BarberNV Issue 23

NV

BarberSociety Live Matty Conrad Booking Technologies

SUMMER 2019

BARBERNV ISSUE 23

BARBER

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Hair: Aimee McPherson (@blunt.am) Photography & Direction: Marie Harkness (@harknessphotography) Styling & Clothing: Richard Murr (@howayinn) Makeup: Kirsten B (@kirstenbmakeupartist) Models: Dan and Ellis at Savalas Models & Morgan at Tyne Tees Models Studio: Hidden Heights Creative Studio (@hiddenheightsstudio)

Credits Founder Joanne Reid | Editor Matthew McLaughlin | Graphic Designer Cara Scott | Sales & Marketing Manager Kat Heron | Writers Siobhan MacDonald Front Cover Aimee McPherson (@blunt.am) | Design & Marketing PrintNV | Columnists Chris Foster and Sam Wall Thanks Tom Chapman and the Lions Barber Collective, Sam Wall, Chris Foster, Gavin Mills, Steven Rowbottom, Dan Davies, Matty Conrad, Hair, Beauty and Barber UK, Andis, Mike Taylor and the Great British Barbering Academy, Sam Massey, Jay Johnstone, Jonny Gilmour, Jac Ludow and Escape Barbershop, Rochelle White PR, Essence PR, Seven Publicity, LWPR, Styling Products UK and Seven Potions.

Published by Gallus Print & Digital Media, 5 Newton Place, Glasgow G3 7PR | Email contact@salonnv.co.uk | Tel +44 (0) 141 212 5525 Copyright All work in this publication is copyright BarberNV Magazine and Gallus Print & Digital Media Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Š Information and product prices are correct at time of printing. Some products may not be available in all stores.

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THE RANCH

A I M E E

M C P H E R S O N

Hair: Aimee McPherson (@blunt.am) Photography & Direction: Marie Harkness (@harknessphotography) Styling & Clothing: Richard Murr (@howayinn) Makeup: Kirsten B (@kirstenbmakeupartist) Models: Dan and Ellis at Savalas Models & Morgan at Tyne Tees Models Studio: Hidden Heights Creative Studio (@hiddenheightsstudio)

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CONTENTS

I S S U E 23 News

10

50

How to retail

Fellowship news

13

53

Sustainable barber shops

BarberSociety Live

16

56

Barber seminars

BarberTalk Live

24

60

Barbering still booming

SHABA

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62

Booking technology

Scottish Barber Show

30

66

Chris Foster

37

68

Sam Wall

Products

40

72

Instagram showcase

Escape Barbershop

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76

New to e-chair.com

Cutting women’s hair

Editor’s Comment There’s a lot that can, and has been, said about the death of the high street. We’ve heard it from so many different media outlets, mates and business owners. But, in spite of this, barbering is still on the up and up and this is cause for celebration. With so much British talent how can we not look at this positively, but it doesn’t come without its pitfalls. We spoke to Dan Davies, the general manager of Pall Mall Barbers, about his thoughts on barbering’s continued growth and what this actually means for the industry.

Elsewhere with the rise of sustainable fashion and grooming products BarberNV wanted to celebrate the barbershops doing their bit to help push the movement forward and save the environment one customer and one product at a time. BarberSociety Live’s fourth instalment was unquestionably their biggest and best. The Dutch event once again blew attendees, including BarberNV, away. The colossal celebration of barbering, bringing together barbers, educators, traders and 35 brands from across the world for a weekend of shows and seminars.

We also spoke to Gavin Mills, director of Bad Apple Hair and Steve Rowbottom of Westrow, on how you can retail your products more effectively. You can be learned from onstage education and barbering seminars. This month we spoke to brand owner, and men’s grooming expert Matty Conrad, to get his thoughts on why seminars and education days are

so important for emerging talent, the realities of educators in the industry and why their position is so valuable—as long as you have something worth teaching.

It’s been a long time in the making, but Tom Chapman and the Lions Barber Collective have launched their BarberTalk Live events to incredible responses. The Lions shared their personal stories and taught 40 barbers about suicide prevention. It cannot be understated how important this is, not only to barbering as an industry, but to society. Barbers have the power to help and talk to people, they might be going through the hardest periods of their lives and you might be able to stop them from taking permanent action.

You can also expect all the features, news and products that BarberNV has become known for.

Enjoy!

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Hair: Aimee McPherson (@blunt.am) Photography & Direction: Marie Harkness (@harknessphotography) Styling & Clothing: Richard Murr (@howayinn) Makeup: Kirsten B (@kirstenbmakeupartist) Models: Dan and Ellis at Savalas Models & Morgan at Tyne Tees Models Studio: Hidden Heights Creative Studio (@hiddenheightsstudio)

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I N D U S T R Y NEWS REPOST SAYS THE HAIR AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTES £6.6BILLION TO THE UK ECONOMY An economic assessment report of the hair, beauty and barbering shows that the industry contributes a massive £6.6bn to the UK economy.

That’s what the hair, beauty and barbering sector contributes to the UK on an annual basis, which equates to at least 8% of the total the retail sector generates and confirms the sectors hugely positive value to the UK economy.

BUSINESS EDUCATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT EMIL MCMAHON IS CELEBRATING Business education and social media consultant Emil McMahon is celebrating.

This year will see Emil enter his fifth year as an independent consultant, offering a range of bespoke education he says is, “different from the norm.”

His new website [emilmcmahon.com] will launch mid-June with an easier navigational

route for salons and product companies to discover what training is available.

The popular review and blog elements of his current site [emilthecaretaker.com] will be streamlined, but remain an integral part of the platform—as this is one of the site’s most popular features.

Alongside this, Emil will be launching a new book.

Four years in the making, Don’t Sell looks at the impact of online shopping, and how salons and suppliers can from the likes of Amazon.

Using their methodology to creating a more dynamic and engaging experience within salons.

The book will be made available with eight training decks, which salons and sales teams can use for in-house sessions to keep up-to-date with all elements of salon life in the digital age.

This much-anticipated report, commissioned by the Hair and Barber Council in conjunction with BABTAC (British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology), was launched in the Palace of Westminster on the 22 May 2019, to an audience of politicians and industry professionals from all parts of the sector.

This is the first time a genuinely peer-reviewed economic impact of the sector has been conducted for the whole of the UK and by each of the devolved nations individually.

With more than 49,000 businesses employing almost 337,000 people, this report proves that the hair, beauty and barbering sector is a significant and a major employer and not one to be ignored.

Hair, barber and beauty salons/spas are the heartbeat of the UK’s high streets, with barbershops growing significantly year on year.

This report shows unequivocally the enormous value, and great career choices associated with the industry, and further strengthens the need and desire from the public and industry, to finally have the sector recognised as the professionals they are.

ANDIS LAUNCH NEW UK SCHOLARSHIPS

says, “Our goal is to aid aspiring barbers on their journey toward a successful career in the men’s grooming industry.

The iconic American Clipper company has partnered with British master educator Mike Taylor to train two unqualified barbers to NVQ Level 3.

“The Andis Nation UK Barber Scholarship program is an amazing opportunity for aspiring talents to achieve a qualification and increase their skills and career prospects.

Imagine, you’ve just entered the exciting world of barbering and you will soon be embarking on an exciting and highly rewarding career.

You’ve absorbed yourself in every aspect of barber culture and you’re thinking about how far in the industry can take you.

You look around at the industry icons, your team and the all the incredibly dedicated creatives who master their art and become barbershop owners.

Now, thanks to Andis, this could be you!

“We’re excited to partner with Mike Taylor whose reputation as a master barber and educator is second to none.”

Applicants will be judged by a panel of men’s grooming experts from Andis.

Judging criteria will include submitting essays on your motivation for becoming a barber, community involvement and previous work experience, or transferable skills applicable to the industry.

Giving back to the craft, the Andis Nation UK Barber Scholarship programme is set to launch at Barber Connect on 1 June.

Andis and Mike Taylor have designed the Andis Nation Scholarship training programme to fast-track individuals to NVQ Level 3.

Two winning applicants will each receive free training from Mike Taylor Education to accelerate their careers from unqualified barber to NVQ Level 3.

Each unit has theory and practical elements that need to be completed to achieve the qualification.

Bruce Bock of Andis corporate communications

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Theory assignments will be sent via email and are required to be completed remotely prior to the in-

person training and assessments.

Each winner also receives an assortment of Andis professional tools and a Mike Taylor Education Barbering Resource Book to assist with assignments.

Mike Taylor says, “This is a fantastic opportunity to achieve NVQ Level 3 qualification, which is the highest you can get. It will boost your skills and your career, so enter now and you could be the next big name in barbering!”

The training curriculum the two winners will receive is five days of in-person education and assessment on haircutting, beard trimming, shaving, consultation, pattern work, reception and photo shoots.

Applications are to be completed online at andis. com/AndisNationUKBarberScholarship Deadline to submit all applications for the scholarship is 1 July. Winners will be announced on 26 July.

See contest rules here andis.com/contest-terms Please note: Winners selected will be responsible for transportation to the Mike Taylor Academy located at MIKE TAYLOR EDUCATION, 26 Wimborne Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 2BU.

SUCCESS FOR THE NATION’S FINEST BARBERING TRADE SHOW Barber UK returned to the NEC, Birmingham on Sunday 19 and Monday 20 May 2019, welcoming thousands of barbers, hairdressers, salon owners and students.

Taking place alongside Hair UK, Beauty UK and Holistic Health, the show offered a host of free educational opportunities, including the revamped Hair Stage, supported

by The Hairdressers’ Charity, and the NEW World Barber Stage.

Visitors were able to see all the latest techniques and tools demonstrated live on the stages, allowing them to leave feeling truly inspired.

This year’s World Barber Stage welcomed leading barbering talent from across the globe, including Envy Barbers London, Great British Barbering Academy, Francesco Ipswich, British Master Barbers and the British Female Barber

Association, who took to the stage to demonstrate the latest shaving and barbering techniques from their home countries.

Additionally, this year saw the launch of our new Show App which provided users with an interactive floor plan, full exhibitor list, stage timetables and exclusive show offers, enabling them to maximise their time at the exhibition—you can download the app by searching for “Guild Press” in the App Store.

Next year, Barber UK will return on Sunday 10 and Monday 11 May to the NEC, Birmingham and for 2020, the exhibition will be held in Hall 4.

The move provides the show with an ideal location, meaning it will be situated closer to the train station and within easy walking distance of the bars, restaurants and other amenities which form part of the NEC complex, including three hotels.

