The long and the short of it

This week was Premiere, Birmingham, AL. The show season looks to be very similar to this past spring. While I am busy working on making hair shorter there is a lot of emphasis on the show floor on making hair longer. Hair additions, extensions weaves and wigs continue to take up a lot of space on the floor. Andis and I are even in the game to the extent that the NEW Lola and Ruby textureizing guide combs set have 2 cutter guards that are ideally suited to blaending extensions into natural hair. The big guys on the liquid side are either noticeably absent or just small and quiet. Small to mid sized, B, C, or even D brands are getting attention. There was a booth from a little liquid company I have never heard of at the end of an aisle where two guys were demo cutting. The floor was ankle deep in hair and the crowd was twelve deep in spectators. And, sorry to say it guys, but these guys were nobody. With so many shops dissatisfied with the big boys, it is easy for the little guys to make a very powerful connection with stylists. I think the industry is ripe for a relevant C or a D brand to make a big push to the forefront.
Clipper cutting continues to rock. My classes were full. I shared a classroom with the guys from barbers only magazine and they presented some great programming too. I had to give them my T-Outliner when the day was done. I saw one of their T-outs was old, beaten up and held together with tape. I was kidding the guy about it. He would not part with it, though as he said it is a good old friend and special to him. It is great to see and hear that kind of passion for Andis tools. My flat top demo drew the expected largest crowd of the weekend. The 4 minute fade is fast becoming an attendee favorite too. The reverse blend taper cut is still my signature class. It is a good thing that audiences love it because it is likely my favorite thing to demo as well, so I will likely be sharing it for years to come.