Alston's weblog

My experiment in alignment

alstonakabrandon — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 03:12:34 +0000

I’m about to embark on a retail experiment. As many of you that know me, I’m fiercely independent in how I run my business and have never wanted to align myself with any major product companies. But managing a growing business is tough and especially in these times the perks and support of a big company has become a necessity.
It’s been a humorous parade of suitors that have come to seduce me. I won’t mention who has come and gone, but all the color companies want us to switch to their color line. Currently we use Schwarzkopf, which I love, but when other companies mention how much they are willing to give me for switching, I can’t help but question my fidelity.
Everyone makes promises, yet few deliver, buy I ‘m hoping my new venture with Aveda will be fruitful. I’m changing over my spa, Becky, into an aveda network salon. I’m redecorating, bringing in aveda full specialists, creating a new service menu etc. The question is if the retail brand in and of itself is a strong enough draw. It’s interesting talking to clients about the change. Many people love the brand and are very excited. I’m really interested in seeing how the response to the new services will be. We are now offering massage as well as facial services. My first new hire seems exceptionally motivated and promising.
By the way, please wish me luck for thus weekend, I’m starting phase 2 if the Kennedy refurb, tackling the color area and interior painting. It’s going to be a whole new salon!

ch ch ch changes

alstonakabrandon — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:10:48 +0000

I’ve always considered myself to be highly adaptable. i moved a lot as a child and spent most of my adolescence living in my parent’s tavern. This made for some very interesting insight into human nature. I never understood why all these adults around me were getting happier and happier as they drank, but ultimately if too much was imbibed it would end in a fight. i believe though that this combination of constant transition, then growing up in a crowded bar of strangers allowed me to let go of a lot of fear of meeting new people and trying new things. I’ve been told I’m the type of person that shoots a lot of bullets without aiming , hoping to hit some targets. unlike those people that spend their life aiming, but never get a bullet out of the barrel. Well, I’m about to shoot a lot of bullets by the end of the year, so wish me luck

There has been a lot of changes in the salon over the course of the year, staff moving away, a death, transitions in my business model. it’s been more stressful than ever, but I love a challenge.

You’ll be seeing a lot of changes in Tribeca and our social media communications. I’m looking to really allow facebook and twitter help spread the word on how we perceive the world of hair and fashion and be an educational yet fun place on the web to visit. So you’ll be hearing a ‘new voice’ in the upcoming months.

Some changes within the store are really exciting. The Kennedy shop is slowly being refurbished, and this upcoming weekend will see a huge change with the color bar and front desk area being built. Mike Lemieux has designed the new waiting area, and the design is very cool, and comfortable! Petra from Ikea is always a great help with these huge orders of furniture and she is always inspiring me to be creative. Stay posted to our facebook so you’ll see all of the stages.

A huge transition is what is going on at Becky, our beauty studio attached to the Ybor store. Kay, our manicurist has done an amazing job. The store itself though has failed as a retail experience. I blame myself since my whole idea of ‘kawai’ Japanese gift items didn’t appeal to people. So rolling out in September, I’m proud to announce that Becky will become an Aveda network spa. It will really be the first of it’s kind, acting as a retail spa focusing on all of Aveda’s spa services, body and skincare. It should be a great asset to the Ybor neighborhood, and will be a part of the Pure Privilege program for those of you who are Aveda fans.

The Heart show is alo being planned for 11/5/11. This year, since we are not incorporating the student competition, we are maxing out on the entertainment. Expect a very wild,constantly stimulating show.

So the backend of 2011 is to be a wild ride! Stay tuned!

Deregulation of FL business

alstonakabrandon — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:19:19 +0000

“During his inaugural speech, Governor Scott called taxation, regulation and litigation the “axis of unemployment.” While he acknowledged that we need some regulations to protect our health and safety, he wants every regulation reevaluated.”- Reported by: John McQuiston WWSB

http://www.mysuncoast.com/mostpopular/story/Business-says-Rick-Scott-should-reconsider/RGyXIWxH2kyHXFrLTglBvA.cspx

Deregulation can lead to some efficiency in the reduction of government size, but not all business licensing should be treated equal. In the industry of cosmetology many people perceive hairdressing as an art and not a science, but we must be trained to deal with several potential issues that may affect the health of ourselves and our clients. Ask any cosmetology student what was the first class taught to them and virtually every one will say “sanitation”. Salons are licensed and inspected to uphold a very high level of sanitation to eliminate the threat of spreading contagious disease. Sanitation procedures guarantee safety for both the staff and clients. From lice, herpes, fungus and HIV, we are all trained to prevent infection. This is the number one aspect of our licensing as a salon and a stylist. My license doesn’t guarantee I give the great haircut, but it does prove I’m aware of all sanitation required by the state.

