Shrimp on the Barbie
When we were young, Clair, my younger sister, and I spent a lot of time at Pier 1 Imports. Clair was obsessed with the bath section, especially the Victorian soap leaves and the jojoba-filled bath beads in the shape of starfish, hearts, and other little-girl-attracting forms. Clair begged and begged to get them, but my mom was reluctant to give it because she would throw all the bath beads in at once, and Clair’s oily bangs would stick to her forehead for days afterward.
Personally, I liked all the lychee scented pencils and notepapers at the Sanrio store, but Clair always won because she was younger (and brattier — even my mom admits it.) Clair was also in love with the travel-sized soaps and bottles that our parents brought home from traveling and staying in hotels.
For one of Clair’s birthdays, maybe her 7th, I came up with a genius idea — I would make her a hotel gift basket full of the stuff she loved. At the time, Crocodile Dundee came out, and Paul Hogan was featured in a commercial where he uttered the phrase, “Shrimp on the barbie,” in his distinctive accent. Clair thought that was hilarious and imitated him all the time. Hence, the birthday brand was born.
I designed a label for “Shrimp on the Barbie” brand bath products, probably heavily copied from whatever generic stuff my dad had brought back from his latest hotel stay. I know it featured a blue oval border with a shrimp in the middle, and copious soap bubbles and waves. My parents must have helped me take it to the copier’s, and I cut out labels and taped them over various envelopes of bath salts, bars of soap, and a little net bag full of the beloved jojoba bath oil beads.
Naturally, she loved it. I didn’t understand why my parents were so impressed at what was basically an inside joke between us, but now it seems perfectly obvious that I should help people create brands!