Barber and hair professionals can register for free tickets to the 2020 event by visiting BarberUKShow.com or contacting the Ticket Hotline on 01332 227698.

KENT BRUSHES’ SECRET SERVICE Kent Brushes has a long and distinguished relationship with the British military, having provided soldiers heading to the front was provided with a standard supply kit, which contained seven brushes, including those for hair, teeth, shaving, clothing, shoes and buttons; all supplied by Kent and presented to help soldiers maintain hygiene and a smart appearance.

Not limited to maintaining good grooming on the frontlines, Kent made brushes for the secret service.

These brushes had hidden compartments designed to conceal maps and compasses. These were then sent to British prisoners of war to assist them returning home in the event of an escape.

Kent was approached by Charles Fraser-Smith of MI9, who is said to be the inspiration of James Bonds’ Q, a department of the War Office who created various gadgets and escape aids.

Charles persuaded hundreds of manufacturers to muck in with the war effort by creating modified items that could be sent to the front without raising

JOE MILLS WELCOMES CHARLIE CULLEN AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Salon owner and session stylist Joe Mills is delighted to welcome Charlie Cullen as his new artistic director.

Charlie will bring his vast educational and creative experience to the Lounge Soho and Joe and Co brands, working with Joe to develop the teams and work on the company’s visual branding.

“Joe is someone in the industry I have always admired and respected.

I’ve known him for a while now and it was inevitable that at some point we would work together. We’ve got similar tastes in hair and see men’s hair going in the same direction.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Joe, creative director Jody Taylor and the rest of the team to help push the brand forward in all creative areas and continuing to build the great reputation that Joe and Co and The Lounge Soho already has.”

Joe added: “I’m looking forward to taking the business forward with Charlie’s vision and experience and I know his enthusiasm and skills will inspire our hairdressers and barbers. We are celebrating 20 years in business this year and it is the perfect time to have Charlie join the team.”

Find out more about Joe Mills and Jody Taylor at joemills.net Instagram: @joemillshair, @joeandcosoho, @theloungesohohair, @jodytaylorhair

suspicion. As well as hairbrushes, he worked with factories making pencils, matches, cameras and lighters.

While many companies were reluctant, Kent Brushes committed to producing special hairbrushes. The work was carried out in a locked and windowless room at the Kent factory, only five people from the workforce of hundreds knew of the secret brushes.

Terence McGuire was one of those trusted with the project. Having joined the company at 14, he rose through the ranks and eventually became a manager.

“We did the work in complete secret,” remembers Terence. “We worked out of an unused department and all of the work was done by hand, by three people.”

“One of the main things we produced was a wooden brush that had a shallow cavity in the back—about 1” square. It was otherwise completely identical to the other brushes on our production line.”

However, given the scrupulous investigation that was inevitable with any package, this wasn’t just any secret compartment. The brush was created in two halves, and underneath a couple of bristle holes were

tiny, indented screws which allowed the back to be released and the cavity to be revealed.

“The two rows of bristle around the outside were fixed,” explains Terence. “But on the middle rows, there were a couple of spots which hid the secret.

The agent and the manufacturer were the only people who knew which bristles covered pins.”

Despite the technical skill involved in making such a device, only a handful of people in the office knew what was happening. Terence says that even the women whose job it was to fit bristles in the holes had no idea what lay beneath. “Everything is constructed in individual parts,” he reveals. “It was only when the brushes came back to us in the secret department to assemble that the final product was finished.”

There are no records of how many Kent Brushes were sent overseas and the stories of those who escaped with them remain a mystery. However, one thing is for certain; Kent’s contribution to the war effort went above and beyond mere male grooming.

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NHF/NBF 2019 BUSINESS AWARDS OPEN FOR ENTRIES On 8 May 2019, entries opened for the prestigious NHF/NBF’s Business Awards.

Taking place at London’s St Pancras Renaissance hotel on 17 November, the best in the business will come together to celebrate the industry.

The Business Awards are open to NHF/NBF members and non-members alike, and are free to enter by visiting nhf.info/nhfbusinessawards There are 12 Business Awards categories to enter, four of which are new for 2019.

MATAKKI CELEBRATES 15 YEARS Scissor giants Matakki recently turned 15 and to commemorate this incredible milestone in the UK’s leading scissor brand Matakki has released a special, limited range of matte scissors called the Crystal Collection available in Black, Blue and Rose Gold.

The categories are: • Best Independent Hair Salon or Barbershop (small, turnover below £200,000) sponsored by Premier Software • Best Independent Hair Salon or Barbershop (large, turnover above £200,000) sponsored by Loop HR • NEW FOR 2019: Best Independent Beauty Salon sponsored by Shedul • Best Innovation sponsored by Global Payments • Best Client Experience sponsored by Shedul

• NEW FOR 2019: Best Social Media sponsored by City & Guilds • NEW FOR 2019: Best Salon Design sponsored by Shedul • NEW FOR 2019: Outstanding Contribution to the Hair or Beauty Industry sponsored by Phorest Software Nominees and guests will be welcomed to the NHF/ NBF’s Business Awards evening with a cocktail reception before the winner of the NHF/NBF Photographic Image of the Year—which launches in June 2019—is also revealed.

The evening will finish with live entertainment followed by a celebratory party.

NHF/NBF President, Agnes Leonard says, “Our Business Awards are back! What better way is there to recognise and reward the success of some of the best businesses in our industry than with an awards ceremony?

“The calibre of the entries we received last year was outstanding, so we can’t wait to see what entrants will have in store for the judges this year before the winners are crowned at the awards ceremony in London!”

Important dates to remember:

• Best Apprentice sponsored by VTCT

• Entries open: Wednesday 8 May 2019

Matakki wrote, “As a BIG thank you and to celebrate our 15th year of Matakki we have released three very special limitededition Teflon titanium scissors.”

• Best New Business sponsored by Coversure Insurance Services

• Entries close: Friday 26 July 2019 • Finalists announced: Thursday 15 August 2019

• Best Community Support sponsored by The Hairdressers’ Charity

• Awards event: Sunday 17 November 2019

To shop the collection visit matakki.com

• Best Front of House sponsored by Ellis Whittam

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For tickets and more info visit nhf.info/ nhfbusinessawards

Fellowship News

THE BARBER PROJECT Johnny Shanahan was the latest mentor to lend his expertise to 2019’s Barber Project team.

The Barber Project team headed to Manchester for their latest mentoring day led by barber and shop owner, Johnny Shanahan of Barber Barber.

Johnny started the day off giving his expert insight into the difference between class men’s cuts and trend-led looks and knowing when to use both.

Sarah Morrissey of Sarai Hair & Beauty says, “Looking at trends through the years was fascinating. We saw how trends haven’t really changed in 70 years—just taste and techniques.”

In the afternoon, Johnny demonstrated a barbershop long cut—which the team were tasked with replicating after their showcase.

“Johnny showed us how to create a long look using simple sections, to make the look masculine, not feminine,” Sarah explains. “We then recreated the look on our own blocks with some guidance from Johnny. We then watched him do a short haircut with a quiff, using simple clipper-over-comb technique.

Again, it was a different way to create a classic look that has hardly changed in 70 years.”

The Fellowship’s Barber Project spent the day at the Wahl Academy.

The Fellowship for British Hairdressing’s Barber Project spent the day at Wahl Academy, learning from Andrea Raymond.

The former British Barber of the Year, Andrea Raymond was the latest mentor to pass on her wealth of knowledge to the Barber Project, spending a day with the team at the Wahl Academy.

A Wahl educator, barbershop owner and multi-award-winning barber, Andrea is one of the most prominent female barbers in the industry, and dedicates much of her time to raising the profile of women throughout the industry.

On the day, Andrea demonstrated two cuts on models to give the team inspiration—a skin fade and a clipper cut.

She started off by explaining the five key elements of a cut—shortest, longest, blend & transition, texture and finish—Andrea shared her valuable techniques with the team, including clipper-over-comb, beards, working with guards and how to fade and blend.

Through the Barber Project’s second mentoring day, the team is continuing to learn from their diverse mentors, all of whom are keen to share their knowledge and demonstrate new ways of working.

“The number one thing I learnt from Johnny is that things don’t have to be complicated to be correct,” says Portia McVinnie from KJM Salons. “This was really refreshing to hear and will definitely stick with me. In the salon, I will now feel more confident taking control of my

In the afternoon the team got the chance to get hands-on with cuts.

The whole team created different looks, decided upon after a consultation with Andrea, based on areas they most wanted to improve and receive feedback on.

“Learning the art of clipper cutting, and not being reliant on scissors was brilliant,” says Luke Hawkins from The Marvellous Hair Co. “I really feel like I’ve added another string to my bow, and I’m feeling like a more complete male grooming specialist as each session passes.”

Sarah Morrissey from Sarai Hair & Beauty agrees, adding, “After this session, I will definitely be using clippers more. I feel more confident with my skin fades and using clippers to achieve this. I’m also looking forward to sharing this with my team on our next training session.”

“Every session with the Barber Project has been different and I have come away with so much already,” she continues. “I feel so much more confident. My gents’ haircuts are becoming more of a barber haircut as I become more confident with the tools, and new techniques to create the desired looks for my clients.”

consultations, and be brave in telling clients what will and won’t work for them.”

“The biggest thing I learned was to look at the head shape with men rather than the face shape,” adds Sarah. “I also learned how a simple sectioning pattern can be used to create a number of looks, very simply. The new techniques I learnt will enable me to achieve the styles I want in a simpler way, and help teach the team in a more straightforward style.”

Barber Project 2019 Ainsley Brown, F&M Hairdressing Luke Hawkins, The Marvellous Hair Co Portia McVinnie, KJM Salons Sarah Morrissey, Sarai Hair & Beauty Blayre Turnbull, Urban Hair & Beauty Highhouse Rob White, Nashwhite Jack Williams, Jack Robin Williams Salon

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SAM WALL Photography: Marie Harkness Makeup: Lawson Wright

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BARBERSOCIETY LIVE 2019 BarberSociety Live’s fourth instalment was unquestionably their biggest and best.

The event held in Amsterdam once again blew attendees, including BarberNV, away. The colossal celebration of barbering, bringing together barbers, educators, traders and 35 brands from across the world for a weekend of shows and seminars.

F

or their fourth edition, BarberSociety Live managed to attract double the number of international visitors compared to 2018! Barbers from Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Greece, Hungary, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Taiwan, UK, Sweden and Switzerland all united in Amsterdam.

The annual meeting offered plenty of education and inspiration through shows from top industry talent from the national and international barber world, product presentations and interesting seminars.

