BARBER EXPO STORY: BEAUTY, BARBERS AND THE COMMUNITY
by Sean Mac Queen
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Sean is a Lights Camera Read New York Public Library nominee for his story "Zombie Todd the Undead Barber of Shriek Street". Sean recently interviewed Justin Tuck of the New York Giants who gave him and a group of teens tips on writing and achievement as seen in this Justin Tuck video. Sean and Jusin have in common that both of them having written stories that integrate barbering into their theme. Justin has just written a kids book called "Home Field Advantage".
Sean hopes to win the Lights Camera Read Platinum Pia so if you like his story please leave him a testimonial at Review Me NYC. Sean could win having his story performed by celebrities at the national Platinum Pias VIP night. And the writing of this article below is a part of his contest requirements for winning that opportunity.
In keeping with the Barber theme of his zombie story, Sean Mac Queen, seeking to understand the secrets of looking and feeling good, decided that the one place he could find this answer was at the Barber Expo in Oakdale, New York sponsored in part by Emiliani of Emiliani Beauty Expo. |
Sean is also interested in the relationship between barbers and the beauty industry as well as how both barbers and stylists interact with their communities. So packing his super hero bag containing an iphone (for recording audio) and a zeal for insight, Sean left from Queens first to the subway, then by foot, next by LIRR and finally by foot once more.
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First on his list is Alan Lipman the General Manager of Mr. Beauty. He asked Alan about how barbering has changed through the ages and if barbers share in the new publicity craze of beauty meets entertainment?
Alan: Well, many moons ago a barber was a short old man who wore a white coat. And he stood there all day long and he did the same haircut for everybody. Today in the new world, barbers are unique, they have their own look, they have their own style, and thank God the old man in the white coat's gone because it resurrected the barber industry.
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And as it turns out, Alan, who himself is a Platinum Pias award winner, is a strong advocate of Beauty Meets Entertainment. Sean then spoke to Robert Wagner of Rockabilly fame.
Sean: How do barbers make people look and feel their best versus how those in the beauty industry do it?
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Robert: I am a New York State licensed cosmetologist for 20 years and a New York State master barber for 18. I hold both licenses, I've worked in both ends of the spectrum and I believe, finally, barbers are getting the credit that they deserve. We're no longer just shaving heads. My stores, especially Rockabilly, my prototypes and what I press with my staff, you must be rounded in this field. It's not about shaving heads anymore, it's about creating. Giving your client what he wants.
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If you look at the evolution of men's hair, men's hair has become considerably longer and edgier. There's still a lot of traditional haircuts going on. But the only way to succeed, to compete with salons, is to be rounded. Now, where I am, wherever there's a Rockabilly Barbers, a lot of guys who have gone to salons and then come to us, do not return to the salons. We do the best men's haircuts, hands down! If you have a good barber, you know it.
Sean, realizing he now needed to get a purely beauty salon oriented perspective, asked a question of Skalper who is the manager of the 34th Street location of Dramatics NYC in Manhattan. Dramatics NYC is well known in the beauty industry as the salon chain that started the Beauty Meets Entertainment movement.
Skalper (center) with members of his staff including New York City Platinum Pias nominee Echo (second from left) at an elementary school in NYC where their salon donated school supplies collected from clients. Another example of beauty and community! See a gallery of photos from this event.
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Sean: I've been talking mostly to barbers thus far so I wanted to get the stylist's perspective. You’re from Manhattan where people are fashionable and feeling good. How does a community of people relate to beauty? Or another way of putting it - is there a relationship between beauty and community?
Skalper: If you're speaking about beauty as in how people look in a specific neighborhood, it's perfectly relevant in the sense that it reflects the community at large. The way people dress, the way they do their hair, the way they present themselves reflects what the community is about - it makes a statement for that.
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