For over ten years, Erik Zaiatz, owner of the two locations of Bostonian Barber Shop, has been trying to buy the space at 500 Liberty St. in Hanson, where his grandfather Don Botieri had run his barbershop for decades.
Finally, when the location re-emerged on the market a few weeks ago, Zaiatz saw the chance to buy the space, as a way of keeping his grandfather’s legacy alive. “I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to open there,” he said.
Botieri, a Hanson native, ran Don’s Barbershop from 1950 up until 2008, and passed away a year after his retirement. A staple in the Hanson community, Botieri was known as “Mr. Hanson,” and even has a ballfield in town named for him.
For Zaiatz, most of his childhood was spent in Don’s Barbershop, either getting his own hair cut, or just hanging around after school. All this time spent with his grandfather inspired Zaiatz to get into the barbering industry himself. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be in this industry,” he said.
When he set up to open his first shop, Zaiatz teamed up with his sister Kayla and best friend Matt Penardi, who are both master barbers.
As his third location, Zaiatz made an effort to pay homage to Don’s, in terms of both style and services. With a traditional barbershop feel and design, the now Bostonian Barbershop, offers all the same old school styles and services, such as hot towels, and straight razor shaves.
Now, some of Boteiri’s former clients have returned to the Hanson location, to get their hair cut by their former barber’s grandkids.
Barbers in London are being trained to test the blood of customers to help combat high blood pressure.
Run by London South Bank University, the project was set out in order to raise awareness of high blood pressure, specifically in Black and Asian men, who are statistically more likely to have undiagnosed high blood pressure.
So far, eight barbershops in South London, Croydon, Mitcham, Thornton Heath, Bromley and South Norwood, have signed up to provide on-the-spot checks for customers, which began on Monday.
The idea came from a similar project that took place in Los Angeles between 2016 and 2018. The US project ran from 2016 to 2018 and 68% of people found to have high blood pressure ended the study with healthy levels.
High blood pressure affects more than one in four adults in England, accounts for more than one in 10 visits to GPs and contributes to 75,000 deaths every year – but millions of people are thought to go undiagnosed.
Hugh Benain, from Finishing Touches in Mitcham, said the project could help save lives.
“We’ll be offering our customers on-the-spot blood pressure tests and health information for them to take away,” he said.
“High blood pressure is a silent killer and providing tests and information from our barbershop could save lives.”
Nicola Thomas, an LSBU professor, said: “Sadly, millions of adults in the UK have high blood pressure and half are undiagnosed which can lead to strokes or heart attacks.
“It is the trusting relationship that customers have with their barbers that is so important – we need to take healthcare out into the community.”
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This year’s challenge will consist of individual in-country judging panels to select their national winner, who will then move forward to participate in the Global competition. For the first time ever, a student edition of the competition will also be hosted in the US.
The Global Committee will then name (5) top competitors as the All-Star Challenge 2021 Winners. A Local Committee will select the student winner.
Looking for inspiration? Want to find out how to enter?
The NHBF is calling
for a prolonged period of stability in order for hair & beauty businesses
have a fighting chance of recovery, following the results of its latest State
of the Industry survey.
The
sector remains divided about the future with 46% of respondents unsure if their
business will survive until the end of social distancing. Under the
requirements in place prior to the most recent lockdown (Nov/Dec 2020):
Almost 1 in 4 salons (23%) were not earning enough to cover outgoings such as rents, overheads, staff costs and stock etc.
38 per cent were just about breaking even.
only 2 in 5 of businesses across the entire hair and beauty sector were making any kind of profit.
Throughout
the pandemic, the NHBF, working with partners in the sector, was able to secure
further reliefs and financial support for personal care businesses in each of
the four nations. Despite this, fixed outgoings and a lack of ability to
diversify and generate income during lockdown has left businesses with no cash
reserves, growing debt, and at the brink of closure. In fact, Local Data
Company statistics indicate that ten per cent of the industry had been lost to
the crisis by December.
Successive lockdown closures have also had a dramatic impact on
employment:
1 in 6 business owners (16 per cent) have made redundancies as a result of the pandemic, with only 2 in 5 able to rule out further redundancies when furlough ends.
59 per cent have cut staff hours in order to save costs.
More than half of businesses have had to cut apprenticeships during the pandemic (55 per cent).
Only 11 per cent are likely to take on new apprentices in next three months, despite recent government incentives.