The relaxed festival vibe offered the global gathering the chance to exchange experiences and stories.

“What a wonderful event BarberSociety Live 2019 was! The solidarity among the barbers is enormous and created a super atmosphere,” BSL founder and organiser Marc van de Hare says. “We are very proud of this fourth edition! Proud of doubling the number of battle participants, proud of attracting more international visitors, proud of the fantastic diverse program of barber talents

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who showed their skills on stage and the beautiful brands that presented themselves, proud of the beautiful volunteer initiative of the Barber Angels, but above all else proud of the many positive reactions from the visitors, because that’s what counts! It is wonderful that so many barbers, hairdressers and other interested parties are connected to each other at this event, learn from each other and exchange their experiences!”

Over the course of the weekend 20 barbers and 20 students—twice as many than in 2018—took part in heated battles, all sponsored by 1922 by J.M. Keune. On Sunday, 7 April, the brave barbers from home and abroad slugged it out for honour—and great prizes—in Zuiveringshal. Greek barber, Vasilis Liaramantzas from Athens won the first prize and the title of BarberSociety Barber of the Year.

Niels Wachtmeester from Be’s Barbershop, Coevorden was the best Dutchman, out of 10, and achieved fifth place overall. The Young Talent battle held on the Monday 8 in collaboration with Dutch hairdressing schools was won by Sajjad Farsi of ROC, Friese Poort

Leeuwarden. Where just last year he placed second.

Lastly, BarberSociety Live 2019 would not have been possible without the support and sponsorship of 1922 by J.M. Keune and Red Deer.

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Photography provided by: Uwe Hoffmann / Kreative Megapixel Tanja Föhrenbach Darren Fotografie José Donatz Fotografie Michael Joseph Productions

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For the very first time at BarberSociety Live, 13 people were honoured for their contributions to barbering and the BarberSociety community with a commemorative silver barber pole pin: Alan Findlay (UK)

Charity Continuing their tradition of social awareness and charity, BSL used their platform to give back to those less fortunate. This year, 20 barbers from the Barber Angels Brotherhood organisation gave 70 homeless haircuts on the terraces of BarberSociety Live.

The organisation came up with the initiative, and in addition to the haircuts a supermarket

provided food and drinks, and everyone received goodie bags from men’s haircare brand Tailor’s. With the Sun and Sunday market, visitors could see amazing charitable efforts of the barber Angels Brotherhood. As a result of their work, the German volunteer organisation is well on its way to launching a Dutch chapter under the leadership of Nicole Nysten.

Chris Foster (UK) Eelco Keune (NL) Jarno Aafjes (NL) Luigi Scapicchio (IT) Nero de Boer (NL) Robert Lagerman (NL) Ronald De Bont (NL) Ron Van Der Bend (NL) Mr Sam Wall (UK) Wouter Van de Hare (NL) Zen Yip & Linda Yip (HK)

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DESMOND M U R R A Y

Hair and photography: Desmond Murray Makeup: Jo Sugat

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Hair: Desmond Murray Photography: Desmond Murray

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BARBERTALK LIVE

LIONS BARBER COLLECTIVE The 28 April marked the very first BarberTalk Live event, and it was a sold-out success.

The Lions Barber Collective [LBC] organised seminar, held at 7 Club in Paignton, Devon has been a long time in the making and a very welcome presence in barbering.

T

he aim of the Lions Barber Collective’s BarberTalk Live event was to train barbers in suicide prevention. Alongside leading industry names such as Wez Jones and Dan Davies of Pall Mall, Tom Chapman [Lions Barber Collective founder] took to the stage to talk about their experiences to the 40 barbers in attendance. Tom was also joined on stage by LBC ambassadors such as Stacey Ayles and Darren Birch.

An LBC spokesperson told BarberNV, “BarberTalk Live was an amazing day. Being able to get barbers in the Torbay area trained in suicide awareness is a major step towards zero suicide. It was an emotional day and great to see so many people in one place with one goal. Together we are stronger.”

MARK LOFTIN - LIONS AMBASSADOR: “BarberTalk Live was an incredibly well put together day. The culmination of some very hard work, by some inspirational people. We laughed, we cried, we had flashbacks, but most importantly, we did it together. Because together, we are stronger. It was a day to remember and a day I’m proud to have been involved in. To share the stage with these people is the highlight of my career thus far.”

DARREN BIRCH: “BarberTalk Live was a very power and emotional journey for me.

Along with adding to my skill sets, it helped me identify that I had been

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dismissing signs of suicide with my own son. I wouldn’t have been aware of this if the training hadn’t of taken place, this in itself, has helped save a life and for that, I am very grateful. I now feel fully passionate and engaged about spreading knowledge and education regarding suicide awareness and have taken a lot home with me that I will now implement within my own Lions Den drop-ins, you are all an incredible inspiration to me.”

LESLEY MACBAIN: “Being part of BarberTalk Live was an incredible way to join both suicide prevention training and barbering. It was an amazing insight into how we, as barbers, can help end the stigma that comes with men’s mental health.”

STACEY AYLES: “Education is key to development. It was a privilege to stand alongside the pride to deliver and take part in what can be only described as groundbreaking.”

DAN DAVIES: “BarberTalk Live was a truly awesome day. We were able to help barbers and hairdressers in the Torbay area recognise and be trained in suicide awareness. Our goal and drive is now shared with others to achieve zero suicide across the UK. It was a day that took strength and bravery from all that took part but resulted in an even bigger collective of people striving for the safety of humanity. We all have the ability to be strong, but together, we are stronger.”

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SH A BA SH A BA Scottish Scottish Hair Hair & & Beauty Beauty Awards Awards Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards IN ASSOCIATION WITH IN ASSOCIATION WITH

BARBERNV S A L O N BARBERNV S A L O N BARBERNV S A L O N #SHABA18 #SHABA18 NOW CLOSED # SVOTING H ISA BA 18 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Voting for the ninth annual Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards has officially closed, and it isn’t long until the finalists will be notified that they’re through to the finals of Scotland’s most prestigious hair, beauty and barbering awards.

Last year saw a record breaking 100,000+ votes cast to decide the #SHABA18 finalists. This year has smashed that record, with clients coming out in force to show their support and loyalty to their barbers and barbershops! It’s humbling, to see the love and support given to our industry by the people who matter the most—the customers.

It won’t be long until all of the finalists have been notified and can begin preparation on their photographic submissions—only if applicable. What you submit must be wholly original, as it is judged anonymously and none of the work can be posted to social media in the run-up to the awards to give everyone a fair shot. From the calibre of entries this year there’s little doubt that the #SHABA19 judges will have their work cut out for them.

Once you submit your photographic evidence the esteemed SHABA judging panel will use all the skill, attention to detail and years of experience at their disposal to decide the winners. All of this coming to a head on Sunday 8 September—with the edges of seats firmly worn out—where your name could be announced as one of #SHABA19’s prestigious winners.

This year’s incarnation of Scotland’s premiere night for the hair, beauty and barbering industry is already shaping up to be the best yet. You don’t want to miss out on what is sure to be the best night in the hair and beauty calendar.

Josie Smith will once again be co-hosting SHABA alongside a special guest TBC. Also, keep an eye out for details on The Corinthian afterparty, entertainment and special guest announcements—we promise they’re coming soon!

For more information and tickets please visit scottishhairandbeautyawards.com

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AMERICAN CREW’S

KIERAN EVAN Hair: Kieran Evan

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SCOTTISH BARBER SHOW 2019 ON THE BARBERNV STAND

Cut by Rafal Kwiatkowski

Cut by Gemma Willock- Smith

Design by Gemma Willock-Smith

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Ex the Barber with his model

Cut by Alisha Storrie

Cut by Tony Forrest

Cut by Ryan Gorman

ON THE STAND Rafal Kwiatkowski Rebel Rebel

Graeme Milne Beardy Beardy

Josh Mcpike RUM Barbers

Dale Forrest Beardy Beardy

Ryan Gorman House Martins

Tony Forrest Tony’s Gentleman’s Barbers

Gemma Willock-Smith Frequency Barbers

Alisha Storrie Legacy

Ex the Barber Frequency Barbers

Kerri Mulgrew Legacy

Shave by Dale Forrest

BarberNV Magazine | 31

SCOTTISH BARBER OF THE YEAR 2019

JAMES JOHNSTONE

James onstage

In 2018, Dundee barber James Johnstone entered the Scottish Barber of the Year competition, just one year into his career— missing out on the top spot. As he describes, “I was so nervous. I was there with Hard Grind and I felt a lot of pressure because Vince had won it the year before.”

However, this experience held him in good stead as James, now the co-owner of Network Barber Club in Dundee, and two years into his career, is the newest Scottish Barber of the Year. “It was mental,” says James. “I didn’t expect it. I went there, no big brand behind me and managed to win. It shows you don’t need to have a big backing; you just need to perform on the day.”

To win, James competed in a live barber battle hosted by Andis, the Great British Barbering Academy and Styling Products UK at the Scottish Barber Show. In the on-stage contest, James fended off tough competition from five other barbers, including two former colleagues, Dean Currie from Hard Grind and Menspire’s Andrew Dawson—who placed second and third respectively.

James’ ashen grey-haired model impressed the judges in all criteria and was striking, even from the back of the Andis stage. But James admits the look wasn’t achieved without a few tense moments. “I took a lot of time on my model,” says James. “The night before the competition I went in and dyed his hair bleach blonde, and put a grey toner through it. I was proper shitting myself in case it went green or something, and I was screwed for the competition.”

His shop, Network Barber Club, is one of Dundee’s newest barbershops—first opening its doors a mere five months ago. The site of a

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former vintage clothing store, James had just six days to transform the shop, which had been vacant for six years, into Network.

A quick scroll through Instagram will show you how much of James’ personal, and barbering style is reflected in Network’s crisp, thoughtful interior. His style, as he told BarberNV is very modern and with a focus on young people. Supporting this ethos, Network

Barber Club sells clothing from local brands Global Collective and Prop_CL. “Whatever they sell, they keep,” says James. “It’s just a way to help out local business, and help out the young guys.”

Now that he’s achieved his goal of winning Scottish Barber of the Year, James isn’t looking to enter more competitions. Instead, he looks to focus on up-and-coming talent, and his Network Barber Club. “I’ve got a really young who works with me [Archie], and he’s only just turned 17,” says the Network Barber Club boss. “He’s honestly amazing. I’m going to put a lot of work into him, and I’m going to enter him into some competitions next year.

I’d much rather see him winning than enter anything more myself.”

