Scoop catches up with Rebecca Barlow – mother, midwife and owner of vintage fashion truck, Pink Ginger.
I call Bec on a Tuesday afternoon – she’s upbeat despite the fact she’s got her hands full looking after her two children who are off school sick today. Bec is a mum to two boys, a midwife in training, and the owner of Pink Ginger – a vintage fashion truck that opened its doors to the public in December last year. Bec’s longstanding penchant for vintage clothing is what inspired her to set up the business. ‘I’ve always loved op-shopping and going to flea markets as a hobby’, she says. ‘I looked into opening up a shop but I didn’t like the idea of being tied down to one location. So, I started doing a bit of online research and found there were over 500 mobile fashion trucks spread out across America and I just loved the sound of that.’ The first step was finding a suitable vehicle, which turned out to be an old delivery truck. ‘It’s been completely transformed – the back insides had flooring and racks put in and some steps outside so you can park up and it’s a little shop ready to go.’ The paint-job was done by well-known Margaret River artist Rebecca Cool and features a line of women arm in arm, embracing the vintage look in their patterned skirts and dresses. Now Bec’s bright idea has evolved into a fun, dynamic fashion business on four wheels. The mobility of the fashion truck allows Bec to balance her duties as a mother and her midwifery studies, while offering the added bonus of some epic road trips. ‘I’ll soon be driving over east with my two boys in the fashion truck with all 3 of us in the front seat together […] we’ll be selling clothes across the country at music festivals from WA to Tasmania.’ Bec’s free-spirit and love of travel ties in with the ethos of Pink Ginger. A recent trip to Bali gave her the opportunity to get some brand new pieces custom-made by a handful of home-based Balinese tailors. Think floaty kaftans and dresses made from upcycled tablecloths. One of the objectives of the trip was to broaden the sizes available to her customers, ‘All the vintage pieces that I found to sell were so tiny,’ she says, ‘so I took some fabrics over to Bali and got some larger sizes made from the upcycled materials because they can be hard to find.’ Pink Ginger clothing is now available in sizes 8-20. 20% of all the profits from the Bali-made clothes will be donated to a birthing centre in Ubud called Bumi Sehat – a fantastic cause that is close to Bec’s heart. You can catch Bec and her vintage fashion truck every Tuesday at the UWA Guild Markets which run from Sept 19–Nov 7, and at the Perth Royal Show from Sep 23 –30 where you'll find her on Morrison Avenue.