Bleaches, relaxers, high lift tints and many other chemicals we deal with on a daily basis have very caustic Ph levels. Misuse can cause skin irritation, hair breakage, allergic reactions, and potential chemical burns. A sloppy or incorrect application of these chemicals could be very dangerous to the client. Cosmetology licensing requires basic knowledge of all the potential dangers of these chemicals.

Cosmetology is an industry that requires licensing. Deregulation may lead to unlicensed activity that could spread disease, maim or scar clients. We must keep licensing and inspections in this industry.

The Florida cosmetology industry must provide massive income for the state anyway. From school, salon and stylist licensing, continuing education requirements, business and income taxes the revenue generated must offset the cost of maintaining regulation.

I ask that you write to the Governor’s office and ask him to reconsider his stance!

http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor/

The ‘Residency’ begins in February

alstonakabrandon — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:48:35 +0000

Many of you know we have a very strong apprentice program at Tribeca ColorSalon. Our interview process is very difficult and I hire only the best qualified candidates that I believe will make great hairdressers. As part of the program our state licensed apprentices have always been responsible for working on models, where they gain most of their hands on experience. Well I’ve just started a new program that will allow for a more controlled work environment that will provide our apprentice’s new clients, and give budget conscious clients a cost efficient option for getting their hair done!

This is the Residency program at Tribeca. Starting on Mondays in February I will be working hand in hand with our 3 senior apprentices providing cut and color services at half off our Tyro 1 level pricing. Men’s cuts start at $7.50, women are $12.50 and colors start at only $25! Above the amazing price factor, consider this; I’ve been doing hair for over 17 years. I will be working with the apprentices during the entire process, from consultation, cut, color and finish. You will be able to have my knowledge and experience at a quarter of the cost that it would be to sit in my chair! All services will be closely supervised and I know you’ll have a great experience with amazing healthy shiny results!

If you have been stuck doing your hair at home do to budget constraints, this is a perfect way to get back into the salon! So come back to the salon where your hair belongs! Call 813 242 4080 to participate in this exciting new program.

The Residency Program is held in our Ybor Store, 1600 E. 8th Ave. Centro Ybor, Tampa, FL; Mondays 12-7pm Prices cannot be quoted until time of consultations.

“Celebrity hair without the posh price tag”

www.Latelieracademy.com

alstonakabrandon — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:26:06 +0000

I’m really happy to announce the opening of the latelier academy at our Ybor store. Many of you know already that teaching is a huge passion of mine, and now I’ve set up the forum that I feel I can use to best work with my fellow hairdressers. First of all we established our second larger shop in Ybor City in Tampa. This huge space is home to our salon, a beauty studio, affectionately nicknamed “Becky” and our academy. The salon has been quite successful, and the location is perfect for an advanced academy. Ybor city is literally the soul of Tampa, FL. From it’s history of famous cigar rolling factories to it’s current wealth of amazing restaurants and nightlife. I knew that if I was inviting hairdressers from around the country to take classes with us, we’d have to be in a tourist friendly area. My hopes are that you will take a look at the academy website, see a class you or your whole salon team might want to take, fly down to sunny Tampa and spend the weekend with us basking in the sun, enjoying a fun restful weekend and learn some new skills or business ideas. To entice as many of you to attend in this down economy, the price for any of our 2 day seminars is only $250. All you need to do is fly down to TPA, check in to one of our host hotels that are within a 3 block radius, and bring an open mind willing to learn. I’ll even take you out for lunch!

So please check out www.latelieracademy.com and let me know what you think!

Might as well get creative…

alstonakabrandon — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 13:59:24 +0000

I just found out yesterday that I have 3 herniated discs, one of them so bad that surgery looks to be the only fix. I’ve been in pain for about 2 weeks now and have had a lot of trouble sleeping. Standing or walking are the only relatively painless activities for me. So I wake up throughout the night and putz around the house to work out these cramps I get in my left leg, and I’ve set my laptop up on a cabinet at standing height. So I’m taking the initiative to instead of surfing the web, I’ll get some work done! So here’s some photos I’ve edited for 2 of my stylists. I hope they like them!