But, for now, James will “focus on my shop, focus on my clients, focus on my staff and help anyone in the industry I can through education.”

SCOTTISH STUDENT BARBER OF THE YEAR 2019

JONNY GILMOUR

Jonny Gilmour On Monday 29 April, Mike Taylor presented Jonny Gilmour with the title of Scottish Student Barber of the Year on the Andis stage at the Scottish Barber Show. Jonny, who has been studying for two years was quietly confident of his chances. “I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t going to get it,” says Jonny. “ When I saw the pictures load up it was very intense. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and determination.”

Unlike the Scottish Barber of the Year, the student competition focused purely on a photographic submission. A lot of the candidates took the opportunity to create sleek modern looks, but Jonny took it back to the old school with a textured mod cut.

“It was in my old shop,” says the newest Scottish Student Barber of the Year. “I was working late on a Friday night, and Robert [his model] happened to walk in. He asked me, ‘have you ever done a mod cut?’ I hadn’t, but I had always wanted to try one out. I was asking him a lot of questions, and he gave me a lot of pointers.”

When Jonny first styled Robert’s hair it had a more natural finish, but combining the framework of the classic mod cut with the feathered texture of the modern crop, Jonny secured his victory. “It was all flat when he showed me,” he explains. “I wanted to do a mod cut, but more modern, because that’s where mod came from—the modernists!”

A lover of classic barbering cuts, Jonny credits the Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turner and the Shorem boys as the inspiration for his style. “The first brand that caught my eye when I started was Reuzel,” he tells BarberNV. “It’s all old-school, traditional styles, but they incorporate skin fades and take it in a lot more

on the sides. It was Reuzel that really got me into the traditional side of things, that’s when I started to really focus on my scissor work.”

Now working out of BASH hairdressers in Glasgow, Jonny has learned so much from simply watching his colleagues in action. “I’m working in Bash [hairdressers] now, and I’m the only barber,” he explains. “I’ve learned so much watching the way hairdressers cut.

It’s an extra element. I’ve always tried to do different things since I’ve started this [barbering].”

“A lot of guys now are growing their hair out. I’ve made a pledge to myself, if anything’s

above a four guard on clippers I’ll use my scissors now. I just think you get a better finish with it and you’re a lot more accurate.”

Jonny had his first taste of barbering while travelling Australia. “A Japanese girl cut my hair, and I said, ‘do you think you can show me how to do that?’,” he explains. “She showed me the basics, and I picked it up pretty easy.

I put up signs in hostels saying, ‘free haircuts,’ ‘haircut’s $5.’”

A few years later, and back in Scotland, Jonny’s dad, an industry sales rep, put him on a hairdressing day course. Jonny loved the experience, and soon enrolled on the City of Glasgow College course. Coming full circle, Jonny wanted a career that allowed him to travel, and work further afield. However, for the moment Jonny is staying put, as he says he’ll be focusing on BASH, building up a strong clientele and portfolio of work.

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SCOTTISH BARBER OF THE YEAR 2018

SAM MASSEY

Sam Massey Wearability is the cornerstone of the barbering game, and it’s a quality which very much defines last year’s Scottish Barber of the Year, Sam Massey. Cutting hair on Andis’ stage at the Scottish Barber Show, he chose to demonstrate wearability. “I think for a lot of people watching it is important to see the creative stuff,” says Sam. “But it’s important to see what people do in a 30-40 minute appointment. It can still look fashionable; it can still look stylish and it’s wearable for the client” When giving advice during a consultation, Sam keeps the client’s everyday in mind.

What the client in his chair does for a living, what they want to achieve, but most crucially what will suit them. “Whether that involves tight cropped skins fades with crazy lines, or a #2 back and sides tapered naturally,” Sam says. “[…] if they come in and ask for something I don’t think will suit them, it’s my job to be honest. But I won’t force someone into something they don’t want, or are uncomfortable with.”

Returning after his triumphant win, Sam tells BarberNV he doesn’t have his sights set on anymore barbering competitions—at least for the foreseeable future. Instead he is focusing his efforts on developing the skills he uses day in, day out. “I’ve been trying to educate myself more, and try to get better than where I was a year ago,” he tells us. “That’s the bar set high, I didn’t want to do many other competitions or anything this year. I just wanted to get my head down, practice on my trade and get better at what I do. I’ve done little bits and pieces doing education here and there, and workshops with the Great British Barber Bash.”

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Sam puts much of his passion for the industry down to coming into barbering at a pivotal and exciting time in the industry.

“I always think if I got into barbering maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I might not have loved it so much because there wasn’t so much enthusiasm within the industry,” he admits.

“Maybe there was, but in a different way?

I think right now, there’s a buzz about it in terms of style and fashion, and mixing elements of hairdressing and aftercare.”

In a job he felt no excitement for, Sam wanted to learn a trade. He began his career thanks to his barber at the time, Daryl [Gillespie, owner of Safe Hands Glasgow], who suggested off the cuff that Sam think about barbering. This is when he enrolled at the City of Glasgow College. “He wasn’t trying to push me, he just asked if I was interested. He set the initial bells ringing about it,” he says.

“I think my journey since then has just been rolling on.”

While he is working on his trade, Sam recognises that competitions bring not only industry prestige, but an accolade your clients can take pride in themselves.

“What’s been good is that since winning it [Scottish Barber of the Year] my returning clients have been commenting on the fact that they’re getting their hair cut by the winner of Scotland’s best barber,” he says. “I’ve also gained a lot of new clients from that, who’ve maybe seen it on social media, and they’ve then commented on it when they’ve come into the shop as well.”

Sam might be taking time to focus on his technical development, but he leaves BarberNV with some sound advice for younger barbers looking to tackle competitions and stage work. “It’s one of the most exhilarating experiences,” Sam explains.

“But also, one of the most nerve-wracking as well.”

A former musician, Sam understands how daunting taking to the stage can be. “The first time I cut hair on stage was really difficult,” he says. “There might be people there, not judging you, but certainly critiquing you.”

“I would say to anyone that they should push themselves,” he concludes. “It doesn’t matter if you win, you’ve pushed yourself, and you’re willing to take your skills to the next level!”

Hair by Jack Routledge

Hair by Becca Mills

MIKE TAYLOR STUDENTS

Photography: Liam Oakes

Hair by Mike Delahaye

BarberNV Magazine | 35

Hair by Mike Delahaye

Hair by Jack Routledge

MIKE TAYLOR STUDENTS

Photography: Liam Oakes

Hair by Gage Pink

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BARBER SHOPS CANNOT

R E F U S E

T O

C U T

W O M E N ’ S

H AI R

There are a few topics which cause dispute when they surface on barbering social media pages, but none are more immediately caustic than the debate surrounding barbers and cutting women’s hair. With yet another recent resurgence it’s important to know what, as barbers, you can and cannot refuse to do under the 2010 Equality Act.

T

he Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination and applies to all businesses; including barbershops and salons. This means when providing a service, businesses must not discriminate based on gender. This applies not only to male or female clients but those who are transitioning. If for whatever reason, you have a single-gender service you must give significant justification as to why this isn’t available to men or women.

If your barbershop refuses to cut a woman’s hair simply because she is a woman or charges her more for the same service as a man, this is direct discrimination which puts you on the wrong side of the law. Additionally, the terms of a barbershop’s lease cannot be used as an effective defence against accusations of discrimination. It would only imply the terms of the lease are equally as unlawful.

The services you offer must be inclusive and available to everyone—regardless of gender.

With that said, it cannot be expected for a barbershop to offer a service to a woman

that isn’t offered to men. If there are services the barbershop doesn’t provide to men, then refusing to offer them to women is not discrimination. For example, if a woman came in and asked for a perm, but it is not a service your barbershop offers, then you have every right to refuse service.

Chief executive of the NHF/NBF, Hillary Hall said: “Treating everyone equally can only be positive for your business. Why risk a storm of negative comments on social media and possible legal action? As well as female clients wanting barber cuts, there’s a growing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBQT+) community out there who are

looking for the services barbershops offer, so it makes good business sense too.”

Hilary also urged salons to look at pricing structures which could leave them open to claims of discrimination. There should never be a difference in price based on whether the client is male or female. It is important to make prices clear and based on the skill and experience of the barber, the products and the equipment used, the hair type and the time taken to complete the service, but never on gender. In light of this, many barbershops and salons have adopted gender-neutral price lists, which equally makes a great selling and marketing point.

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CANDICE MCKAY

THE FACTORY Hair: Candice McKay Photography: John Rawson Makeup: Maddie Austin Styling: Jamie Russell Images: FPA

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PRODUCTENV Y

Editor’s Choice

EDITOR’ S COMMENT This month we’ve picked some of the most phenomenal offerings from brands like new to the UK range, Eleven Australia. As it’s a hot topic this month, we have a couple of aces from brands old and new championing a sustainable future.

Matakki Crystal Collection Happy 15th Birthday to Matakki from everyone at BarberNV! Celebrating 15 years at the forefront of producing professional scissors, Matakki has released a range of exclusive matte Teflon titanium treated scissors, making the tools even more durable. Available in Rose Gold, matte black and matte blue, grab these limited-edition scissors while stocks last. Once they’re gone Matakki won’t manufacture any more. £150 matakki.com

Victory Barber PRIMER Volume & Texture Tonic Make your hair feel thicker, fuller and healthier using the miraculous PRIMER Volume & Texture Tonic.

This nourishing styling spray is packed full of powerful botanicals that’ll provide you with a serious backbone to your blow-dry. Spay it onto damp or towel dried hair and let it dry naturally for a subtle rough finish or hit it with a blow dryer to add serious power to that pomp. $24 victorybarber.com

Daimon Barber Day & Night Face Serum This easily absorbed serum uses Symrepair to protect the skin’s natural barrier from the harmful effects of UV during the day while its moisture-rich Ceramide complex repairs skin at night.

Contains Filagrinol to provide unequalled moisturisation and the inclusion of Apple Seed Oil, Lime Seed Oil and Black Seed Oil makes this perfect for use as an effective pre-shave oil.

Apply to face and massage into skin. £34.95 daimonbarber.co.uk

Reuzel Hoglectibles There’s a new hog in town—’The Executive’. Meet the latest addition to Reuzel’s Hoglectibles collection, ‘The Executive’, based on Schorem’s own Duncan Bailey.

Available through your local distributor reuzel.com

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The Extra Hold Styling Clay from ELEVEN Australia is a maximum hold clay with a fantastic matte finish.