Richard Lambert, NHBF chief executive, says: “Financial stability will be the key to returning to profit and stability. Hopefully most hair & beauty businesses who have been able to return to work in the last few weeks will have enjoyed record income. However, they need the chance to get their head above water. As things stand, they’ll have to start repaying rent arrears and the debts and loans accrued over the last year just when business rates relief and furlough come to an end.
“Tackling this tsunami of financial obligations under long term social distancing requirements will scotch any chance for the industry to be profitable. It will be even less likely that businesses will have the resources, capacity or financial ability to take on or keep apprentices, putting the future skills of the sector in real jeopardy.”
The NHBF recommends that the most beneficial
policy measures over the next six months would be:
Social distancing measures and operational restrictions within close-contact guidance should be phased out as soon as it is safe to do so if the sector is to return to profit.
A temporary reduction in VAT
Easier access to support grants should businesses struggle to recover
An extension to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) should the economy have failed to recover after September.
As featured in the April edition of BarberEVO North America
Looking to rewrite the standards of grooming and fuelled by the knowledge and artistry from leading barbers, the STMNT brand looks to go beyond the product. We caught up with the co-creators of STMNT to find out a little more about what their brand has to offer.
The STMNT brand is a product of the collaboration between some of the industry’s most innovative and cutting-edge artists: LA based, Julius Cvesar and Sofie Pok, as well as Miguel Gutierrez aka Nomad, from Liverpool, UK. Between the three, they have more than 50 years’ experience in the barbering industry, as well as a wealth of knowledge in hair education, visual arts, fashion and editorial.
We asked the group, how did STMNT come to be?
Miguel said: “STMNT was born out of a vision between three creators who all hold the same standards yet have completely different styles to add into the mix. We originally got started after being approached and slowly realized a dream team was being created, that’s when we all got onboard and decided to fully immerse ourselves into developed the brand to what it’s become. Our whole direction was to become a grooming brand that was performance driven, bold and premium in packaging, fragrance and ingredients.”
Talking to the team, it is so clear how well the three get along and fit together creatively. Julius said: “I believe we were specifically chosen to co-create STMNT because of our multi-faceted roles as not only leaders within our industry, but with the already diverse background in visual arts, film, photography, fashion, and education. We all are still active barbering professionals with clientele in our chairs, yet we’ve truly brought a whole new perspective to being a well-rounded image consultant. I believe my connection to raw imagery inspired by metropolis cityscape and brutalism, alongside my visual delivery that takes a lot from my genuine love for art and fashion made me a standout artist to collaborate with my two fellow co-creators.”
So, what makes STMNT stand out amongst the crowd?
“The beautiful thing about STMNT is that it can work for the girl on-the-go, the guy getting ready for a formal event, the couple at the gym, or the family on vacation. STMNT promotes individuality and acceptance. Barbering has been known as a male dominated field, but we knew how important it was to build a brand that would serve the stylists, cosmetologists, and barbers all the same” says Sofie.
Miguel added that the brand is completely gender neutral, and all of their products are cocktail-able: “We are truly set far above any barber brand in my view for versatility and range of types of product.”
In terms of creative process, unlike other brands that just stick a well-known name to a product, the STMNT creators were involved in every part of the process.
Julius continued, “In creating STMNT, it was important that myself, Sofie, and Miguel as the professional co-creators not only put our combined knowledge and expertise to use in creating the line, but truly worked in unison with our brand development team’s strength to bring the line to full fruition. The storytelling and vision had to be vividly clear across the board with every department.”
The question on everyone’s minds? What statement are they aiming to make?
“STMNT is bold, it is demanding, and it’s the definition of how we all choose to live our lives. We hope to inspire others to find their purpose and share their gifts with the world and to get specific! Stand up for who you are and the changes you are trying to make” said Sofie.
“We are really aiming to rewrite the standards of men’s grooming” adds Miguel. “The industry has been and will always be in a transition state from one thing to the next, but I believe what we’ve created will live on way beyond any other trends currently out there.”
“When co-creating STMNT, one message (or statement) I really wanted to purvey is that being a barber is more than just a hair service – we are so much more. These products were developed with not only acknowledging the core essentials in product styling with the line, but also innovated new iterations of product attributes that can notably be standout to professionals and clients alike. Bridging the gap between Barbering and Salon ecosystems, the acknowledgement of gender-neutral aesthetics, and a focus on professional grade to lifestyle driven performance were all key points in making our statement.”