What is the September Project?

alstonakabrandon — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:27:56 +0000

September is an important month for fashion. After all the SEPTEMBER ISSUE of Vogue even became a documentary. September signifies a call to arms, a round up of fashionistas, imposing their word from the streets to the runways. Following suit, it is most appropriate for Tribeca to hold it’s own trend release party then isn’t it?

I’ve split the staff of 18 stylists and 6 apprentices into 2 teams. These teams are responsible for a variety of presentations, culminating in our final stage show on Sunday September 19th. It began with the 2 teams creating their vision of a trend release for 2011. Both teams swore to secrecy their work, but as I’ve seen snippets here and there, I can say great minds think alike. From what I gather they have taken classic looks and turned them to political statements, taking in mind today’s need for peace in a world at war. First the teams created tutorial layouts for the entire salon to learn from. Then on the day of they will be working with models to create an edtorial photoshoot and ending in our live fashion show out in the Centro Ybor Plaza.

I hope you can join us at the event. We have DJ sirius as our music guru starting at 5:30pm. The show will begin and all of the audience membrs will be asked to vote on their favorite team’s work. Ybor restaurants are having outdoor hervice stations to offer food and beverages. It’s going to be a great afternoon event. The Improv will be featuring a great comedian beginning at 7pm as our event winds down.

Best of all, this is entirely free. We wanted to make sure that this message oabout fashion and hair can be seen and heard by the entire city!

THE SEPTEMBER PROJECT

Sunday September 19th

5:30pm Centro Ybor Plaza 1600 E. 8th Ave. Ybor City

Accepting the inevitable

alstonakabrandon — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:55:55 +0000

Learning to embrace my impending loss wasn’t so difficult for me, unlike most men I’ve met. It’s a loss that affects so many of us, including family, friends and lovers. In fact some men will go to painful ends to attempt to circumnavigate the loss. But in the end, no matter how hard we try, it always happens. All we can do is be brave and accept the cards we have been dealt.

The loss I speak of is hair loss. Now to you out there that haven’t experienced the first notice of lonely strands of hair sitting on the edge of the bathroom sink, abandoned by our scalp, you have no idea of this pain.

Hair loss is at first a lonely process. You don’t even want to mention that you feel that your hair is somehow thinner, somehow farther back from the hairline you grew up with. You may check online to see if their are any medications or topical solutions that will grow it back and keep it there. I know in my 20′s I pretty much took any vitamin or rubbed in any lotion to help slow my hairline’s retreat. I knew I was going to lose it, just like my father and brother’s before me. I just started wearing a variety of fashionable hats and avoided the situation. In my early 30′s I shaved it down to stubble, which along with my uncanny ability to create facial hair really helped me come out as a “bear”. A fellow hairdresser friend then introduced me to “Xfusion” which is a colored powder that helped me fill in the missing gaps of hair and I used that for several years to look a little younger and reclaim my hairline. About a year ago I realized sadly that I was beyond help and have returned to shaving my head again, now promising myself to be bald and proud to the end. I’m happy and at ease, and I hope that all other men can accept their hair’s limitations, but I know how hard it is.

Men have it bad. The actual hormone that makes us manly and hairy turns against us after puberty to make us lose the hair on our head. Studies show that if you go through puberty at a young age, or have any body hair by the time you graduate high school, the chances of you thinning is at least 50/50. If you have any hair on your back by graduating college, you need to resign yourself to a bald life. Testosterone is responsible for many things, including our secondary sexual characteristics. Unfortunately it has a strange tendency to bind with sebum on the scalp, which does two things. It clogs healthy follicles and provides a food source for small parasites that also clog even more follicles. Simultaneously each strand miniaturizes and covers less space on our head. It seems hopeless.

Since many men associate their virility with their hair, most will go to any expense to keep it. Most of us have spent a lot of money on snake oil. There are some medications that do work and if maintaining your hair us important to you, be proactive. The current technology can preserve your hair before it falls out. Talk to your doctor or hairdresser NOW. Waiting is the worst thing to do.
My main hope is that you avoid surgery at all costs. Though hair replacement surgery works better now, you will always have a scar where the hair was transplanted from. Eventually all the hair that was destined to fall out will, and you will most likely still have to shave your hair down and have a huge scar left in the back of your head. Transplant doctors never discuss this though!
Baldness currently is inevitable for some of us. Tackling this issue at an early stage is of utmost importance. Otherwise if it’s too late, embrace your masculinity, be proactive and find a good pair of clippers! Just say no to the toupee!