Ideal for all styles, this matte product could be the most versatile and latest addition to your arsenal. warehouse5.co.uk

Neäl & Wølf No. 5 Shape Pliable Paste Duo Shape your summer dreams with this exclusive duo pack. The SHAPE pliable paste lets you style your hair with confidence. This texturing paste is specifically formulated to give a strong hold that improves definition and is perfect for shorter styles. £22 nealandwolf.com

PRODUCTENVY

ELEVEN Australia Extra Hold Styling Clay

SEB MAN The Sculptor: Matte Hair Clay SEB MAN’s mineral hair clay gives long-lasting hold and a matte finish.

Create sharp definition and texture on short to long styles, with strong, non-sticky hold. With a stimulating scent of bergamot and pink pepper for a vibrant freshness.

0203 901 1163 uk.wellastore.com

Natural Barber Co Hades Matte Paste A lightweight thickening paste designed to give you the natural, no-product matte look. The Hades Matte Paste’s nourishing and mouldable formula gives light hold and thickness to hair without weighing it down or drying it out. £16.95 naturalbarber.co

BarberNV Magazine | 41

PRODUCTENV Y Electric °C-4 Shaping Paste The Electric °C-4 Shaping Paste is an endlessly versatile paste that allows you to define and shape with confidence while still allowing great style movement. This multi-purpose paste lets you create volume, thickness and definition all with a silky finish. £16.50 electric-hair.com

Grooming

Dark Stag Kamisori Razor This unique design uses double edged razor blades with one edge used per customer, providing the most cost-effective route to a perfect shave. The spring mounted one-touch blade holding mechanism can be quickly opened for easy cleaning and disinfecting. This also means that changing blades takes just seconds. £43 barberblades.co.uk

The Hairy Bastard Hair & Beard Wax The Hairy Bastard Tobacco Hair and Beard Wax is a complex combination that alludes to sunbaked tobacco, oak barrels, and earthy soil. It is a masculine scent that evokes bygone days, yet unabashedly teases the future. $18 (2oz) thehairybastard.com

Uki International Casanova Stardom Plus The ultra-lightweight Casanova Stardom Plus features an AC professional long-life motor with adjustable speed and heat to make a great addition to any hair professionals’ set up. ukiinternational.com

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Kent Brushes Monster Beard Brush The Monster Brush is not a product to be taken lightly. Designed and built by the heritage brand’s finest brush makers. Instantly recognisable, the unique Kent beard brush handle, with its flintlock pistol grip is unparalleled in design, comfort and ease of use. A very special hand-mixed blend of both horse hair and uniquely selected nylon combine to create a tufted head of unimaginable beard grooming brilliance. £28 kentbrushes.com

House 99 Texturising Clay – Change It Up Take control of your hair with this texturising and pliable clay to achieve the hairstyle you need. You never know where the day may take you, but make sure it doesn’t take your hair with it. The House 99 hair clay is reworkable and gives medium-to-long hair texture and body. £15 house99.co.uk

Fudge Professional Xpander Jelly

Seven Potions Beard Shampoo Citrus Tonic This beard shampoo is an essential when it comes to facial hair health and cleanliness.

A delightful and invigorating wash, the Citrus Tonic Beard Shampoo will leave you feeling fresh and your hair perfectly cleansed. the shampoo has been specifically developed to gently rinse dirt, grit and unwanted smells in just one minute with a good lather.

A revolution is men’s grooming, the Xpander Jelly gives thicker, fuller hair instantly. Targeting sparse or thinning hair, men across the country can now reclaim the feeling of having a full, natural head of hair thanks to Fudge Professional’s innovation. £13.45 fudgeprofessional.com

£17.97 sevenpotions.com

BarberNV Magazine | 43

Wahl Ultimate Barber Case Wahl’s new 40x37x15cm Ultimate Barber Case comes with a luxurious, black faux-leather finish and dual key locks. Simply flip-up the lid to find five velvet lined, padded compartments in the top tray, and a second removable tray underneath. All with an elastic pouch inside the lid for clips, combs and brushes. £89

Furniture & Equipment

PRODUCTENVY

PRODUCTENV Y

Barber Blades Rotating & Illuminating Barber Pole The Barber Pole is an icon of the industry no barbershop can do without. An integral part of barber history, this pole provides your business with effective local advertising. The cylinder illuminates, rotates and can be seen from long distances.

barberblades.co.uk From £150 barberblades.co.uk

Takara Belmont Legend The Legend represents the very pinnacle of motorised innovation by Takara Belmont. This fully-motorised chair guarantees unsurpassed luxury for sublime client comfort and relaxation powered with leading-edge electronics. In keeping with Takara Belmont’s most prestigious offerings, Legend is ideal for women’s, unisex and men’s grooming salons that want to project a premium image, deliver VIP hairdressing and grooming and ensure clients enjoy a service experience like no other. Quality, durability and performance exceed every expectation, meeting Takara Belmont’s global standards to offer a stunning showpiece chair that delivers aesthetically, functionally and ergonomically.

Andis Slimline Pro AGILITY, PERFORMANCE& PRECISION Create the sharpest lines, finest definition and finishing perfection in every cut, with the Andis Slimline Pro Li Cordless Trimmer. Now available in gloss black, Slimline Pro Li gives total control and performance with zero interference, allowing barbers and stylists to add finishing touches to necklines, beards and moustaches, as well as light duty trimming and touch-ups that refine every style. An enhanced motor mechanism makes this trimmer faster and more powerful while it can be zero gapped to deliver precision cutting for up to two hours on a single charge! £85 andis.com

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£5,995 coolblades.co.uk

DENIS ROBINSON

RUFFIANS

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YUCEL

OLMEZKAYA Photography: Liam Oakes Model: Jacob Thomas

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ESCAPE B A R B E R S H O P O SLO,

NORWAY

E SCAPE TH E ORDI NARY, E XP ERIE NCE T H E EX TRAORDI NARY

E

scape the ordinary, experience the extraordinary. That’s the mantra of the latest enterprise by barber entrepreneur and educator, Jac Ludlow. Found in the heart of Oslo, Norway, Escape Barbershop has an identity you can feel as soon as you’re through the doors. From the uniforms to the greetings and complimentary drinks, to the consultations, luxury services and backwash chairs with built-in massage technology, there’s only one word fit to describe Escape—QUALITY. It’s an exciting time in barbering, as more and more UK barbers take their talents globally, but what took a Welsh barber across the North Sea? To answer this Jac took BarberNV back to the start of his career.

At 15-years-old he was already building the foundation of what would eventually become Escape. Jac began his career working in Bojangles Hairdressers [Griffithstown, South Wales UK] with his mum, Michelle.

She taught Jac the importance of customer care, putting emphasis on giving clients passionate and quality services. Now 27-years-old, Jac has waited a long time to execute what he called “PLAN MICHELLE.” Escape is this plan in action.

“I met a guy named David Wyke, who was a managing director of TONI&GUY Norway for 20-years, who shared the same vision to create the ultimate experience,” Jac tells us. “He came up with the Genius slogan ‘escape the ordinary, experience the extraordinary.’ Both our beliefs are strong in fulfilling world-class service.”

Time is money, it’s a worn-out adage, but one we can’t do without really. Jac knows this, but equally, he loves putting quality-time into each service, and he knew that these two ideas don’t always marry up.

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Escape is the solution to this problem, with luxury products and luxury services in a luxury environment.

“Unfortunately, time is the one thing that goes against us in our trade,” Jac says. “However, when charging such high prices it gives me the freedom to spend more time on my client which dramatically improves my clients’ experience and quality of service.”

There’s an inevitability when talking about Norway, someone at some point will bring up the price of beer. A subject

which, Jac admits causes him great heartache at the princely sum of £9 per pint! Price vs quality can be a hard battle, especially when you’re entering a totally different country and market.

However, Jac says, “To be honest, the pricing wasn’t difficult at all, I did some market research to asses PRICE vs QUALITY from other competitors. This allowed me to find my niche. In regards to the cost of living, the easiest way to describe Norway is that everything costs more, but everyone’s salary is more, this dramatically elevates the quality of life.”

“A company in Norway got in touch with me for this service as they were launching their new brand. I’m very grateful for this because it allowed me to see Norway and study the market,” Jac tells BarberNV. “I instantly fell in love with the country and after calculating the business plan it proved that we could charge up to £150 for a haircut and shave.”

Jac tells BarberNV that Norwegian men’s style varies dramatically, while similar to the UK, he says, “The beard is a huge hit here. Especially now the new season of Game of Thrones is being screened. The beard oil business is a huge success here!”

We all know how barbering has popped in the US and UK, but Jac points out that barbering is growing rapidly in Scandinavian and Nordic countries.

He says, “Escape is growing extremely fast and thanks to Nearcut—our very reliable booking system created by Sam and the lads.”

When asked about the future prospects for Escape, Jac tells us that he wants to replicate Escape in other major global capitals.

“Last week I launched The Nordic chapter of Jac Ludlow Education. We held our first seminar here in Oslo and it was a great success. It’s so nice to engage with like-minded people who strive to raise the standards of this incredible industry.”

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HOW TO R E TA I L W I T H W E S T R OW ’ S S T E V E R OW B O T T OM & BAD AP P L E H AI R ’ S G AV I N M I L L S

Steve Rowbottom

Gavin Mills

Any barber will tell you that a great service isn’t over the second a client clambers out of the Belmont. The key to the best client experience is giving them the tools and product knowledge to maintain their style. Truth be told, without this, you aren’t giving the person in your chair a complete service. BarberNV spoke to two experts on how to approach maximising your offerings.

The male grooming market is rapidly growing and without your expert guidance, it can be hard to know what product is best for any clients’ hair type. This is why being pro-active with your retail offerings is so important. Without this, you miss the opportunity to educate the client on how best to both maintain their style and increase your revenue.

Educating clients on products or tools specifically for them is an opportunity you cannot afford to miss.

“The reason clients don’t usually make a purchase is less to do with the quality and type of products you stock,” says co-founder and coColin of Petrie director Westrow, Steve Rowbottom. “But more to do with the fact they simply don’t equate a hairdressing or barbering experience with shopping for their hair products—but that’s something you have the power to change, with the right marketing and promotional tools.”

Treating your shop as a retail space, as opposed to simply a barbershop, will go a long way to encouraging purchases. You should display products in a thoughtful way. They’re an important element of your business, and shouldn’t be an afterthought. Make your retail area stand out with its own signage, with displays at eye-level, showcasing your hottest products. That way they’ll always be attracting someone’s attention.

