There is some much-needed light relief to be had with Fudge Professional’s second social media miniseries called ‘In Near the Chair’. The YouTube show is hosted by Fudge Professional Global Brand Ambassador, Jonathan Andrews, and the series was created to explore the relationship between a hairdresser and their client.

“Our first episode with Jamie Laing was a great success and when we launched it at the beginning of lockdown, it went down really well. This episode is continuing the theme about the hairdresser and client relationship and once you sit down in that chair, all caution is out the window, and you end up spilling all your secrets, hopes, fears and dreams to the stylist through the mirror in front of you. This time, I’m cutting the hair of TOWIE legend, Pete Wicks and once again, creating excellent TV watching,” explains Jonathan. 

The Fudge Professional series of ‘In the Chair’ is all about putting famous faces in the hot seat and asking the questions the public wants to know the answers to – this time Pete Wicks is the man in the chair. “Pete is renowned for his long hair. He hadn’t had it cut for 10 months and it wasn’t really his crowning glory anymore. It was definitely time to tackle it with the scissors,” continues Jonathan. 

Creating that tousled look that Pete wears so well takes a little bit of work using the right products to create the natural style that he loves. This was the perfect time for Jonathan to explain to Pete exactly how to use Fudge Professional products in the right way to keep his hair in great condition and sitting exactly how he likes it both during the day and into the evening. 

The 20-minute filmed interview was shot in Covid secure conditions that meant not only did the guys don full PPE (Pete was not chuffed with the hazmat suit), but Pete was encouraged to style his own hair using Fudge Professional products. The interview is brilliant viewing with lots of focus on Pete’s serial dating love life, a nod to his new knee-high cowboy boots, his number one fan (spoiler alert… it’s his Mum) how his long hair was a fingers up to those telling him his hair was receding, and that social media haters don’t phase him one bit. 

As part of the new ‘Fudge the Rules’ brand ethos, where whatever the world does, Fudge does differently, Pete certainly steps up to the plate with his chequered past and workaholic mindset. “Pete was so easy to chat to, and it was great he was up for a real hair change. I took off six inches and it took him back to his early days on TOWIE, even he admitted the health and feel of his hair was so much better. He dubbed it Preppy Pete! Due to social distancing and filming, plus Pete’s admittance he has no clue how to style his hair, I decided to get Pete to do his own styling, so he knew how to do it at home. We worked with his favourite Fudge Professional Salt Spray and I also introduced him to the new Fudge Professional Matte Hed Mouldable to work with his natural curls and texture,” says Jonathan. 

The last word went to Pete in the video: “I’ll be honest, when I came in this morning, I wasn’t feeling too chirpy. I didn’t really trust you (Jonathan) and then you put me in a hazmat suit! It was all looking like a car crash.  I’m now sitting here, and I’ve got the perfect hair, using the perfect product, with the perfect hairdresser.” You can’t ask for more than that.

Click the link below to watch the series: 

Just two weeks after launching the first business in the Art.Quarter complex, Art.Barbers have had to close its doors until December 2nd following the government’s latest lockdown measures.

After putting years of work into creating not only an iconic venue for Birmingham but the whole of the UK, Jordan Patel opens up raw and uncut in his latest video update, sharing his true worries and fears about the impact Lockdown 2.0 is going to have on his brand.

This video captures the true, intense, and raw feelings of Patel as he transparently discusses his next steps to the Art.Quarter build and how his faith and positivity is his coping mechanism during these unpredictable and testing times.

Art.Quarter is set to become a UK tourist destination as well as a true icon for Birmingham. Promising a safe place for all communities and encouraging creatives, Jordan is building this unique venue to create unity and equality in a city that he feels, still very much suffers from segmentation with backgrounds and religions.

The latest vlog can be viewed below.

Set to launch Spring 2021, the Art.Quarter will be first of it’s kind.

Please visit: https://www.artquarteruk.co.uk for more details.

Normally there’s a real sense of excitement and anticipation as we collect (and launch) each new edition of BarberEVO.

It’s the culmination of all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears – not just from our team producing the publication, but more importantly, from the people we feature, those we are inspired by, and those who provide insight and guidance for so many in the industry.

Our November edition was to be no different.

However, with the tragic news of the passing of our friend Sam Wall, we hope that this edition, which features Sam and several of his closest friends and industry peers doing what they do best, can in some small way, provide the kind of fitting tribute that Sam deserves.

This one really and truly is for you Sam.

Love from Andrew, David and the BarberEVO team.

