and long term planning. With a background spanning contemporary art, craft and heritage, her work focuses on connecting people, place and making in ways that are both relevant and enduring.

Since joining the Trust, Tavienne has overseen the development of a clear strategic direction, supporting the care of the collection, the activation of The Steading and the strengthening of public engagement through workshops, exhibitions and partnerships. Her approach centres on collaboration, bringing together artists, volunteers, specialists and the wider community to sustain and extend Tim Stead’s legacy.

Alongside her role at the Trust, Tavienne is President of and Principle Curator for Visual Arts Scotland, where she continues to advocate for the value of both visual art and contemporary craft following her past work for WASPS artist studios, Scotland's largest Artist studio provider and community in Scotland. 

CHAIR (2023-Present)

B Ecol. Sci

Donald became the proud owner of one of Tim’s wooden axe heads early in 1987 and sought him out to ask him about it. Within a year he had worked closely with Tim and others to buy Wooplaw wood, the first community woodland in the UK. As a forester, Donald has a keen interest in community woodlands, all kinds of small woodlands, ecological restoration, hutting, environmental activism and all things made out of wood.

He runs his own woodland advisory business from home, just down the road from The Steading in Earlston. He is very involved with green issues and the route to Net Zero through his leading role with Greener Melrose, a local Transition group.

TREASURER (2023- Present)

BSc, FCA

Former Senior Partner for PwC in Edinburgh, Mark spent 32 years as an auditor, before retiring in 2021. An experienced Charity Trustee and past Council Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, he lives in East Lothian. He recently graduated from the Chippendale International School of Furniture.

SECRETARY (September 2024 - Present)

BSc (Hons) Estate Management

Having gained his degree in Estate Management at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, David worked in property, mainly country houses, farms and rural estates for 10 years and then in commercial property and development projects for a further 2 years. He then transferred to management consultancy for a further 10 years working across the private, public and third sectors, specialising in third party income generation, maximising the return for property assets and business rescue.

David then took on self-employment covering a number of roles including running a corporate event management company, working as an insurance claims investigator, establishing a bespoke shirt making company and managing the 2011 Census in the Borders. David then set up a business consultancy, helping SME’s develop and grow, and individuals maximise their career potential.

In 2023 David joined the Mentor and Interim Executive panels of the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary organisations, ACOSVO, (now Chairty Leadership Scotland). He works as a mentor to CEOs, COOs and Chairs of third sector organisations across Scotland and helps Third Sector organisations in temporary roles as and when required.

David joined the Tim Stead Trust in 2024 and leads the Governance Group as well as recruiting and managing volunteers for the Trust. David sits on the Boards of Newbattle Abbey College and the Borders Further Education Trust. 

TRUSTEE (2015 - Present)

B.Soc.Sci, Dip. Arch, FRIAS, RIBA, FSA(Scot)

Ben knew Tim and was trained as a carpenter in Denmark. As Benjamin Tindall Architects, he has practised ‘the Art and Craft of architecture’ for more than 40 years, for a wide variety of clients and building types, ranging from affordable housing on Barra to The Queen’s Gallery at Holyroodhouse. Ben is at the forefront of sustainability with an emphasis on utilising embodied energy and insulation. The Practice is advising the Trust.

He has served on the Council and Board of the National Trust for Scotland for 21 years, was Chair and trustee of the Patrick Geddes Memorial Trust for 10 years, a trustee of the Traverse Theatre and a founder of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. He owns a share of a forest which he helps manage and is also a part-time harbourmaster.

TRUSTEE (2015 - Present)

Dip. A.D. (Edin), MBE

Lead of Finance and Fundraising Committee

www.nicholafletcher.com

Nichola Fletcher, MBE, was Chair of the Tim Stead Trust from its inception in 2015 until 2023; she led the successful fundraising campaign that secured the purchase of The Steading. Nichola is a practising designer, goldsmith and a food writer. She also ran an award-winning rural artisan food business that provided 6 FTJEs. For twenty years she managed the holiday letting of a tower in France. Nichola is currently Vice Chair of Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre in Glasgow, a dissident Russian arts organisation that Tim and Maggy Stead were instrumental in bringing to Scotland.

TRUSTEE (2015 - Present)

BA(Hons), BSc

Sam is the son of Tim & Maggy Stead and grew up in The Steading. After graduating from Glasgow School of Art, Sam worked for 9 years at the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop. He is now an artist and part-time Vocational Tutor at Reading College in Berkshire.

TRUSTEE (2025 - Present)

Claudia Zeiske is a cultural activist and Walking Curator. Her practice stems from Deveron Projects in rural Scotland where she was the founding Director. Here ‘the town is the venue’ rather than a gallery or arts centre based on a balanced approach between artistic criticality and community involvement. With a special interest in rural arts development, she employs anthropological methods, called Transformational Fieldwork. Her experiences come from participatory arts, linking local activities with global realities.

LEAD OF MUSEUM ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE (2025 - Present)

Rachel Hunter is a Borders-based heritage consultant who has worked with a wider range of museums, arts and heritage organisations across the UK, most recently involved in raising funds and project delivery of The Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns and the Trimontium Museum in Melrose. She has a particular interest in connecting people to heritage and place through interpretation and engagement.

TRUSTEE (2021- Present)

With a career backdrop of teaching, community development and youth work in a range of roles nationally and Europe wide, and also former director of a national agency advising government. Rory has enjoyed 28 years as a radio broadcaster and producer, developed a person-focused counsellor practice. He has also been active for 20 years in the Scottish Youth Justice system (Children’s Panel).

He has been involved in a range of charities across Scottish Borders and enjoys writing poetry. He is also a co-founder of Borders Community Woodland, then Borders Forest Trust, first chair and trustee for 15 years.

TRUSTEE (2025 - Present)

Jessica Bailey MIWFM has a twenty year history of making the built environment work for people. She has latterly been working in the third sector, with a focus on play spaces and the family. This has included project work (on both a large and small scale and with both large and small budgets) as well as management of Grade A listed buildings, art and antiques collections, events, neurodivergent friendly initiatives and more.

She has been grateful to spend time in the spaces created both at Wooplaw Community Woodland and The Steading since returning to the Borders with her family in 2019, especially fascinated by the idea of art embodied in the built environment itself. The opportunity to support Tim’s legacy presented itself and she joined The Tim Stead Trust as a trustee in late 2025. 

TRUSTEE (2026 - Present)

Ed is a Scottish CA with 25 years of international banking experience at JPMorgan and Rabobank, including 10 years living in The Netherlands.  In recent years, Ed was an active angel investor and was a member of three Scottish syndicates. He now performs NXD roles and helps early stage companies find growth capital through his network of investors.  Ed first came across Tim’s work through his first wife, whose family lived in Helsby and purchased furniture from InDesign. Ed has been a big fan of Tim’s work ever since.