“Arrange products at a minimum of two or three products deep on the shelves, and make sure the retail area is always kept clean, up to date and well stocked,” Steve continues. “A standalone retail section isn’t enough to get products into your clients’ minds [...] tell your clients what you’re using, how and when, during their appointment, and keep the products close by, so that they can have a look, feel and play 50 | BarberNV Magazine

around with the product themselves, as you work on their hair.”

Giving your clients little tips and tricks on how to make the most of your products will go a long way. They’ll be more likely to part with their hard-earned cash if they have experience using the product themselves!

But, retailing doesn’t end at your front doors, however, and you should use your social media channels to promote all your latest offerings, clearly show what these products do. You want to cement in the minds of your clients that retailing is an important part of your business and their service.

Bad Apple Hair director, Gavin Mills says, “This will help your followers to associate your salon with retail and will help to solidify your image as a trusted retailer of hair products, not just as a barbershop or salon.”

Equally the types of products you stock is very important. The products you stock should reflect the personality, branding and ethos of your barbershop. “A salon that is known for its quirky branding and fashionable personality might choose to stock edgy brands, new emerging product lines and less mainstream manufacturers,” Gavin adds. “Whereas a more conventional salon with a broader client demographic and more classic branding might choose to stock more classic and less experimental brands and products.”

It might seem a little daunting, and you might not have become a barber to sell hair products, but retail is crucial for any business. But these tips will help you solidify your position, not just as a barbering expert, but as a trusted retailer.

JOSH LAMONACA

MENSPIRE Hair: Josh Lamonaca Photography: Josh Lamonaca

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VIVIENNE HOWE Hair: Vivienne Howe (@the_barberfly)

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S U S T A I N A B L E

B A RB ER S HOPS If recent protests and news reports have taught us anything, it’s that the climate is in a state of crisis. While it has taken some time the hair industry to back sustainability, there are a lot of UK barber shops taking strides towards a greener, brighter future.

Customers, more so than ever, are aware of sustainability and being environmentally conscious about the businesses they spend their money in. More and more barber shops are taking notice of this and going green and rethinking the products they use in their businesses.

Son of a Barber SON OF A BARBER 108 NORTHWAY, LIVERPOOL Veganism and sustainability are intricately linked, as more people are adopting a cruelty-free lifestyle. Son of a Barber, in Liverpool run

by Michael Anderson, is currently the only 100% vegan barber shop in the UK. The barber shop uses only Paul Mitchell products which are cruelty-free, as well as Maria Nila and IQ Clever Dust products.

Michael provides customers with all vegan refreshments too with soy milk for tea and coffee and Budweiser beer.

BARRIE STEPHEN HAIR BARBERS 12 KING ST, LEICESTER There are currently six Barrie Stephen hair salons, and one barber shop—The Barber’s Lounge in Leicester. All Barrie Stephen salons now use vegan Italian haircare range, Sens.Us. The vision of all Barrie Stephen salons and barber shops is to have beauty with ethics, using only vegan/crueltyfree products that are environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced.

Barrie Stephens is a great example of a business making changes in all their locations to be even more eco-friendly.

THE PLAYER’S LOUNGE 161A ROSE ST, EDINBURGH Established in 2007, The Player’s Lounge in Edinburgh has been specialising in

sustainable men’s hair and grooming for twelve years.

The entire salon is centred around sustainability, with mirrors and waiting bench made from recycled church pews. The salon has signed up to the Resource Efficiency pledge with @resourceScot focussing on improving recycling, energy efficiency and keeping Scotland clean. As well as focussing on other pledges and recycling, the salon only uses products that are sulphate, paraben and crueltyfree using ethical companies like EVO and The Green People.

FLINT BARBERS 5 KING ST, NOTTINGHAM Flint Barbers prides itself on being more than just a barber shop, they are part of the new ethical movement in the men’s hair industry. The brand was developed by one of Nottingham’s leading barbers Nathan Raymond. At Flint they use only vegan products, stocking Sweden’s REF brand, which uses quinoa protein and promotes healthy hair from amino acids. REF uses a mix of natural and organic ingredients in their products, as well as paying a self-imposed environmental fee to compensate the carbon emissions from flying products from Sweden.

SUBZERO STUDIOS 64 ST ENOCH SQUARE, GLASGOW Subzero Studios in Glasgow takes barbering to a whole new level with a vegan/cruelty-free barber shop, AND tattoo studio. Subzero Studios also partners with Kevin Murphy products, which are all PETA certified as cruelty-free and industry-leading in their quality. The studio also keeps things fresh by regularly switching up the resident tattoo artists.

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BONS MEN’S HAIR

BACK IN BLACK Hair: Bons Men’s Hair Photography: Gerardo Rainone

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B A R B E R

S E M I N A R S

MATTY CONRAD

Knowledge is power. There’s nothing better than being educated by barbers you’ve admired on Instagram, learning their tips and tricks can help anyone up their game massively. Big conventions like The Scottish Barber Show, Barber Connect, BarberSociety Live and Salon International are key to educating and inspiring even the industry heavyweights.

BarberNV spoke to multi-award-winning barber, men’s stylist, shop owner and photographer Matty Conrad about the importance of on-stage and seminar-based education. A veteran with almost 20 years experience in teaching and education, focusing his efforts solely on men’s hair since 2011.

Matty is often called upon by fashion magazines for his expertise on male grooming and has been named the Coolest Barber on Instagram by GQ. Additionally, he spends much of his time travelling the world sharing his passion and knowledge of men’s grooming which has helped make him an industry icon.

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affordable way to get education, but it has its limits. Being able to ask questions and see the subtleties of the cut/body positioning/ intention […] it’s hard to translate that to YouTube. Plus, editing doesn’t always allow you to see everything from start to finish.

It’s definitely an exploding format but the shortage of actually good quality education online is becoming more and more apparent.

I have seen how much time and effort it takes to create good education versus how quickly someone can churn out a low-quality video showing somebody a haircut on a client. The two are not entirely the same thing. I have sat in on a lot of classes and watched a lot of online seminars and some of the stuff people are teaching makes me scratch my head a bit. My fear is that the volume of education

BNV: How important are seminars to barbering education?

MC: Education creates knowledge, and knowledge kills fear. When we start out there is this fear, we have that is innate in all of us because we are often ill-equipped when we leave barbering schools or colleges [...] it’s the fear of being a fraud.

I think the industry as a whole needs education and leadership. One of the worst things to have happened in the history of our industry came in the 1960s when Sassoon and the Unisex hair salon came along. The changing men’s trends left barbering behind largely due to the lack of education and stubbornness to embrace that change.

If you look around it’s easy to see the signals of change in men’s hair right now, and we get to choose if we are going to embrace it or if we are going to get left behind. Education is necessary for us to grow and remain a proud and relevant industry.

BNV: What first got you into seminar work?

MC: Originally, I started teaching as a way of getting free education from big companies that needed educators regionally. Like most people, I was awful when I started out small [...] mostly pk’s and regional classes but I was getting an exceptional education without going broke.

When I started out it was nothing flashy or impressive [...] it would be pretty common that I would only be teaching four or five people. Over time I mastered the skills necessary and started travelling to different towns and even different countries […] now I spend countless days on the road—42 weeks last year. I actually love teaching, it’s incredibly fulfilling.

BNV: With the popularity of YouTube do you think there will be more barbering webinars in the future?

MC: I think it’s a more convenient and

amount of people referring to themselves as educators these days is staggering. Everybody who has held a pair of clippers for longer than six months at this point is ‘an award-winning barber with education available.’ But teaching is a skill… just like cutting hair. It requires practice and experience that few possess in this newly resurgent industry.

Most people’s perception of an educator is somebody up on-stage in front of hundreds of people like some kind of Rockstar, but it isn’t that at all. Make sure you are getting into education because you have information that you have employed successfully, that you have a strong desire to share with others so that they can be successful too. None of this I want to be a Rockstar BS or ‘I just want to show people how passionate I am.’ Nobody

will become so broad that everything turns to white noise.

BNV: What would you say are the essential things to do when preparing for a seminar?

MC: You need to have something to teach. DO NOT just show up and do a haircut.

You need to be able to explain the whys and the hows of your work. You need to be able to make the student see through your eyes so they can recreate the work afterwards.

Simply giving someone the steps is not sufficient. Write out your material, practice the steps, make sure that you are prepared to answer questions and give good reasons for the techniques, the approach and the styles you have chosen.

BNV: What advice would you give to someone looking to start doing seminar work?

MC: I get asked quite often and my response is usually, find something to teach and teach it to one person—now you are an educator. The

cares about your passion they care about your information. If it’s delivered passionately.

Trust me in the almost 20 years I have been doing this I have taught more classes for less than 10 people than I have for more than a hundred. It’s a servant’s job just like barbering.

It’s about humility not showing off because it’s far better to leave people inspired than impressed.

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MINT BARBERSHOPS Photography: Liam Oakes Makeup: Miriana Savino

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BARBERING

S T I L L

A

ccording to a Radio 4 report, barbering was one of the only areas of the retail sector to see growth.

Last year 813 new barbershops opened in the UK—two shops every day—with vape stores showing a similar boost. Experts have even said that the numbers this year already show growth on 2018.

The industry explosion has been put down to the ever-increasing popularity of male grooming, especially around beard care.

Others suggest that the modern focus on appearances and social media play a vital role

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B O O M I N G

in barbering’s bloom. There’s definitely a greater emphasis on looks, and the idea of being forever Instagram ready is something on the minds of a lot of young people.

However, some put this down to a lack of regulation in barbering. Truthfully there are few hurdles in opening a barbershop. This makes it easier for virtually anyone looking to capitalise on the barbering’s popularity to set up a shop without the need for a qualification!

This is made all the more lucrative because of the death of the high street. We spoke to Pall Mall general manager Dan Davies, who understands this all too well. “It’s logical why the high street’s dying,” he says. “People are shopping more online, but you can’t really get a haircut online.

Gentlemen still like to go into town for a nice haircut and put that into their weekly routine.

That’s the reason there’s an outstanding growth in barbering because there’s no development in other areas. You’ll see more service industry on the high street, and retail will slowly diminish.

“While there’s no regulation there will always be a lot of barbershops opening and closing.

You’ve only got to look at your own towns to see this. I think it’s quick cash for a lot of people. It’s quite ironic because we’re one of the oldest industries in the world, but I think we’re probably the most forgotten in terms of regulation and getting things right.”

But it isn’t all doom and gloom. Barbershops, more than other areas of retail, are expanding and taking out-of-the-box approaches to this.

