A 6 year old kindergartener from Galesburg, IL, recently donated much of her hair to a charity that can use it to help produce wigs for those without hair due to medical reasons.
The inspirational Delaney Pickrel said, “I did it because I thought it would be cute and I wanted to help kids who didn’t have hair.”
Her sister in law, Raylyn, a stylist for 15 years, who works at Glory Days Corner Barber Shop did the honours. The hair will be donated to Children With Hair Loss – a cause that she loves being able to support.
We salute young Delaney for her awesome gesture, and urge you to also support www.childrenwithhairloss.us if you can!
Legendary Sea Cliff, NY barbershop Bart’s has continued to operate, despite plans to close last October.
Owner Joe Mazzeo had announced back in October his plans to close the establishment, with the 78 year old having worked in the shop that his father, Bartolomeo had opened, since the early 1960’s.
Joe Mazzeo
The Coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent lockdown last year actually forced Joe towards ‘a taste’ of retirement ahead of schedule. However he has since reopened, but is still passionate about selling the business to another barber who can take the business on.
Good luck to Joe. Joe is the epitome of what barbers mean to the communities they serve. We salute you Joe!
The UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have decided to move responsibility for the personal care sector (which includes hairdressing, barbering and beauty) into a separate BEIS sector team moving forward.
So why is this important?
Well it should, in theory, put this sector on a level par with other sectors that BEIS looks after.
Many key UK industry figures including the Hair and Barber Council and the National Hair & Beauty Federation have commented that this can be viewed as a major step forward. It will ensure that there is now a department responsible for working with and engaging with the hair and beauty sector.
WE’VE ALL BEEN WISHING AWAY 2020, AND WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT 2021 BRINGS ALL THE THINGS WE MISSED OUT ON LAST YEAR. WE NEED STABILITY, THE RETURN OF CLIENTS TO THE BARBER’S CHAIR, AND UNITY WITHIN THE INDUSTRY.
We are delighted to welcome an esteemed barber to our list of columnists, Robert Rix of The Company of Master Barbers in Southport. Robert comes to us with a wealth of experience, and he will forever stick in my mind from an event I attended when BarberEVO was in its infancy. Surrounded by the young, the flashy and the talented, all eyes were drawn to Robert and his traditional values, his outstanding techniques, and his insight into the business. We are honoured to welcome him to the BarberEVO family.
Robert Rix
In this issue we have pulled together a really strong array of opinions on hair trends for 2021. It seems that longer hair is on the way back and the lockdown has forced prolonged hair growth that is here to stay.
We were all saddened to hear of the death of our friend Sam Wall, and we felt it only right to update our readers on the outstanding response that Sam’s friends pulled out the bag in honour of a much-loved guy. Team Sam Wall have been pounding the streets racking up the miles and raising more than £15,000 for charity. We salute you!
Team Sam Wall
We would also like to mark the passing of the legend, Tony Roberts of Just Gents, in Milton Keynes, a grand master barber, and a wonderful character, we send our thoughts to his family and friends.
Back to the content in this issue and we take a look at the benefits of investing in studio time when it comes to putting together a collection. Kevin Luchmun tells us why opening his own studio has been a game changer. We are also able to bring you exclusive behind the scenes coverage of a fantastic day of shooting by Liam Oakes.
Liam Oakes
Finally, we catch up with Luka Chitty about his ongoing Together Create project which encourages you to think local when sourcing a venue for your next shoot.
Enjoy the read, as always, we’ve enjoyed pulling the issue together and we hope you enjoy it too.
The National Hair & Beauty Federation is warning that the government may have just placed the final nail in the coffin for already struggling salons and barbershops without urgent and targeted financial support. This stark warning comes as the new Tier and Level 4 restrictions are set to cost hair and beauty businesses across the UK more than £124million per week in lost income, killing off many previously profitable businesses, and making thousands of people unemployed. (see table below)
The NHBF Key Industry Statistics 2020 report demonstrates the continued growth of the hair and beauty industry prior to COVID-19. This is in contrast with November NHBF data which indicated 62% of salon owners could not be sure their business would survive until the end of the financial year in April 2021, and almost a third of that number (18%) explicitly sure they would have to close.
