Brick & Motor goes full Barbie to celebrate birthday

by: Jonathan Turner

Posted: Jul 19, 2023 / 04:54 PM CDT

Updated: Jul 19, 2023 / 08:16 PM CDT

Barbie Land will not just be on the big screen, in Greta Gerwig’s big-budget “Barbie” film, opening Thursday night. It’s also at the pink-themed wonderland Brick & Motor Boutique, 1629 2nd Ave., Rock Island.

Owners Haley Walker and Lauren Corwin (Barbie fans since they were little) already had a good deal of pink (like a couch with sparkly pillows, chairs, one wall and some clothing) throughout their 2,700-square-foot store since they opened permanently in March 2023.

But to celebrate this month’s fifth anniversary of their business, the bubbly blonde sisters are going full-on Barbie, including a VIP Barbie Disco Party Thursday (already sold out, attended by 30 women) from 6 to 8 p.m., and special discounts and events this weekend.

In store on Friday and Saturday, July 21-22, you can expect:

Tidal Wave will have a pink Barbie energy drink, Walker said.

“We were pretty pink already, before ‘Barbie’,” Corwin said Wednesday. “It just accentuated everything.” They painted part of the back wall pink before they opened.

Thursday, there will be free drinks and food, music, 15% off all merchandise, Fused by AC & Co. permanent jewelry pop-up, karaoke, photo ops, and each attendee gets a Barbie box with merchandise in it (including a Brick & Motor T-shirt and Barbie hair clip). The really big Barbie box (which they put together themselves) at the entrance will stay there through the summer.

“We’ll probably end of switching it out with another box, if there’s another trendy movie theme,” Walker said Wednesday. They picked Barbie as a theme because of the movie.

Before, Brick & Motor reflected a Taylor Swift vibe (Corwin saw her first 2023 Eras concert in Glendale, Ariz.). “We had a lot of sequins, pink, bright colors,” Walker said. “I honestly think a lot of those styles went right into the Barbie theme, which was nice.”

“We like styling people, so everyone’s like our personal Barbies,” Corwin said. “We kind of think that sometimes.” Their mom brought vintage Barbies that they have on display at the front.

“I was obsessed with Barbie,” Corwin said. They also already had small disco balls throughout the store, so Thursday’s party plays on that theme.

“We’ve had a retro theme in our mobile boutique and our store now, so we’re kind of running with the whole Barbie disco,” Corwin said.

“And the Barbie pink has been a color of ours,” Walker said, noting she recently got pink highlights in her hair. “Our mobile boutique has a pink door, so I feel like pink’s always been our staple color, so when we saw the Barbie trend, we had to hop on it.”

Rocky natives make dream come true

Haley (28) and Lauren (32), were born and raised in Rock Island; both Bradley University grads, and dreamt of opening their own mobile fashion boutique. With a little help from family and friends, their dream finally became a reality in July 2018.

Brick & Motor originally began as a mobile boutique, operating out of a trailer with the inside decorated for selling their boutique clothing and accessories. The pair would travel within a three-hour radius of their location to events such as farmers markets, community events, university pop-up shops, and more.

“We knew we wanted to go into business together and fashion is a passion of both of ours,” Walker said.

In November 2018, the Development Association of Rock Island (DARI) reached out to offer a storefront incubator space for the business, at the Shoppes on 2nd, 1700 2nd Ave., where they were at four years.

Brick & Motor is a trendy, affordable fashion boutique offering women’s clothing, original designs by Haley Walker, candles, purses, bags, coats, jewelry, accessories, and much more.

In November 2022, the pair two partnered with DARI to have a pop-up location through the holidays, in DARI’s office location, a 2,500-square-foot space once occupied by The ARTery and MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery West.

“We’ve been able to do different small business pop-ups; we’ve had yoga classes, energy drink pop-ups,” Walker said. “It’s an exciting way to bring people down here and help the area grow.”

Thursday night will be the first time they’ve had live music from the stage at the back of the store, by their friend Alexis Boeh-Petersen. Corwin hopes they will do more live music and special events.

There are four local businesses inside Brick & Motor, including:

Brick & Motor usually brings its 170-square-foot mobile boutique to events March through October, about once a week – including the Freight House Farmers’ Market in Davenport (8-1), and they’ll be at Made Market QC Aug. 4-5 at the Bend XPO in East Moline.

Their regular hours are Fridays noon to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Walker said during the week is too slow downtown, and times when they’re in the store, they will let people in during non-store hours.

“We had to make it a destination place,” she said.

“Whenever we do events, it’s very well-received,” Corwin said. “If we don’t, it can be kind of slow.”

Find Brick & Motor on Facebook HERE and their website HERE.

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