Seeing this trend, retail giant Primark has teamed up with hairdresser and entrepreneur, Joe Mills to offer affordable haircuts in their stores. Joe will open a 900sqft barbershop in Primark’s flagship Birmingham store, offering shoppers haircuts, wet shaves and facials. Joe said that the new partnership would allow him to push boundaries.

In a similar fashion, Gould’s Barbers opened 19 barbershops concessions in Tesco stores last year. There are plans to open another 50 in the coming year, generating hundreds of jobs. These types of ideas are the future of barbering. The craft won’t simply be the king of the high street, but will props up and diversify other areas of retail. The likes of Goulds and Joe Mills are definitely ahead of the curve, and we predict far great retail diversity even within high street barbershops.

With retail goliaths cottoning onto the boom the barbering industry has felt over the last decade or so, it begs the question as to what is next for our industry moving into 2020.

PORTRAITS

MIKE TAYLOR

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BOOKING TECHNOLOGY W H A T T H E Y C A N O F F E R Y O U R B U S I N E S S

F

or many barbershops taking a step back from walk-in appointments can be a big deal, and there are a lot of different booking systems to choose from. Which begs the question; how should you go about selecting the best booking system for your shop?

Research by The Blue Beards Revenge found that over half of those aged 18-24 preferred to book their haircuts online or through a mobile app. Though only 8% of barbershops surveyed actually offered booking services online, instead exclusively offering walk-in services.

The current generation is used to organising their lives through their phones, and business is catching up to this fact.

Companies like Uber and Just Eat have changed the landscape and attitude to how much of your life you can organise with your phone. If you can order a kebab with the touch of a screen, why can’t you book a haircut or a beard trim?

A good booking system should add structure and allow you to give your customers a more premium with every appointment offered. But we know that barbershop software can no longer simply book appointments, it has to offer a lot more to be worth your time and business.

BarberNV has compiled a list of some of the leading booking software services to see what they offer, and more importantly how they can make your barbershop run that little bit smoother.

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NEARCUT

Nearcut lets you take complete control of your bookings and cancellations at the tap of a finger. Each of the three payment tiers comes with a tailored booking website, with the options to access the Nearcut app or a personalised app with your barbershop branding. The app makes it easier for your customers to find you on Google and through social media.

Nearcut Trade is the easiest way for barbers to order quality supplies for their shop and ensure their customers’ favourite products are always in stock.

Nearcut is the only booking system with barbering supplies, stock management and automatic re-ordering. Nearcut has partnered with some of the leading brands to make it easier than ever for barbers to order the best products.

Nearcut’s online reminder system is

proven to reduce pesky no-shows by 50%.

Automatically sending customers a gentle SMS reminder of their booking. To protect you and your barbers further, customers are charged ahead of time, meaning you’ll never be out of pocket in the event of a no-show.

The simple pricing structure gives you the freedom to select only the services you need!

Their e-commerce features ensure your customers see every product every time when they book an appointment. Even if they don’t buy the product there and then, this could register for them and convert to a sale after their appointment.

Simplicity is the key with Nearcut, from £7.50 to add on product sales is something your business cannot do without. Whatever features Nearcut adds the main focus is always ease of use, and you can really tell.

For more information and free trial visit nearcut.com

Best features for barbershop software: • Appointment tracking • Multiple point-ofsale options • Barbershop management VERSUM

Versum can do a lot more for your barbershop than simply take bookings. The software deals with your finances, your marketing and all the rotas. This multi-dimensional software is completely user-friendly. Not content with offering push emails and texts when one of your barbers gets a cancellation.

Versum is more than a booking system for your barbershop, it’s a compendium of your whole customer base. You’ll find all the information you need in one place to offer customers the premium services they deserve.

Not content in dealing with your finances and online booking. Versum takes marketing to the next level. Versum offer tailored emails and texts when one of your barbers gets a cancellation. If someone in your shop has a no-show or cancellation Versum can target their customers specifically.

If an appointment is cancelled, Versum allows you to look at your database and select the customers who most often book that service and when their last appointment was.

For more information and free trial visit versum.com

• Barbershop marketing • Reporting • Stock & inventory • Payroll

PHOREST

BOOKSY

Booksy is specifically developed with the health and beauty industry in mind and it shows. Incredibly user-friendly, Booksy lets your clients connect with your business and book multiple appointments and services 24 hours a day.

Booksy’s user-friendly dashboard keeps you on top of everyone’s schedules, making it simple to keep up with diary changes or cancellations. No longer do you need to remember everyone’s bookings. As an account owner, Booksy makes it easy for you to manage shifts, holiday and breaks.

The powerful features allow you to monitor finances including, tip/commission rates, products and services. All modified to better motivate your staff retailing. To boot, Booksy makes sure you’re always compensated for your time. Set your terms for cancellation policies and choose what to charge should a client fail to cancel during the free cancellation period.

For more information and free trial visit booksy.com

Phorest securely stores all your client records on the cloud, relieving the headache of managing and marketing your barbershop. This means you can focus on the most important aspect of the barbershop, the person sat in your chair.

Completely walk-in friendly, the point of sale system lets you book or rebook customers from the shop floor, front desk, or really anywhere—all available 24/7. Reward loyalty with the TreatCard, giving 30% off products or services the second time they book to improve retention by showing the customer they are a significant part of your barbershop. Not only will the TreatCard reward the client, but it encourages an extra average spend of 30%.

Phorest’s CRM feature allows you to note all your customers’ preferences to make their experience more tailored. Do they like it long on top, a fade, a beer or even a coffee, you can keep track of all of this with Phorest.

With Phorest’s Online Reputation barber app, you can increase your chances of coming up first in potential client

searches. Build on your shop’s already solid reputation, increasing your exposure and letting potential new customers that your barbershop is the best. Additionally, Phorest generates business reports instantly, so you can keep track of every aspect of your barbershop.

For more information and free trial visit phorest.com

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Hair by Sam Rintoul

MIKE TAYLOR STUDENTS

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Hair by Emily Ridgers

Hair by Matt Clarke

Hair by Nick Crook

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// Column

CHRIS FOSTER

Make money while you sleep Initially, when I started out in the industry, I loved the notion of making money while I slept. But I just couldn’t get my head around how I would achieve this. You see, we all know there are limitations to exchanging time for money, but this is what us barbers do every single day. I was exchanging far too much time for not enough money. I wasn’t really leveraging the skills I had. I asked myself, is there a better way, is there a different way of working that allows us to earn money while we sleep?

When I started doing shows and seminars it allowed me to travel the world, impacting more people’s lives, but it was still exchanging time for money. I was falling into the trap of not leveraging the opportunities around me.

I didn’t have any products or services that I could leverage and sell when I went to shows.

You see, everybody tells you that you need a product, but how do you know what kind of products should you actually create?

If you like this idea of developing and generating multiple sources of income that allow you to explore some options with you: 1. E-books are great because you can selfpublish. They are low cost to create and they can start from a simple PDF version that you could actually sell on your website or you can format it for Kindle. Either way, it’s in a digital form, which means you do not have to rely on a publisher—you can produce the e-book yourself.

There are many different options for creating content that people can buy into your ideas and can sell. For example, an interview will collaborate your ideas with other people’s knowledge and experience.

2. Videos are an awesome way of expanding your content. Sharing your knowledge in this way connects directly to your audience and reinforces your expertise. Create a video once and profit for a long time afterwards. You may ask, ‘who will want my content?’ You will be surprised, most people are interested in the content, especially if your video is solving a particular problem.

Don’t let production put you off. Sometimes the quality doesn’t necessarily need to have high production value. It is more important that you consider what problem you are solving for other people, what solution is your audience looking for and provide the videos that can help them. You might think, well it’s on YouTube. Yes, but YouTube is very

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distracting and if you’re able to package your videos with guarantees that if they watch these videos and do what is required they will get results.

3. Many of us are very familiar with courses, and you can teach courses either one to one or to a class. But also consider the idea of teaching online when it comes to sharing knowledge, it has changed dramatically. There are many different types of software which allow the content creator, such as yourself, to put ideas and concepts online, and have all the payment gateways already set for you just to put their content on, and you just press publish. Everything else is done for you. You can earn thousands and thousands of pounds from great content.

Online courses are a great way to dive deeper into a concept and remain a very popular product for many successful businesses. Personally, I have my own online academy that I teach through. Currently, I have 600 students from all around the world, and this is what’s unique about teaching online.

It opens up a world of possibility when you think that we are living in a globally connected world. There are always people who want to find out how to better their skill set and how to be more successful.

4. Reports can be an essential and effective way of targeting a particular sector of our industry. People are looking for specific detailed information and are willing to pay for it. Consider selling these products to magazines, companies that need a particular insight. Do you have special step-by-step processes that can get people a certain result? Maybe a cutting technique that is revolutionary, and no one else is doing right now. Well, you can develop a step-by-step programme and clear guide for your audience.

Often people will love your free content and are willing to pay for content that is in a more

digestible format. You can take someone from YouTube and tell them that these guides will help them to basically deliver a certain result, and that could be sold through your website.

That sale can happen 24 hours a day. People just want to make sure they are getting to a particular result.

5. Branded product ranges. It is great to have your name on a product range, however, there can be huge upfront costs, and it does require a lot of marketing investment. You can work with wholesalers, who are doing wholesale product development. Consider making alternative physical products such as clothing or accessories. Again, if it solves a particular problem, even better!

6. Monetise your following, if you have a strong following creating a membership site that you charge for on a monthly basis can be very lucrative. To make a membership site successful, you want to be active in your community and offer exclusive fresh content on a regular basis. Helping your following achieve certain results.

I hope you consider building products as a way of helping to give you the financial freedom which you so richly deserve and help you make money while you sleep! The more success you have in this amazing industry the better it is for everyone because when you succeed we all succeed!

Check out my profit profile podcast on any platform that plays podcasts where I share with you my top strategies of building a profitable within the barbering industry.

Please get in contact on my Foss Academy Facebook page if you would like any advice on the topics above. As a profile coach, I am here to help you succeed in this wonderful industry.

Nowadays it’s much easier than ever to build an audience for free find the product and sell the products online.

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// Column

SAM WALL

Barber Community Showcase Part 2 From Halifax to Toronto, part two of the Barber Community Showcase had a different vibe this time with a full 11-hour education day, which went down a storm with another sold-out crowd.

W

ith 150 people in the audience and a 12 man and women epic lineup from across the world, it’s safe to say I was buzzing for this event. With a sevenand-half-hour flight, which felt like a dream compared to my 30+ hour flights previously, I arrived in Toronto on Friday afternoon, fresh and surprisingly not jet lagged.

