New convention aims to be on cutting edge
Two-day event this coming weekend to spotlight barbering services, products for public, to give barbers opportunity to add to skill sets, offerings
It’s been seven years since Rob Reese opened the Royal Barbershop on King Street in Fredericton, and since that time, he’s moved to a larger spot on Queen Street and opened a second location on the north side.
But he’ll be marking the anniversary by focusing on a different - though related - endeavour: the first barber convention in the capital in more than 30 years.
The Fredericton Barber Convention will be held this coming weekend, Friday and Saturday, at the Fredericton Convention Centre.
The event will see 61 vendors setting up to showcase their wares and services, as well as live demonstrations.
“It’s been a year’s project,” Reese said Monday.
Barbering has really exploded in New Brunswick in recent years, he said, with dozens of new shops opening.
Reese said he’d been to such events in larger cities, and he decided to try to bring the same sort of opportunities to barbers in New Brunswick.
“I just wanted to strengthen the brotherhood in the barber community,” he said.
The convention has a variety of purposes and goals, Reese said.
“I will have a booth and I will sell my own products,” he said, noting other vendors will be doing the same.
But the convention is also about raising awareness about barbering and associated businesses, he said.
“It’ll just be good for the industry,” Reese said.
Among the highlights of the weekend will be the convention’s beard contest Friday afternoon, with prizes being awarded in several categories, including Mr. Royal, best overall beard and most unique beard.
Blaine Harris, the registrar with the New Brunswick Registered Barbers Association, said there hasn’t been a barber convention in the province in 33 years.
One reason for that, he said, is because the barbering profession got absorbed into the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick, which didn’t prioritize barbering.
The profession broke back out into its own association in recent years, Harris said.
He said Reese has outdone himself with the lineup of vendors. Among the barbering businesses participating and exhibiting at the convention will be Reuzel, a hair-styling product outfit out of Amsterdam, he said, and other big players in related product lines.
“They’re pretty big brands in the industry,” Harris said.
“It’s a big feat … He’s definitely a promoter.”
He said such brands tend to exhibit only at larger conventions in bigger cities, such as Montreal or Toronto, or big American metropolises.
People in the industry are taking notice, Harris said, as he knows there are barbers coming from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and from through New Brunswick to attend.
Reese said the appeal goes even further, as he knows of delegates coming from Montreal, Vancouver and even New York.
The event is turning heads, he said, and Global Barber, a TV show focusing on the trade, is coming to the convention to film scenes for an episode.
Reese said the convention also has two audiences in mind: the general public and those working within the trade.
The event will be open to the public, he said, but only on Friday. Saturday’s agenda is designed with insiders in mind.
Harris said the association is holding its annual general meeting during the convention at the venue, but its importance and appeal for New Brunswick barbers go beyond that.
Many of the sessions and demonstrations Saturday are designed to train barbers in new methods and skills, he said, as well as spotlighting new products.
It serves as something of a professional development opportunity, Harris said.
Reese said he wants to empower other barbershop owners like him to expand their services and bolster their bottom lines by keeping them current on new trends.
While Harris touted the benefits of the event for the industry, Reese said the convention isn’t just a goodwill effort. It’s a new business venture that he aims to make an annual one, he said, and one that’s designed to turn a profit.
Harris said he’d love to see the convention expand to become an Atlantic event, not just based in Fredericton, perhaps moving from city to city in the region each year.
“You could make this event a whole lot larger,” he said.
Reese is open to expansion, he said, or perhaps to establish new conventions for different locations in the region.
“This year, I’m just happy to break even,” Reese said.
He’s going to have his hands full wearing multiple hats during the convention, manning his booth, co-ordinating events, checking in at his Queen Street shop on Friday and hosting fellow barbers as they gather for his event.
Reese said he’s excited for the coming weekend, but he knows what’s coming afterward.
“I’ll be good and tired,” he said with a smile.
For more information on the convention, visit its official website.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Kudo's to Rob Reese for bringing awareness to the Barbering industry. Your association should help fund that. Mr. Harris is a detriment to your industry, always blames the CANB for his woes when he only needs to look at himself. Quick google search will show that.