Editors Letter

We bring you barbershop magazine from the lands of the Kabi Kabi and Yugambeh peoples. A very warm greeting to you one and all wherever you are reading us.

This issue was very interesting to put together, very interesting indeed. From the streets of Melbourne to the mountains of Colorado, the windy streets of Chicago to even windier streets of Glasgow, Scotland and back to the rainy streets of Brisbane’s CBD South Side district.

Something is happening, conversation topics are different…

We are getting on with it, we are pushing through, not just that, but we are bursting out with a new enthusiasm to move forward. Maybe it’s pent-up energy from the last 2 years maybe it’s time to get everything out there that’s been on hold for so long.

Whatever it is, it’s good, its positive energy being put out to the barberverse. I am feeling a shift, a shift in what we may need right now, and what we can use as inspiration and guidance to get us all safely to the other side.

Spiritly…sure, why not… but more importantly, the thread that binds us all together and that’s the love of barbering, and the need to protect our barber businesses to ensure we can sustain our businesses successfully along the road back to normality and keep the doors open.

Education, education, education…

Been seeing L3VEL3 everywhere? Their marketing imagery is off tap, we tracked down one of their guest artists and barber influencer super star LOS_CUT_IT for a chat, and a look at his art.

We stay in the States and meet John Carmona aka TITAN Barber, a member of the Wahl Creative Touring Team then we head to Scotland to meet a barber I have been admiring of late for his highly disciplined approach to cutting and that is Mr Simon Harvey.

I’m feeling it… and I’m going to be bringing more educational pieces to you and not just hair related, business advise and tips from some big experts in the coming issues will be increasing too. Let’s start this now with a masterclass in customer service from Mario Fallace, owner of New York Barbers Melbourne and winner of the 2021 AMBA Best Barber Shop Business.

There’s a lot to unpack this issue we have covered some ground that’s for sure, but what’s interesting, if you are reading these interviews that I do with these amazing artists in the pages of barbershop from both here in Australia, and from around the world…. and that is the homage they pay to a classic and disciplined background in the craft of hairdressing and especially, hair cutting on their journey to where they are now- no short cuts, they all are grateful they did the long hard yards.

We have a break away approach from last year’s format in that we will not be following international correspondents for a year, this year, we will be covering big names for sure, always, but there’s too much going on. We will be front and centre at all the big shows and Awards, and all the big launches cause’ it’s all on! And there’s so much good stuff comin’.

The correspondent feature is not totally dead, I couldn’t think of anything more interesting than following Australia’s busiest educator for a year so let’s do it. Fraser Forsey winner of the 2021 AMBA Best Barber Educator will take us the road with him, and his schedule is brutal, welcome Fraser our Aus. correspondent for 22’. Back home we chat to one of Melbourne’s busiest operators LAURE and visit one of the countries oldest and most established barber barbershop businesses, Luigi and Son’s on the Gold Coast.

How do you win a competition? Easy, you ask the winners how they do it! We get 3 top winners from the 2021 Australian Modern Barber Awards and ask them about how they go about it… and they tell us!

All the regular contributors are here, and some new, Health, Business, Insights… New Stuff… I hope you find it thought provoking, interesting, and entertaining, is all that and a bag of chips, it’s a goddamn party mix…

It’s issue 11.1 enjoy!!

Rex A.C. Silver

Editor – Barbershop

@rex.a.c.silver