I had the pleasure of flying with Mr Frank Rimer this time and once we landed the wonderful Mari DeMonte greeted us. Together we made our way to the hotel, where the man himself Mark Peyton aka “The Wet Bandit” and his wing women Robyn Ingraham met us.

I want to touch on the fact that Robyn did a fantastic job in putting this event together.

Once again the organisation was out of this world. With not much sleep, this lady went above and beyond! So for that, we thank you very much.

I was going to write about the lineup and give a description of who was performing, but instead, I am going to quote Micheal Mejia (@ miv74) as I absolutely loved the way he put the weekend into words...

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Michael Mejia (The Most Genuine Gentle Giant of All) said, “What a wild time this past weekend was. I couldn’t imagine hanging out with such a superb group of people who truly were here to inspire, share and collaborate for a good cause. @markisntabarber your ability to unite and put this together just reinforces how not only talented you are but also a righteous human being. @ thegentlebarber your grace and coolness under pressure was amazing to see. Thank you for everything you did behind the scenes. @slawhon (The Killer), @chinkthebarber (Straight up Gentleman) and @mdm_grooming (The Midnite DJ.) “@frank_glorified (My Man Pancho), @r.braid (Understated Virtuoso), @ brett_thebarber (Joyfully Infectious), @joth_davies (Cool Hand Luke), @ mrsamwall (Mischievous Genius), @mattyconrad (Sage Advisor) and @trends.

by.taylor (Genteel Gangster.) Thank You... it was a pleasure to meet you and get to know you as the talented, and great individuals you are. So I won’t say goodbye but say...

“And so love goes...

And so life goes...

And so I go....

You carry on my brothers and sisters.”

All of the above rocked up at the amazing Eikonic Academy on Sunday at 8 am. This space was lush and played the perfect venue.

The sponsors for this show were none other then Mizutani Scissors, Wahl, Resurva (who did some phenomenal artwork of all the artists), Victory Barber and Brand Products, and of course the superb barbershop Sailor Bup’s. Mark even organised the legendary clothing brand Vans to come along and dish out their awesome trainers all day—which included FREE WAFFLES! The show opened at 9 am and the first to take to the stage were UpperCut Crew. We had the privilege of watching Mike Conti (@ pugsly_dude) on the Saturday in a private event at Jon Roth’s Crows Nest Barbershop which was located in the coolest of places. It reminded me of the Camden Town vibe a little bit. Anyway, I knew Mike and the guys were going to be awesome once we witnessed him

first hand the day before.

Next up was Mari Demonte and Andrew Van! Mari was outstanding as always and it was an honour to see Andrew’s very last stage performance before he announced he was taking a step back from being on the road.

Good luck Andrew with everything, you’re a true gent and hilarious as anything.

Following these two was the trio of Michael Mejia, Taylor Leven and Shon Lawhon.

These guys just blew my mind with Michael’s elegance, Taylor’s swag and Shon’s energy.

Then we moved onto another three badasses in Matty Conrad, Mark Peyton and Brett Kelly.

I could talk about them for hours, however, they really don’t need any explanation on just how good they are.

Safe to say the trio was a hard act to follow, and up after them was myself and Frank Rimer. Over the years, I’ve managed to conquer my nerves, but this was certainly the most nervous I’d felt for a while doing any show. It made it easier that I was on stage with my roomie and I knew we would simply have a laugh up there, which is exactly what we did. Although I must say we both made it that extra bit nerve-racking using barbers as models. I chopped Matty Conrad’s fine mane and Frank chopped the legend Shon Lawhon’s perfect pomp. We do like to push ourselves, and I’m grateful for the wonderful feedback we all received.

Last, but by no means least were two guys I admire a lot; Joth Davies and Robert Braid.

I felt their pain, it was a long day and by the time I was up my energy was slacking a fair bit, so I know these guys had an even bigger push to find that energy but guess what? They were literally the perfect duo to end the show.

Once they got up on stage not only did they fly, but they got all of the audience’s energy pumping even after 10 hours—incredible!

I want to thank every single person in the audience because this was the best crowd I personally have ever come across. They not only sat but kept interacting, asking questions and were fully focused for the whole 11-hours!

I speak for all 12 performers onstage when I say that we could not have done any of this without you and your energy coming to see us from many different locations.

What an amazing event, an epic crowd, a smoothly run day and an all-round unbelievable experience.

To everyone involved, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep those eyes peeled for PART 3—IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN!

WORDS BY MR. SAM WALL

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CHRIS

O’ROIRDAN Photography: Kestutis Anuzis Makeup: Sheena Murray

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Photography: Kestutis Anuzis Makeup: Michelle O Connor

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@ruthless_barbers

@classcutwatford_

INSTAGRAM Showcase Tag @barbernvmagazine to feature your work in our next issue!

@to nyj_rebel

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@nathbradbur yhair

@craigmillshair @hasonhair

@mohamadhaymoun @john_manol

@delucuts

@unclenath_hardgrind BarberNV Magazine | 73

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MIKE TAYLOR

STREET FIGHTER

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NEW TO E-CHAIR.COM CARLOS & CO Royston | Letchworth

50/50 profit split

Carlos & Co have two chairs to rent in both their locations of Royston and Letchworth. This great opportunity has arisen for an experienced barber at the top of their game who wants to build their business within two of the most successful barber shops in the country. With access to ongoing training, seminars, and the industry’s biggest trade shows.

Contact: jarmans2015@yahoo.com

MECHE Paisley

£100 (per week)

MECHE, Paisley are growing their team and are on the hunt for an excellent barber, hairdresser, MUA, and aesthetics professional/tattooartist/beauty therapist/sports-therapist. The ideal candidate will be selfemployed, with a good client base. They are a modern new family-based hair and beauty Salon based in the centre of Paisley.

“Quality is paramount to us, and our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We are always looking improve on skills ensuring customers benefit from the best and most up-to-date treatments from us.”

Contact: 07894 858 970

ROSS CARTER BARBERSHOP Falkirk

Negotiable

The Ross Carter Barbershop, Falkirk has been in business for 18-years, and recently opened a second shop and academy. They are looking for barbers that want to grow their clientele and enjoy ongoing education and business support.

RC Barbershop and academy offers any barber the best of both worlds, combining education and a clientele base that has support of a salon with a large female base to be able to target their partners.

Contact: 07891 507 388

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10BARBERING Glasgow City Centre

£300 (per week)

10Barbering is based in a super city centre location in Glasgow with excellent passing trade. The position would suit an experienced barber who wants to be their own boss and manage their own diary.

Contact Zak: 07555 115 285

THE SOCIAL London

£120 (per day)

The Social is at the forefront of changing how the hair industry thinks.

Creating a world lifestyle studio in true collaborative fashion, based in London and the Lake District encouraging the flexible work ethos of the ‘freelancer’ community. They embrace your sporadic movements and let you take control of your own time, money, and opportunities.

With five chairs available or the whole salon and/or the Social Studio, photo studio. Three hair or makeup chairs and two barber chairs.

Contact: ky@kycut.co.uk

HIDDEN HEIGHTS STUDIO Gateshead

£120 (per week)

A hidden railway arch in the up and coming area of Bridges Quarter, Gateshead. Just a short walk from Newcastle City Centre. Hidden Heights offers an inspiring workplace allowing you and your brand to grow independently. Founded almost five-years-ago it was among first of its kind. It enables forward-thinking individuals in the creative fields of photograph hair, barber, and MUA’s a collaborative space to create.

Embracing the freelance community.

Contact: info@hiddenheightsstudio.com

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SPONSORED BY

// CHRIS O’RIORDAN

IN THE CHAIR

Multi-award-winning barber Chris O’Riordan once again won the Irish leg of the American Crew All-Star Challenge. The Kerry-based barber recently flew to New York with the men’s grooming giants to compete against 15 of the best barbers from around the globe!

Chris started his career after completing a barbering course with Sean Taafe, who immediately offered him a job working at ST4men in Killarney, County Kerry. Chris, still with ST4men has been the barbershop’s manager and head barber for the past seven years.

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EACH ISSUE BARBERNV BRING YOU SHORT INTERVIEWS WITH SOME OF T H E B E S T I N T H E I N D U S T R Y. ALL SPONSORED BY E-CHAIR.COM. BNV: How did it feel winning the American Crew All-Star Challenge for Ireland?

CO: It was absolutely amazing to win this year, especially after winning it in 2018 as well. It is such a difficult competition to win with so much talent entering each year. So to do it twice is really special.

BNV: How was going to New York with American Crew?

CO: New York was hands down the BEST experience I’ve had in my career so far.

The competition was run so well, everyone involved with American Crew ensured that we enjoyed every moment of it and all the contestants were like a big family after six days together.

BNV: What advice would you give to young barbers looking to enter competitions?

CO: Everybody should enter competitions in my opinion whatever age you are. Don’t let fear or inexperience hold you back, just send off your entry, you don’t know what it might lead to. That’s what I did back in 2017, and after getting a little push I ended up on stage at the Royal Albert Hall and travelling to New York this year. So just go for it.

BNV: Where do you get the inspiration for

your shoots?

CO: I’m constantly scrolling through Instagram so other hair stylists would definitely be a big one along with tv shows, movies and I love old school Americana styles. I have never really gone into a shoot with a plan and stuck to it 100%, some things just don’t work the way you want it to and you have to improvise...

BNV: What do trends do you think will emerge this year?

CO: I think we’re in such a good place in the hair industry at the moment, anything goes. Everyone has their own individual style and get what suits them. Medium to long length hair is definitely making a comeback, but I don’t see skin fades going anywhere anytime soon.

BNV: What else do you have planned for 2019?

CO: Firstly, it’s looking after my regulars in ST4men, without them I can’t pursue anything else. I have some education dates planned and I’ve entered some more competitions, but I would love to do a lot more stage work this year, I have one or two events booked already so we’ll see how it goes.

The Social, London now on e-chair.com

Help your business reach its full potential 1. List your space on e-chair.com 2. Connect with freelancers in your area 3. Profit from filling your empty chairs “e-chair.com has opened the world of chair hire to the 21st century. Fast, efficient and pleasing on the eye - a lot like our members and their clients. Things won't be the same after this!”

Adam Sloan, CEO of MHFED “As a salon owner, the ease of use is what I really love about e-chair.com. Whether you’re booking or letting, the simplicity of e-chair.com makes it a pleasant experience and so much quicker. Everyone will love this!”

Alan Findlay, Owner, Rebel Rebel

Work anytime, anywhere, any place #yourrules

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