Interview and photograph by Florence Noble.
Currently a retail assistant at Kathryn Wilson Footwear, Eva Maggs is looking towards a future in sustainable food or fashion.
Are you from Auckland?
I grew up in Wellington. Lived there until I was 18, then moved to Dunedin, then moved to Auckland.
How do you get to Britomart?
I live in Mt Eden, so I tend to bus.
What do you do here?
I’m a retail assistant, so I sell shoes, and do admin within the store as well.
What’s your idea of fun?
Hanging out and partying with friends. Love sing-a-longs. I’ll go visit my friends in Wellington and we’ll sing-along to classic songs from when I was growing up. Like, I love Let Me Love You, by Mario. I just perform it to whoever I’m with and other people sing along and it’s funny.
Do you have a good voice?
No.
Do you have any other hobbies?
I really love to eat, so I might do some baking in my down time. I love good food. I’ve a food Instagram – @evaa.eats – but it’s just an excuse to justify going out for dinner.
If you could do any job in the world, what would it be?
I like pretty things, pretty food. But I’d probably be Beyoncé. Have you seen Homecoming? I’d love to be able to do that performance, to be able to dance and sing. That would be cool.
Whats your favourite thing to spend money on?
Food or clothes.
Where do you eat around here?
You can’t go wrong at Amano. You can’t fault it. You don’t feel like you’re in New Zealand when you eat there. If you go there at night time and it’s dark and the music’s almost a little bit house-y and the waiters are strutting around, it’s an experience.
Any other nice places to eat?
I really like UMU pizza if I feel like pizza. If I feel like eating healthy, Little Bird is good. I’m a big smoothie bowl person, so I enjoy Bowl and Arrow. Love ice cream so Giapo is always fun. Duck Island is good as well. I enjoy Asian fusion as well… Azabu is really nice. It depends what you’re in the mood for.
Have you got your eye on anything to buy at the moment?
I need more sports gear. I’d really like a nice blazer though. My wardrobe is quite stocked at the moment. And I want more shoes: Heels and trainers. I always want stuff!
Do you go to uni?
Yes. I study marketing and entrepreneurship.
You can study entrepreneurship?
Yeah well they’re actually getting rid of it, which doesn’t make me feel very good about it! But I don’t think they should get rid of it, because they’ve got papers in there about sustainability and social entrepreneurship. You learn about social inequality and everyone should know about that.
Sustainability is what I want to get a job in. I had a three-hour lecture and I felt like I had turned into a Greenpeace warrior by the end of it. I think it’s not good that they’re not educating people more. It should be in school systems. We’ve reached a point now that whatever we do needs to be regenerative so that we’re not doing more harm than good. A lot of change needs to happen. Up until recently I wanted to do something in marketing with either food or fashion, and after that I can’t. It’s a very big topic.
Is it your calling, do you think?
I want it to be. I’m still working it out. But I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with anything I do in business unless it’s helping sustainably. You’re supposed to be meeting the needs of the present without sacrificing future people from meeting their needs. Localising is so important. We need to think inwards rather than outwards. We should all be doing what we can.