Sex, politics, religion and oil…

alstonakabrandon — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:56:40 +0000

In cosmetology school we are taught many things, from perms to foils to graduated bobs. One of the cardinal rules we are taught is to never talk about sex politics or religion. I’ve learned the hard way that this is very true. I lost a client several years ago because I tried to persuade her that her lesbian child was loved by God just as much as her straight child. After a quick exchange the conversation went cold, and she never sat in my chair again. I don’t regret my point of view, just the fact that I had no right to try to change this woman’s world view.

We must be aware of what we say and how we say it, and I try to steer away from hot topics when I realize that my client and I do not share the same point of view. Local recent events however have made me realize that this cardinal rule needs to be bent.

We are witnessing an event that is a tragedy on a a local level but will have long term global consequences. Of course I’m talking about the Gulf Oil Disaster. As a Florida resident I appreciate the severity of how this will affect my property values, the prosperity of my business and all local wildlife and ecological systems. I am sickened everyday by the news of how BP and other oil companies have complete disregard for our safety. How our government has not only allowed these behaviors but those assigned to our protection are complicit in their offenses. Somedays it’s truly unbearable. I think a lot about how I felt those first few days after 9/11; the depression and anxiety I felt as I watched the towers fall over and over. I speculate that the reason why BP put the pipe on TV was to desensitize us to the true damage that every smoky billow was producing.

So we hairdressers are not supposed to talk about hard subjects. We are supposed to keep it light and polite. But not today, not in Florida. Anyone that lives in the Gulf, anyone that loves the amazing wildlife that calls it home, anyone who loves the white sands of Pensacola needs to talk about this event. This is going to change my life, the life of my salon staff, my clients and so many more people. It is not just my choice to discuss what I see on the news, it’s my duty to try to get every client involved in protecting our welfare. So my clients will be getting an earful, and hopefully they will pass it on. We all need to talk about this, grumble, shout and get vocal.

It may seem that I’m being overly sensitive, but I’ve been offended too much by this situation. As many of you know we have donated well over 200 pounds of hair to Matter of Trust for the production of hair booms to soak up oil spills over the past 3 years. It has been announced that BP was at first unwilling to use the hair booms. It is now known that BP’s use of the toxic dispersant has made the use of the booms virtually useless. Somehow it decreases the hair’s proficiency in adsorption. I’m offended that so much good intent has been wasted. Let’s make sure that our efforts now are not forgotten by corporate and government neglect.

Senator Bill Nelson: 202-224-5274

Congresswoman Cathy Castor 202-225-3376

The White House 202-456-1111

Governor Charlie Crist 850-448-4441

You have the power to change everything

alstonakabrandon — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:13:33 +0000

I don’t think that clients and stylists understand the power of a consultation. A consultation, no matter if it the first time you meet a new client or if it’s the 100th time, it’s an opportunity to open a new door. I’m always a little frustrated or disappointed in myself when I feel that a consult needs to be hurried because I’m overbooked or running late. We need to really focus on the importance of the power of a great consultation. I feel so strongly about the use of a consultation as a tool that in our Ybor salon, I’ve created a special area for my team to use to separate the consultation from the service. It’s a “lounge” that has a small collection of look books and swatches for us to use to open the discussion.

A consultation is an interview. As a new client, it is your chance to find out what I’m all about. It’s my chance to find what your expectations are. By the end of this interview you should be confident in my ability and I should know the direction I’m going to take your cut and color. It is my chance to evaluate the physical nature of your hair, understanding it’s history and the impact that chemical and physical damage has taken.

I know that last week’s blog was a little harsh, but the consultation is everything. I just saw Beth Minardi at the Premiere Beauty Show and she had some great insight. If you do your job with a consultation both you and the client should be happy with the result. If you do a color that you are happy with but the client hates, you messed up the consultation.

You need to be happy with any service you receive at your salon. If the stylist does not confirm to you all that will be performed, you need to slow things down and make sure that you fully understand what your end result will be. This said, please understand that if you come in to the salon and ask for a result that is impossible, it’s our professional duty to back you away from that cliff.

So on your next visit, bring photos, have a clear idea of your expectations. For stylists, my call out to you, is to really be present during the consult. Listen to the client’s needs, analyze the hair. If the client is going to plunk down $200 for a service, and you don’t deliver, they deserve a more dedicated stylist.