Barbie buzz a help for biz

All the fuss around Barbie summer blockbuster has been the creative fuel for enterprising Manitobans who are more than willing to think pink.

Businesses have jumped on board the Barbieland Corvette, offering themed cocktails and smoothies, custom cakes, Mattel-magenta nail salon deals, eyelash extensions and glam makeup application, along with displays of pink clothing and elaborate party decor. One local real estate agency even embraced the trend by posting pictures of its real estate agents under the Barbie logo, proclaiming, “it’s all about life in the dream home!”

For craftsmen, artists and Vintage Lovers, The attention on Barbie presents more than just a marketing opportunity; there are so many options in an irresistible color palette.

“This is so fun with no apologies,” said Kali Martin, owner of Atomic Age Vintage. Martin spent more than six months procuring and curating old household goods, clothing and furniture so that she could unveil her all-pink stand at Johnston Terminal Antique Mall in Forks in time for Barbie the movie came out in theaters last week.

Martin included some of the dolls, but went for more of a Barbie vibe than a literal interpretation: adorable heart — cut kitchen chairs from the 1950s era, bright luggage — which sold out in record time-a mid-century tulip lamp, and a pink nightcap collection and dresses.

“I was really committed to the part,” she said with a laugh.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, and Martin had to restore its stand in just a few days — an unheard-of turnover time in the vintage market. Pink and turquoise are generally the most sought-after colors among shoppers and were popular in the 50s and 60s, said Martin, who has been selling vintage items full-time for about eight years. With Barbie’s revival, vintage and recycled items have a chance to be on trend, she hopes, just like the bold use of color.

“I think there’s something about Barbie nostalgia and the freedom of childhood,” Martin said, especially as we collectively emerge from a dark place.

“The last few years have not had that pink glow.”

Playing with Barbies as a local child included a lot of wishful thinking about Nicole Bester.

“Growing up, I always wanted a Barbie that looked like me, and I never had a Barbie that looked like me,” said 22-year-old artist Anishinaabe from the Sagkeeng First Nation. That changed in late June, when Bester used scraps of fabric to create a traditional Barbie-sized striped flannel and used it to transform a darker-skinned Barbie doll.

Although she specializes in nail work and doesn’t usually make doll clothes, Bester said the process was quite similar to sewing a full-size striped garment, “just super teeny.”

“The only problem for me, where I had some trouble, was making the belt for Barbie. It was so small that I couldn’t use my sewing machine. “I had to put my hand on it,” she said with a laugh.

Bester donated the ribbon dress doll to anne Ross Day nursery on King Street after she performed a jingle dance for children there. The daycare has already asked for more dolls with ribbon edges, said Bester, who sells under the name Memengimagaa Beads.

“They are asking me to do more so that everyone can play with him.”

It’s important for children to have representation and experience involvement with toys, Bester said.

“I just want them to have what I didn’t grow up with. I want them to have that Barbie that looks like them,” she said. “With this movie coming out, too, and all this hype around it, they can hear about Barbie, so I just want them to have a Barbie that’s for them.”

After closing her custom furniture painting business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, graphic designer Angie Zubrin continued to paint in her garage in St. Andreambs in the evenings and weekends. One of her most recent projects is a three-piece children’s bedroom furniture set hand-painted with the Barbie logo.

“I would have died for this as a child, “said Zubrin, who described herself as” a big Barbie fan when I was a kid.”

Zubrin said it came together as a coincidence in time. She already had pink paint and furniture, and painted it just in time for the film’s release.

“I’m still waiting to sell it, but I just want to do a little day,” she said.

Zubrin gave up her collection of Barbie dolls a long time ago, she said with a slight hint of regret. Otherwise, she would pull out the toys now and relive the memories of playing Barbies with her sister.

“I feel like it’s going to bring a lot of memories to a lot of people,” Zubrin said.

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