The Chief Executive of the National Hair and Beauty Federation, Hilary Hall, has announced her retirement.

In post since 2013, Hilary stayed on during the coronavirus pandemic , as she had originally shared her decision with the NHBF board earlier in 2020.

Hilary commented, “I have loved every minute of my time with the NHBF and working in this wonderful industry. I’d like to thank Ian Egerton, NHBF President, and the rest of the NHBF Board who have helped to steer us in the right direction, making sure that everything we do is in the very best interest of members.”

Richard Lambert is the new CEO, having joined from the National Landlords Association. Upon taking up the new role, Richard said, “I am thrilled to be appointed as Chief Executive for the National Hair & Beauty Federation and look forward to working with such a vibrant, forward-thinking industry,” comments Richard. “I’m committed to understanding our Members and their concerns, shaping the organisation’s services and communications to support them and creating an open, empowered culture from which we will continue to lobby government for change.”

We thank Hilary for her sterling efforts and wish Richard the very best of luck in the new role.

Following the decision by the Northern Ireland Executive that all close-contact service businesses such as barbershops and salons were required to close until November 13th, a group of Belfast barbers have sought legal advice on available options.

Sean Lawlor (pictured) of Cambridge Barbershop, Andrew Kavanagh of Camlough Barbers, David Lutton of The Corner Barbershop, and Padraig McShane of Cut N Edge have teamed up and hired Phoenix Law to engage with the Executive, particularly around the decision making process that led to the return of such strong restrictions on their businesses.

The group of barbers have raised concerns about how Government ministers have interpreted scientific advice, with the result being an enforced lockdown of their businesses, despite no hard evidence to suggest that barbershops or salons are areas of high transmission of Covid-19.

We wish the barbers involved every success, and hope that, most importantly, their businesses can get back on an even-kilter sooner rather than later.

The six finalists have been announced for this year’s prestigious Wahl Professional UK British Barber of the Year. 

In the line-up are: 

Kyle Rowland – @bk_barber_

Kilian Maddison – @ Amigos_barbers

Dale Hince – @dalehince

Guray Kesman – @guraykesman

Shaun Buckingham – @shaun_fgman

Luka Chitty – @lukasbarbers

There will be a live announcement of the winners mid-November, and we wish all the finalists the best of luck. 

The six finalists for this year’s prestigious Wahl British Barbershop of the Year have also been announced.  

The six finalists are:

Ruffians, Shoreditch @ruffians

Andy’s Barbers Bicester, Oxfordshire @andysbarbers_bicester

Avanzato Grooming Lounge, London @avanzato_grooming_lounge

BiberianGray, Cheltenham @BiberianGray

Cutters Yard, London @cuttersyard

R.W. Wolf Barbers, London @rwwolfbarbers

There will be a live announcement of the winners mid-November, and we wish all the finalists the best of luck. 

OSMO®, a leading collection of professional colour, care and styling products, have launched a series of unique training courses in the UK designed to aid stylists and barbers to give them the power and confidence to create.

Full course details are listed below:

Wild About Colour
For all colourists wanting to develop their advanced colouring and vivid colour techniques with OSMO IKON® Color Psycho and Colour Revive.
Date: 12th October 2020
Place: Wilkins & Stroud Hair & Beauty, Unit 1, Newport South Business Park, Middlesborough, TS1 5QN
Price: £25

https://osmo.uk.com/education/training-courses/course/wild-about-colour

Colour Discovery
For beginner colourists wanting to gain greater confidence using OSMO IKON® permanent hair colours.
Date: 13th October 2020
Place: Wilkins & Stroud Hair & Beauty, Unit 1, Newport South Business Park, Middlesborough, TS1 5QN
Price: £25

https://www.osmo.uk.com/education/training-courses/course/colour-techniques

Colour Techniques
For all colourists to continue mastering modern colouring techniques and personalised finishes.
Date: 25th October 2020
Place: Hair & Beauty Supplies, Unit 11, 31 Coatbank St, Coatbridge, ML5 3SP
Price: £25

https://www.osmo.uk.com/education/training-courses/course/colour-techniques

Colour Correction
For experienced colourists to gain understanding of performing corrective hair assessment.
Date: 26th October 2020
Place: Wilkins & Stroud Hair & Beauty, Unit 1, Newport South Business Park, Middlesborough, TS1 5QN
Price: £25 

https://www.osmo.uk.com/education/training-courses/course/colour-correction

It’s a new series of free online training classes to provide Shortcuts software users with an in-depth review of Shortcut’s features.