To find out more, read about STMNT in our April edition of BarberEVO North America or go to https://www.stmntgrooming.us/
Reece (aka @blufadez) started his career in barbering five years ago now and is determined to further his career by moving on to bigger things in the United States.
Reece grew up in the salon environment and wasn’t sure if it was the career for him, at first: “I had been in the salon my whole life! So, I went to college to study media, but in the end, I knew that barbering was my true calling, as it naturally suited me in every way.”
But ever since Reece started in the industry, he says it has been like an addiction: “It’s never felt like work to me because I’m so dedicated to becoming the best that I can, and that’s never ending. Even times when it’s been a little hard, I still enjoy it, if anything I enjoy it more. I’ve grown my client base quite large in a short space of time and I’ve only just started!”
For Reece, the best part of barbering is the feeling it gives you, and the importance behind every cut: “Giving somebody a good cut can be life changing for them, and there’s no better feeling than a client genuinely liking their cut and telling you it’s the best cut they’ve ever had! A barber can be very important in a person’s life, and it’s nice to know people are choosing you to cut their hair. I think that’s a part of the reason improving your cuts is so addictive, you almost feel like you owe it to your clients. It’s such a skilful art, with a lot of variants, so we need to make sure we’re always on our best game. Being consistently able to give perfect haircuts is what we all aim for, and that’s the best part about it. We’re a big part of communities, we’re barbers, therapists, style coaches, advisers and friends all in one.”
But now, Reece feels the need to grow beyond his home boundaries and is determined that the next step in his journey will be America.
“I’ve always wanted to live there,” he said. “But I kind of gave up after becoming a barber as I thought it wasn’t possible. But within six years, I’ve been offered a job in Houston, Texas, by someone who is one of my heroes, and who I personally think is the best barber in the industry (@smashthalegend). The reason why I want to be in America is because of my dedication to progressing, and I just want to be on the front line of my trade.”
For Reece, although he sees the barbering culture in England as progressive and influential, it still hasn’t quite caught up to where it is at in the USA: “Everything starts there, and I just feel like they take it more serious out there and I know that’s where I need to be. I hope to be in an environment where I can work to my full potential and more.”
We asked Reece if he had any long-term goals for once he reached America. But for Reece, it’s about focusing on one goal at a time: “I never look too far ahead I always just go with what I think is the next step for me. If it’s coming back to the UK or staying out in America and continuing my career there, I don’t mind. I just know want to become among the best in the industry. As long as I’m at the best place to progress and achieve.”
As featured in the April edition of BarberEVO North America
American Crew® has introduced The 2021 Collection: HQ, a trend offering that takes old-school barber techniques to new heights.
This new collection features techniques that fuse clean editorial silhouettes with dramatic, exaggerated shapes. HQ, short for Height Quotient, is inspired by the military crew cut while paying homage to the nineties film and music eras.
Embodying the perfect harmony between austere aesthetics and solid fundamentals, the curated program consists of six cuts and offers styling options for various hair densities and textures. With a focus on tapered barbered fades, HQ capitalizes on height as a level for disciplines and diverse creative expressions.
“Men’s style is constantly evolving. By taking a step back from the meticulously groomed look, we are seeing a resurgence of dynamic shapes and texture — and our HQ Collection celebrates just that,” said American Crew Founder David Raccuglia, “HQ is a bold barber-centric collection that allows stylists to adapt any texture or type of hair to achieve the style their client desires. I absolutely love the fact that the shape of a haircut can cross into so many cultures.”
David continued: “Needless to say, our industry has been hit hard by the pandemic with the closures of barbershops, salons and schools. It’s been a challenging year for the Pro community, but their strength and resilience hasn’t kept them down. While their businesses have been shut, they’ve applied themselves to further their learning and precise their techniques – they really are some of the hardest working people out there! As a team, we knew we had to get creative and pivot our educational strategy to support the Pro when they need it the most and HQ has been our creative vehicle for that. We are offering a plethora of digital education with HQ so this is an incredible and very versatile collection that stylists and barbers around the world can utilize to learn new techniques.”
YAH YAH
Highlighting Yah Yah’s incredible texture, this cut features a strong square and tall technical shape throughout the front whilst focusing on a curved silhouette and a blown out, non-textured finish. The razor fade exaggerates a clean blend of skin to hair in the perimeter for strength and scalp exposure.
Product used: American Crew® Ultra Gliding Shave Oil, Lather Shave Cream, Revitalizing Toner and Prep & Prime Tonic.