The report, compiled in exclusive association with the Local Data Company (LDC), shows that at the beginning of the year barbershops, beauty salons and nail salons were the top three retail categories that saw the highest growth in the UK – above supermarkets, coffee shops, takeaways and pizza shops.
According to the Office for National Statistics there are nearly 45,000 hair and beauty salon businesses in the UK (a rise of over 1,000 since last year), which generated over £8bn in turnover in 2018, up from £7.5bn in 2017.
And the industry had continued to prop up ailing high streets, with hair and beauty businesses pre COVID-19 having higher survival rates after five years than many other sectors, in particular nail salons whose survival rate after five years was 69%.
Richard Lambert, NHBF chief executive said, “The Key Industry Statistics report paints a picture of a strong and growing industry with business survival rates bucking the decline of the high street. It is characterised by a high percentage of female entrepreneurs, supporting young people into careers and its posiive approach to flexible working.
However, this was before the coronavirus pandemic and we know from our recent targeted surveys that the majority of hair and beauty professionals are struggling to recoup their losses from lockdowns, implementing social distancing measures and the costs of increased PPE. Whilst we appreciate these are all necessary, the sector has not received any additional financial support such as those gifted to the arts, the sports sector, leisure or hospitality. Businesses simply cannot continue on this basis and we are continuing our pressure on the government to recognise this. Financial help to salons and professionals during this difficult time will be the only way to ensure the hair and beauty sector can return to where it was at the beginning of 2020.”
Cost per region:
Region
Number of Salons
Lost Revenue Per Week
London
7,015
£16million
South East
5,425
£35million
North East
2,020
£5million
North West
5,425
£17million
East Midlands
2,980
£11million
West Midlands
3,815
£14million
Total England
£98million
Scotland
3,810
£17million
Wales
2,155
£6million
Northern Ireland
1,560
£3million
Total UK
£124million
The full statistical tables are available free to NHBF Members, or for £250 to non-members.
Unfortunately, due to the increased levels of transmission of Covid-19 throughout England, more areas have been placed into Tier 4 restrictions, meaning that more barbershops have unfortunately been forced to close as we welcome the new year.
In an announcement made on 30th December, the UK Government Health Secretary Matt Hancock advised that the entire South-East, large parts of the Midlands, North-East and South West would move into the higher Tier, thus forcing closure of all close contact service businesses.
The full list of locations in Tier 4 can be located here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/full-list-of-local-restriction-tiers-by-area
We hope everyone in the affected areas stays safe and hopefully can successfully return to work and reopen their businesses as soon as possible.
Following a year like no other, Schedulicity have continued to adapt and support the hair and beauty industry. CEO Jerry Nettuno has outlined plans to further support the sector with an incredibly generous pledge for 2021 in a personal letter which can be read below.
We salute Jerry and his incredible team for their relentless support of hair and beauty professionals.
We often say that successful businesses are a sum of their parts.
You know this well. You built your business one client at a time, grew your revenue with every appointment, and proved your passion each and every time you fit someone in last-minute or after-hours.
Schedulicity is a business built on hard work and passion, too. We owe our success to people like you — stylists, barbers, personal trainers, massage therapists, estheticians, yoga instructors, reiki healers, music teachers, chiropractors, nail artists, and every other service provider who’s trusted to simplify their days. You are our community.
Some Thoughts on 2020
None of us could have predicted what came our way last spring, but if there’s one thing we all learned during these unprecedented times, it’s that community means everything. This year, we learned how to ask for help from the people around us and — as important — how to offer it.
That’s why, as soon as we realized that shutdowns were going to profoundly affect our businesses, we knew we needed to throw our resources into supporting you in any way that we could. We waived all our fees through the height of the pandemic (and expanded that period for California businesses). We built our Tip Jar feature to allow clients, family, and friends to tip you even when they couldn’t see you.
We tried to find every chance we could to support our community, to sense when you needed us most, and to be there in whatever way we could. All told, in 2020, we gave service providers $250,000 in aid.
2021: The Year of Service
We’re not done. It’s now my pleasure to end an incredibly difficult year on a high note:
In 2021, we’re pledging to award $250,000 more support to service providers everywhere.