Key topic areas include: Essential reporting, advanced appointments, client management, and employee management.

Attendance is unlimited, and viewers can engage with Shortcut’s representatives to ask questions and interact.

Details on registration can be found here.

A cutting-edge first phase of Digbeth’s new lifestyle complex is to open mid-October, powered by barber appointment booking software, Booksy.

BOOKSY UK is excited to announce the partnership with art.barbers – the first element of an innovative lifestyle complex, art.quarter, to launch – on the 16th of October 2020 in Digbeth, Birmingham. art.barbers will offer the highest quality barbering to men in Birmingham, whilst utilising Booksy’s health and beauty appointment booking system, with a plethora of COVID-conscious features to provide the ultimate barber shop experience.

“Booksy UK is proud to partner with art.quarter for the innovative launch of their first phase opening, art.barbers. Going to the barbers is no longer just popping in for a quick trim – it’s an important, imperative part of the modern man’s lifestyle. The overall client experience from seamless multi-channel booking, right through to post-appointment engagement has to be carefully considered to set a business apart from the rest – every step of the client’s experience counts.

Now when a visit out of the house is a much more considered trip, our end
users are looking for every opportunity to enjoy themselves in the safest
possible way – which is exactly what art.barber will offer. Clients want to immerse themselves in a stylish, unique environment that reflects the high level of skill sets from the team members, as well as being confident that the venue has their safety in mind with plenty of COVID-19 precautions in place, so both clients and barbers will have true peace of mind knowing they have taken every precaution to make safety a priority”, say Megan Mackie, UK Marketing Manager, Booksy UK.

art.quarter’s founder, Jordan Patel, expressed his excitement about the
opening, saying, “It’s great to be able to offer a beacon of hope in these
extremely trying times for the city. Coronavirus has had such a massive impact on the high-street, so to be in a position to open a business in this time and provide both employment and training to this number of people in the process, is a real blessing”.

art.barbers will form just the first part of art.quarter’s wider retail and lifestyle complex; comprising also of a women’s beauty salon, café, bakery, events space and food court. The next stages of the development are due to open later in 2020.

To celebrate their 10^th birthday, leading men’s grooming brand The Bluebeards Revenge is proud to announce a business-wide packaging rebrand, aimed at improving recyclability and reducing waste for a cleaner future.

This exciting movement begins with a promise from the brand to “drastically reduce the amount of virgin plastic and single-use packaging” they use by 2022.

The first product to receive an eco makeover is the brand’s best-selling Pre-Shave Oil, which now features a 100% recycled plastic bottle and a newly designed label.

On the decision to radically redesign the brand’s packaging, Managing Director David Hildrew said: “The world around us is changing. As an established global brand we have a responsibility to ourselves and our customers to do as much as possible to minimise any negative effects on the environment.

“We are very proud of the steps we’ve taken with our newly designed Pre-Shave Oil and its 100% recycled plastic bottle. But this is just the beginning. Our new Pre-Shave Oil will soon be joined by a whole host of other exciting changes that’ll help to move our brand into the future in a responsible way.”

One of those additional changes will see the introduction of a new series of 150ml aluminium tins; to replace the current 100ml plastic tubs that the brand uses for its shaving and styling supplies. “These reinforced tins are infinitely recyclable and larger than our previous versions,” added Mr Hildrew. “We’ll also be encouraging all of our customers to get creative, finding new and exciting ways to repurpose our tins, rather than throwing them away.”

In recent years, plastic consumption has become a major concern for consumers. In fact, a recent survey by YouGov revealed that 46% of Britons feel guilty about their plastic consumption, while 82% are working hard to reduce the amount they throw away.

These statistics were supported by a consumer survey The Bluebeards Revenge carried out in late 2019, when more than 80% of responses confirmed that the environmental impacts of the products they purchased were important to them.

One big development to the brand’s new look is the absence of their iconic cartons. “Removing our products from their cartons was an incredibly difficult decision,” admits Mr Hildrew, “but it’s a decision we’re confident is for the best.”

When asked whether they’d prefer to see the brand’s products in or out of a carton, 56% of those surveyed voted for the latter. “Much of the feedback we received about our cartons in the build up to this rebrand suggested that, once opened, they were simply recycled or binned by end-users,” explained Mr Hildrew. “With this in mind, we’ve made the brave decision to remove this single-use packaging from as much of our brand as possible. We hope that this will help to drastically reduce any wastage our products create, while still maintaining the strong shelf presence our skull and crossbones logo is known for.”