A vintage beauty in Salt Rock

Self-belief, perseverance and a vintage caravan named Girty.

These three components are the driving force behind Westbrook resident and owner of There She Glows mobile nail and beauty salon, Kristy Reed.

Stationed at The Litchi Orchard in Salt Rock, Kristy recently opened the doors to her eye-catching, beautifully renovated vintage 1943 caravan salon after spending four years working abroad on yachts.

“The office life wasn’t for me and I started getting itchy feet. My younger cousin and I decided to move to Florida, USA and look for work on the yachts. I was very lucky and found work straight away,” said Kristy, who is also passionate about sport and worked in rugby marketing and rugby publications after completing her post graduate degree in management, specialising in sport.

“For six months I travelled around the USA and the Bahamas working on luxury yachts. I then decided to move on to the Mediterranean and spent three and a half years mainly in France, Monaco, Italy and Spain working and living on yachts.”

After four years of yachting around the world Kristy decided she needed to get more grounded and was eager to make her dream of running her own business a reality.

“A gorgeous nail bar in Monaco was the catalyst for my idea of a mobile nail bar,” said Kristy.

“My mom is a beautician and having known this world of beauty through my mom, and lots of late night research, the idea of There She Glows was born. After extensive business planning, Kristy set out to find a gorgeous vintage airstreamstyle caravan to suit her vision.

“After lots of dead ends and trawling online I came across a lady in Cape Town who was selling Girty – the van. It was love at first sight and I just had to have her.”

Kristy drove down to Cape Town and towed her from Langebaan back to Durban in just three days, camping in her along the way.

“It was on this trip that I named her Girty. It was the first name that came into my head and nothing else would do. She was born in 1945, made in USA. She is an old gal, who I am sure has many stories to tell!”

When not on the move, Kristy and Girty fit perfectly into The Litchi Orchard scene and just love the vibe.

“I’m sure we will be traveling and doing lots of weddings, pamper parties, markets and corporate events in the future!”

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