COTTAGE INDUSTRY

Entrepreneur, Stacy Krajchir, is a one-woman force to be reckoned with

By Crystal Meers
Photo by Nate Bressler

“My work space is as much about me as it is about what I do,” says Stacie Krajchir of her Mar Vista garage. At first glance, it simply seems like a sweet, laidback hang out, complete with pop-modern chaise lounges and woven lauhala mats.

But it’s more than that; the 400-square-foot space serves not only as her art studio, but as headquarters for the Bungalow, her boutique public relations company, which represents forward-thinkers like surfer Crystal Thornburg and eco organic E.O. products. It’s also home to See & Sprout, Krajchir’s philanthropic creative collective, whose first project was putting cameras in the hands of child-survivors of 2004’s devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, exhibiting the resulting photographs, and giving the profits directly back to the kids. There’s no telling where one project ends and another begins.

Though Krajchir’s college years and previous career behind the scenes in television were spent in Berkeley, San Francisco, and the Southland, it’s her island upbringing on faraway Guam and Hawaii that’s evident throughout the room: desks line one wall, while a butcher paper-topped communal work table fills the center of the room, and photographs of family and friends, magazine tears, post cards, notes, and Krajchir’s own paintings and drawings cover the walls. She’s even found a place for her long board, stashing it right behind the Balinese daybed. “As to what a work space is supposed to look like, I don’t care about that,” says Krajchir. “I care about how it moves me to create, see what See & Sprout can grow into…as I do.”

And as far as growth is concerned, there’s lots of it. In the last twelve months, Krajchir introduced the Lite Green initiative, an agreement that all clients new to the Bungalow must sign holding them to making three ecofriendly moves of their choice a year, taken her original drawings and décor concepts to the masses as a design contributor to the Pottery Barn’s Kids and Teen divisions, and finally found a way to merge her creativity with her passion for giving back through See & Sprout. “I don’t know exactly where it’s all headed but I am in for the ride.”