Fight or Flight fight or flight
HOW DO YOU MAKE a living from interior styling in a place where people are focused just on getting the walls up; let alone making them look good? One determined interior stylist/visual merchandiser for Ballantynes department store and blogger is helping to rebuild Christchurch the best way she knows how. "In any kind of natural disaster people
have the fight or flight instinct," says Majka Kaiser, who up until the earthquake resided quite comfortably in St Martins while working as a visual merchandiser for
Ballantynes department store. "My first instinct was to leave because of where my interests and career lies. I am heavily reliant on retail and products and if there are no shops and no one to buy products, there is no way I could have survived here." Luckily, during the restructuring of
the business Majka managed to retain her position at Ballantynes, and during the downtime started www.mintstylestudio. com to release her built up creativity. "After the earthquake the store was closed for nine months, so during the downtime I started
Rebuilding Christchurch one touch of colour at a time
the blog. I had the idea for a while and the time off gave me great focus, otherwise I would have found it incredibly difficult to get through. "Some of the people in my department were concerned how management was going to see visual merchandising in the greater scheme of things. They might not see it as an essential. But thankfully our new director, Mary Divine is a huge advocate and sees how important our work is in selling products." Majka feels blessed to have made one of
her life's passions her vocation, with work covering a wide range of creative projects, including styling, photography, writing, and creative direction in both retail and editorial settings. "I am inspired by almost anything. Often looking at something from a different perspective or plucking something out of context reveals a unique beauty yet undiscovered." Majka Kaiser (pronounced Mike-a) has had every pronunciation and spelling imaginable of her Czech/Austrian name. Her Kiwi mother and Austrian father quite romantically crossed paths on a cruise ship to Europe; her father travelling home after a stint in Melbourne and her mother setting off for her big OE.
"I am inspired by almost anything. Often looking at something from a different perspective or plucking something out of context reveals a unique beauty yet undiscovered."
Although her father was several years older
the pair fell in love and returned to New Zealand in the 70s settling in Christchurch. Majka grew up on the stage. Her 'first life' saw her in the European opera circuit after a childhood of singing, dancing and acting in musicals throughout Christchurch. At
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Guy Frederick
