Sizzle your Skills in Miami’s hottest annual beauty trade show and competition, Beauty and the Barber, on Sunday, December 6th!
This event is hosted by Beauty Schools of America, who decisively placed the show in the beginning of Basel week, so that the beauty artists can also get their recognition on this week where all forms of art are celebrated.
This is the second event hosted by BSA and the goal is to make this show a prime location in the beauty world. They are emphasizing on education this year bringing 9 celebrity professionals will share their secrets to stardom and how to make your business a success. Arelis Cardona, BSA Director of Events & Student Facilitation and Sandra Marino, BSA Marketing & Web Director, sat down with ESTETICA to give us some insiders on how the show became their own, and what or who we can expect to see at the Beauty and the Barber 2015 event.
When did BSA become interested in being part of this event?
S: “At the beginning, the event was sponsored by another company and BSA was always a sponsor. So when John realized that our students made up most of the public that attended, he decided to become the primary sponsor. So last year was the first time we did the show with BSA as the main sponsor.”
Tell me a little bit about the outcome of last year’s event?
S: “There were no tickets last year, it was a free event and it was also a successful event. We had from 3,000 to 5,000 people show up which is a lot more than expected. We had about 40 vendors, who brought their products and services, hairdressing and barbering competitions throughout the whole day.”
How does it compare to 2016?
S: “This year, the event is a lot bigger. There are a lot more competitions planned. Last year we only were able to coordinate a couple of seminars in smaller rooms, and this year, we have been successful in getting a lot more influential people within the beauty industry to come. There are about eight and maybe nine panelists for the seminars.”
Being a beauty school makes you a special sponsor with special educational resources and capabilities. How does that show through this year?
A: “The show this year is based a lot more on education. This year we are charging for entry, but mainly because the event this year is a lot bigger, and because of the many panelists that are coming to the event. BSA also was able to get amazing artists that will be preforming after the show, the DJ and radio personality, Alex Sensation, and Reggaeton artist Jay Alvarez. So that is really the only reason we are charging $35 for the tickets for everybody. There is not a special VIP pass of anything like that. It is all-inclusive.”
What do you expect the turnout to be compared to last year?
A: “So we have estimated that about 1,000 of our students will be attending for free so that audience is basically guaranteed for the show. That way we can also guarantee to our vendors that there will be over 1,000 attending the show for their products and the general public will be paying $35 for the entry.”
On that note, is this event that any beauty artiste can attend, even without affiliation to BSA?
A: “This is an event that is open to ALL beauty schools, not just Beauty Schools of America, La Belle Hollywood Institute, Celebrity School, be it a student or a professor, everyone is invited to come join and participate in the competitions. Everyone is invited to have the experience. The only other hair and trade show AND competition that can give professionals that experience is in Premiere Orlando, so we want this event to become a primary location. A true staple of the industry that people can look forward to every year to get supplies, for company exposure for even to sharpen the skills that you can only get here.”
Tell me a bit about the vendors that are coming?
A: “Last year we had 40 vendors and this year we have 80, so we doubled on that. All of the brands and companies that we work with are in the professional spa, hairdressing, barbering or make-up industries. Each vendor will either sell their product or have demonstrations for attendees. There is a mix of services and products, with about 6-10 vendors who are looking to share what they have to offer.”
Since it is only a one-day event, will the speakers overlap?
S: “We’re trying to make it so that most of the education is in the morning and a little bit after 1 p.m. we will start having competitions simultaneously, be it a student or a more experienced professional. We really want is for the students, the professionals, and anyone who is there to really get something in terms of education when they walk out of the event. We want people to come and really understand what Beauty Schools of America can offer, especially the kind and quality of education that they can get from our seminars, and the trends that we are teaching at the moment.”
Visit www.TheBeautyBarberExpo.com for more information or call 305.824.2997. To learn how to participate as a vendor and/or as a competitor please visit the official website to review the package options, categories, rules and regulations.