As the world reopens over the next few months, each one of us will have the chance to lift up our communities in countless ways, big and small. Let’s take them. Let’s take them all.
The beautiful thing about service providers is that you support your communities simply by doing what you do. We need you. And that’s why, for Schedulicity, our Year of Service means finding new ways to help you do better work. We’re going to be right there with you as you rebuild, recover, and grow.
Until we’re able to gather together again over dinner tables, at holiday parties, and in our favorite salon waiting rooms, I’m wishing you and yours all my best from Bozeman, Montana. It’s a new year coming, and we’re looking forward to spending more of it with you.
A barber from Giffnock, Scotland, went above and beyond for his clients, by opening his shop on Christmas Day.
Tony Mann’s Barber Shop opened up on December 25th, in order to provide clients the opportunity to get a haircut, prior to the impending Scotland-wide lockdown, which meant that all barbershops would require to close as of Boxing Day.
Owner Tony Mann commented, “I wanted to ensure all my loyal customers looked sharp for the next three weeks,” he said. “They have been good to us since we reopened earlier this year, so it’s one way for me to give back. Christmas Day was really the last day that they can get a haircut. We had a lot of people coming in – those who celebrate Christmas and those who don’t. It was humbling to see them before we shut.”
All barbershops in Scotland have now closed due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, with a minimum closure period of three weeks, subject to review in due course.
Ivan Zoot has published his new book, The Professional Haircutter’s Pricing Playbook.
How much should you charge for your haircuts?
When should you raise your haircut price?
How do you raise your haircut price?
In this new book, Ivan provides clear and actionable answers to these and other haircut pricing questions.
This unique workbook format lets you plug-and-play your pricing numbers, creating custom data and planning that is specific to your business. It is like having your own personal coaching session every time you pick up the book.
You can refer back to the book time and time again. Plugging in updated statistics lets you make the next round of pricing decisions with accuracy and confidence. The book grows with you as you build business.
________________
What people are saying about Ivan’s pricing coaching and support:
“Ivan’s coaching on pricing is always spot-on. I have made a lot more money by taking his pricing advice.” – KW, Illinois
“Pricing issues scare me. Ivan makes the process of setting and increasing haircut prices logical and comfortable. I feel way better about it.” – TB, North Carolina
_________________
Books are available on the ivanzoot.com website or at amazon.com.
Copies for media inspection (digital pdf) are available upon request.
For more information contact Ivan Zoot at ivanzoot@yahoo.com or call 224.234.4987.
Fancy a haircut at 3am? Well, thanks to Edinburgh based salon Stag Barber Co , you can do just that – and all for an amazing cause.
Earlier this month gender-free salon Stag shared the heart-breaking story of their team member Nicole, who suffered the loss of her child at 29 weeks.
On the 23rd of December, owner of Stag, Murray McRae, will be cutting hair for 24-hours straight, with all profits going towards SIMba, a baby loss charity whose memory box helped Nicole and her partner Jordan during their difficult time.
Murray will be standing on the spot, scissors flying from 08.30am on Wednesday all the way through to 08.30am on Christmas Eve.
The salon team came up with the idea after their plan to give £1 from every December appointment to SIMba has been cut short by the impending lockdown.
“2020 has felt like a marathon as it is,” said owner Murray McRae,
“We heard about salons and barbershops in London working round the clock to get clients in before lockdown. So we thought why not do something similar – but for a good cause.
“SIMba was an unbelievable help to our Nicole when she lost her first child Isaac. To commemorate his birth, and to celebrate the birth of her daughter Iva, born almost a year to the date after the loss, we wanted to give her this Christmas gift.”
Haircuts will be the usual price with all ‘after-hours’ profits going to SiMBA. In-house coffee shop Stag Espresso will be on hand with free coffee to fuel Murray and his early hours customers through the trims. Murray will be in full marathon running wear complete with sweat bands etc on the day and throughout the night.
Barbers and hairdressers in Scotland are required to close their doors for three weeks from Boxing Day following the announcement of the country’s post-Christmas Day full lockdown.
