Editors Letter

editor’s letter

BLINK, WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR ALREADY, HOW YOU! DOIN’?

The challenges have been many, but I can see that for most of you, you have risen above, and, while it may not be completely business-as-usual for you all, your resilience is making your business model adaptations prosper, and you should all be recognised for that, well done!

As promised, leading closer to our inaugural Australian Modern Barber Awards this November, this issue is jam packed with insights, advise and tips on how to approach a shoot to document your work, to help you get motivated to prepare and submit a body of your work in the form of a ‘Collection’ or ‘Story’ in the AMBA’s. Kudos to those who are entering Business categories and to all of you who are putting themselves out there to be judged by your peers. The Best of Luck to You All!

We are all creatives, and we all have our own approach to our work. The vision in our mind on how we would like to translate that idea to images that we can share to others, can be the tricky piece, but it doesn’t have to be a wall. Embrace it as another creative challenge. We have a selection of work from a very gifted artist, Abbas Amardifard. Please, marvel at his craft, it may not tick everyone’s boxes, but read his story and then have another look.

In this issue, we have 1 subject and 2 creatives who have 2 very different ways of approaching documenting your work in photographs.

Some of you may not have access or the opportunity to enlist the help of a photographer. For that, I called upon our USA Correspondent and 2 x US Barber of the Year Sofie Pok AKA Staygold to share her approach. One day, Sofie picked up the camera and started shooting her work herself, now, she can’t see it any other way. It’s opened new ways of looking at her work creatively, but it has also brought with it new challenges. Sofie is an amazing creative, and her article is inspiring. We shine a light in this issue on Rhia ‘Rebel’ Moulds of Little Rebel Barber Shops Melbourne, and we are treated to some images of her work which I am truly a major fan of. Also, we go to Gympie, Queensland, to meet Lady Memphis and Memphis Barbers. A barber shop gaining as much notoriety in regional Queensland as some of its famous tourist attractions.

Australian Correspondent Ash Weller wraps up his experience at The Hot Shots House in Melbourne with captivating images and a story to match and we talk to Melbourne’s Celebrity Barber Frank Ciccone who just took out International Barber of the Year at this year’s UK SMHB Awards.

Let’s go the other way, some creatives would never dream of not using a photographer, our EU Correspondent Robert Van Rietveld AKA Bertus of Schorem Barbier Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is one of them. Not for any other reason than (on being the Photographer) “it just doesn’t get my creative juices going” says Rob, who shares his thoughts on documenting a body/series of his work; a “Story”, the word Rob prefers to describe over the term ‘Collection’, and shares on how to trust other professionals in the room, even though it’s your creative vision. We also get an ‘exclusive to BarberShop!’ One of Rob’s signature ‘9 looks-1 model’ shoot! A most hilarious, entertaining and informative interview with Rob. for the Men’s Hair Specialist Category for the AHIA CREATIVE on display for your consideration, see if you can pick the winner!

There is so much more within in these pages I haven’t even touched on; business tips, new products and gear, if you haven’t noticed. Last issue we increased in size to meet the growth of this exciting industry and you can certainly expect more from us in the future; more from this industry of choice, which industry experts say, will be worth annually 81 Billion Dollars by 2024. (source Statista USA)

There has never been a more exciting time to be Barber!! This is issue 10/2 Enjoy!!

Rex Silver