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A week after the earthquake a collective of colleagues created a website database of self-employed Christchurch creatives, in response to the question from outside the region ‘how can we help’. The answer was ‘please send us some work’.

The Big Idea Editor Cathy Aronson talked to the team who put it together - Alec Bathgate, Stephen McCarthy and Tim Chesney.

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Talking from a hotel in Australia, Stephen McCarthy has just had his first proper shower in two weeks. He’s on route to South by Southwest in America. It was a pre-planned trip but now he is joining a panel on NZ innovation, to share how he kept his design studio running after the quake.

Specifically how online tools in the ‘cloud’ (invoicing to time management) and a geographical spread of clients staved off the financial loss faced by many freelancers in Christchurch.

“We are a big part of the creative community but when everyone is struggling to get going again, freelancers are the first to fall off the edge.”

It’s a reality that led a collective of colleagues and friends to set up the ChCh Creative website, an easy to use database of freelance creators and producers (from design to video), many of whom have lost offices and equipment, and encourages business outside the region to hire them.

Launched on March 4, so far it's had 50 listings from Christchurch freelancers looking for work and 4500 unique visits.

Stephen says the work is primarily needed for financial reasons, but also helps keep a sense of normality.

A normality that has been constantly shifting since the first earthquake shook Christchurch in September 2010 - creating a shift in perception and practices that brought together the team who created the chch website.

• Before

In 2010 Stephen shared ‘creative ideas, lunch and music’ with fellow designer and muso Alec Bathgate of Bathgate Design (Stephen is in Christchurch band Pine and Alec is one half of the Tall Dwarfs with Chris Knox).

Their shared studio became an 'unwanted poster child’ for the September 2010 earthquake. On the corner of Manchester and Worchester St, the building was a write-off and was pulled down, along with all their gear inside.

“It forced us to rethink the way we did our business.”

Alec decided to work from home and Stephen joined a collective of displaced freelancers, or ‘earthquake refugees’ as he calls them, to form a new studio space in the Christchurch CBD, on the third floor of an old brick building on Lichfield St.

He shared the space with Tim Chesney from Make Collective, Ben Edwards from The Sitting Room recording studio and Dan Watson, a motion graphic artist and video producer.

“It was a new way of working. We all ran our own business but the shared space created new alliances.”

Despite the Boxing Day bolt, which shook up the studio and left a few cracks in the building (pictured below), there was a renewed spirit and collective synergy - no one imagined another big earthquake.

The week before the devastating February 2011 quake, Stephen and Tim had just finished the design work and website for the ‘Before After: Let's build a better Canterbury’ exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery - now seen in the background of media coverage (the gallery is civil defence HQ) with the display boards serving as pin-boards for new info.

“We’ll have to do another exhibition now – the ‘Before After After’ exhibition.

• During

When the quake hit, Stephen thought it was just another aftershock. Then blocks of bricks landed on his desk near his mouse pad.

He recalls ‘dithering around’ in confusion, while watching Tim use ‘super-human strength’ to pick up and hide under the studio couch.

Stephen has been told he emerged from a pile of rubble and insulation from the roof – although he can’t remember it. The video (below) by Dan Watson, 20 seconds after the quake in the studio, captures the surreal aftermath unfolding.

The next thing Stephen remembers is running out the door, past the CTV building, successfully contacting his wife within an hour, and then spending the rest of the day ferrying friends out of the traffic-jammed CBD on his damaged Vespa.

• After

Because of Stephen’s back-ups and online tools he was able to process monthly invoices and get back to work quickly, including creating ads for the newly formed initiative of the CDC (Christchurch Development Corporation) and CECC (Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce) called Canterbury Business Recovery.

Within a week he was helping Tim and Alec create the Christchurch Creative website. Alec suggested the idea after the support and calls from Chris Knox’s partner Barbara Ward and Russell Brown from Public Address.

Alec’s home office in Papanui was largely unscathed, he had power and internet the next day, but he knew others would be in the same situation he was once in, with their offices and equipment destroyed.

“There was so much devastation, fear and uncertainty. Everything had ground to a holt and no one knew how long it would take this time to get going again,” says Alec.

“But after going through it once you know you’ve just got to carry on and get working quickly again – for money but also a form of therapy to get your mind onto something instead of just sitting around feeling the aftershocks.”

• After After

Given the random deck dealt by nature, Stephen knows he’s been given a good hand – made up of previous lessons, collaboration and luck. But he also knows others are not so fortunate.

There are no illusions that the industry works on networks and previous work, but if companies outside Christchurch are willing to take a chance on someone new for a small job – now is the time.

“The only way the freelance community can keep going is if we keep getting work. We’re just saying, if you have a excess work please send it our way.”

Stephen, Alec and Tim all say that since the website launched with their handful of immediate networks – they’ve been surprised to discover the amount of freelancers in Christchurch.

They are not sure how many job offers there have been so far but hope to get some feedback soon. However an immediate spin-off is that it’s created a new network of creative freelancers in Christchurch.

As Alec says the 'post earthquake mentality' has changed motivations. “This sort of thing cuts to the core and really shifts peoples values – it’s about survival and other people instead of just your own self-interests.

"If even one person gets some work out of this website it will make a difference."

• Article by Cathy Aronson, images supplied by Alec Bathgate and Tim Chesney.