ANDREI
Andrei’s silhouette driven cut is a 90’s movies styling journey. Inspired by iconic looks featured in Rocky and Top Gun, and utilizing American Crew Boost Powder for extra volume, the hair is styled using an upward momentum to create the dramatic shape.
Products used: American Crew® Prep & Prime Tonic and Boost Powder.
VIN
Vin’s structure contains a concave interior to recreate an editorial version of the traditional 50’s flat top. The strong silhouette helps build the exterior, exaggerating the clipper over comb enhanced interior, while the texture and separation results in a structured yet broken finish.
Products used: American Crew® Prep & Prime Tonic, Firm Hold Gel and Molding Clay.
With both bars and barbershops back open today, April 12, one brand-new barbershop is taking the pressure off decision making, by offering fresh pints while clients get their post-lockdown cuts.
As of today, April 12, Head Quarters Barbers & Beverages are opening three brand-new shops in Bishop Auckland, Darlington and Middlesbrough.
Wanting to create a traditional barbershop with a modern twist, owner Mike Racz said: “Our mission is to bring one of the oldest professions into the 21st Century.
“We’re introducing new technology across the board from booking systems to the shop floor.”
Booking is available via their app, with live waiting times – so customers know when the next barber is free.
The stunning shop interior features traditional personalised barber chairs from REM as well as have a complete self-serve bar.
So far, some of the first customers of HQ today have been Ben Houchen, Mayor of Tees Valley, Glenn McCrory, former IBF World Cruiserweight Champion, and Leo Percovich Middlesbrough FC Coach.
Richard Bland, HQ managing director, a former director and shareholder of the well-known SAKS Franchise chain, said: “When I heard about this new business idea, I knew I had to be part of it. We’ve had a lot of fun – mixed with a lot of hard work – to perfect what we want to be an exciting change to the way barbers are run.
“Hairdressing has been hit really hard by Covid. We are thrilled to be able to offer 30 jobs across our first three salons. We will also be offering conversion courses for hairdressers wishing to work for HQ – working for us will be a career, not just a job.”
The time has now come for one voice to represent the many industry professionals from all parts of the hair, barber, beauty and nail sector joining together, working together for the betterment of the sector. The British Hair & Beauty Collective is finally here!
Hairdressers, Barbers & Beauty professionals across the UK have been calling for the fragmented personal care sector to be fully represented for many years. More recently, the Coronavirus pandemic exposed the weaknesses in the industry exposing fault lines that have been with us for so many years.
The Government have now recognised the need for the Personal Care Sector to be given their own department within the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) team to help with the many issues surrounding Covid-19, compliance and more moving forward.
Therefore, The Hair & Barber Council along with Salon Owners United have formed a collaboration and are now delighted to launch ‘The British Hair & Beauty Collective’ – a much needed unification and collaboration with one voice representing all in the sector, able to talk to Government directly as one collective and giving us a clear strategy for the future.
Applications to join the ‘Collective’ will follow shortly.
Keith Conniford, Registrar and CEO of The Hairdressing Council, trading as The Hair and Barber Council: “The fragmentation of our sector has been an issue for many decades, one of the main reasons successive Governments have never taken our industry seriously. Very sad to say, this situation is becoming worse instead of better, and unless things change we will never be taken seriously or regarded as the professional industry we truly are. With the launch of this totally inclusive and equally represented Collective, we have a real chance to make a make a significant difference that will change the perception of our industry for generations to come.
Collette Osborne, founder of Salon Owners United said: “As a salon owner who employs many hair and beauty professionals and like many other salons, we feel there are far too many voices claiming to represent us, which can be very confusing. This has been exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic and the many challenges that now follow, so it’s now time for us to be represented by those working in the industry for the industry. I am personally delighted that this much awaited change has finally come which will help to calm the confusion and build a more inclusive and supported industry”
Good news at last from the UK Government as Boris Johnson has announced that hairdressers and barbers in England will reopen on Monday, 12 April, following on from Scottish barbershops opening their doors on Monday 5th April.
People who offer close-contact services in the home – such as mobile hairdressers and massage therapists – will also be able to return to work, but must follow government guidance.
Hairdressers in Wales have reopened for pre-booked appointment only, All close-contact services will also re-open from 12th April. As yet, Northern Ireland has not set a date for these services to re-open, however a review will take place on Thursday, 15th April.
