Belson Products has a new line of two flat irons, three curling irons and a blow dryer called Brazilian Heat by Mega Hot for full-service distributors. I saw the line at the Western Buying Conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, and am confident it will be a huge hit. Debuting along with the line is a new booth, which will launch at the International Salon & Spa Expo (probeauty.org/isse) in Long Beach, California, on Jan. 31-Feb. 2.

Boasting a color scheme of pearlized white with bright orange accents like the line’s colors, booth 1546 will get lots of attention from ISSE attendees. “Not only are we supporting the line at a number of national and regional [stylist] shows this year, the new booth helps increase visibility through its eye-catching design and inviting configuration,” says Ileana Moya, Belson Products’ director of marketing, who will be proudly based in it during ISSE.

The booth will feature a 20 x 30 configuration for its debut, but conveniently adapts to smaller venues in 10 x 20, 10 x 30 or 10 x 40 inline, explains Frank Cacciato Jr., founder and CEO of Katherine Frank Creative (katherinefrank.com), which designed it. The inviting setting is open, allowing attendees to walk through, experience hands-on demos, watch educators work the stage and purchase product. A cylindrical fabric banner can hang from the ceiling, where applicable, for more line recognition. Equipped with sufficient, self-contained lighting, the design also allows Belson Products to change graphics according to what’s highlighted. Check it out! For more information about distributing Brazilian Heat, contact your local Belson Products manufacturer rep or call the manufacturer, 888.738.1212.

Next stop for the booth and the new line on the major salon-industry trade-show circuit is America’s Beauty Show (americasbeautyshow.com) in Chicago on March 28-30.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

One of the many things I love about the pro beauty biz is the people in it, and one of my favorite industry entrepreneurs is Zvi Ryzman, owner and president of American International Industries (aiibeauty.com). Perhaps it’s because we’re both Jews in the salon industry with fathers from Poland who survived the Holocaust (my dad was liberated from the Auschwitz concentration camp), have a strong connection to Israel (I worked there in my 20s after living on a kibbutz) and reside in Los Angeles. You may not have heard yet, but Zvi’s father,  (pictured), passed away on Jan. 6 in Tel Aviv.

Rabbi Ryzman’s funeral was a testament to the impact Zvi’s dad had on his family, his friends and his community. From Tel Aviv, the rabbi’s grandson, Elie Ryzman, wrote to his colleagues at A.I.I. to describe the great outpouring of grief, support and love. Streets were closed off as 800 to 900 people waited for a chance to pay their respects.

“Hundreds of people gathered to cry, weep and mourn the loss that’s so great,” Elie Ryzman told me. “Jewish tradition mandates that the children of the deceased sit shiva in memory. Literally, the children sit on the floor or a low chair for seven days, and people come to console the bereaved. The throngs of well-wishers continue to come, each with their own story and impression. The people just don’t stop coming—the void is so tangible and so widespread. The stories are numerous, the memories are boundless and the pain is endless.”

Rabbi Ryzman also “reveled in the pursuit that A.I.I. has undertaken to become a meaningful company in our industry,” says Elie Ryzman. “His face would literally light up when I described the factory, the travels, the shows, the successes—even the failures. As his health deteriorated, he still lived at 2220 Gaspar [A.I.I.’s headquarters] vicariously through our reports and stories. His advice was always sound, and his encouragement was forever electrifying. I have no doubt that he’s looking down from heaven smiling as he sees his legacy continue through everyone at A.I.I.”

These days the Ryzmans and A.I.I. are mourning their huge loss, but they’re also celebrating and remembering a life well-lived. Born in 1918 in a small town in central Poland, Rabbi Ryzman went to school in Warsaw and received his rabbinic ordination in 1939. While home visiting his parents, Germany invaded Poland as World War II broke out. Rabbi Ryzman survived the horrors of the Holocaust, including life in a ghetto and two labor (slave) camps. During the war years, he used his own money to bribe guards and officials to help gain freedom for others destined for death and torture.

After the war, there was no home to return to for countless Jews in Europe, and Rabbi Ryzman and his family lived for brief periods in what was then called Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Belgium. All the while, he worked to realize his dream of moving his family to the newly founded State of Israel. Finally, in 1951, he arrived in Tel Aviv. He and his wife would have their last child, a son, in Israel, completing their family of two boys and one girl.

In Tel Aviv, Rabbi Ryzman opened a flour mill, and on the last day of his life he was in the office at one of his mills. His mill was the single largest flour mill in Israel.

In his late 30s, while a father of three children, a businessman, a teacher of the Talmud and an active community member, Rabbi Ryzman worked toward another of his dreams: He earned a college degree (a bachelor’s in political science).

Elie Ryzman adds, “He always considered himself to be so ordinary—but he was nothing short of a giant—in so many facets of life. One of the profound lessons he brandished in my mind was that success is not measured only by the result achieved. Rather, the toil in it of itself is the benchmark of success. The result is what God does for you—the toil is your responsibility.”

Rabbi Ryzman’s wife of many years passed away 11 years ago, and he leaves behind his three children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Rabbi Ryzman supported his community through contributions to many charitable concerns so it was difficult for the Ryzmans to choose one to receive donations in his memory. They settled on helping to build the Ashdod Emergency Medical Center in Israel. Currently, the city has no medical facility—not even a forward emergency or trauma room. Ashdod is the country’s fifth-largest and fastest-growing city with more than 225,000 residents, including more new immigrants than in any other Israeli city. In addition, more than 21% of families and 29% of children within Ashdod live in poverty.

All those at A.I.I. have banded together to make a donation, and a special link has been established on the medical center project’s home page in his honor: www.ashdodmc.org. Sympathy cards can be mailed to A.I.I.: 2220 Gaspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90040. I plan to say a prayer for Rabbi Ryzman, the Ryzman family and A.I.I. this Friday night at my synagogue.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

I admit it: Just like election night in November, I’ll be overwhelmed with emotion and full of pride on Tuesday, Inauguration Day. Not too long ago, I discovered a positive effect that Barack Obama has already had on the salon industry: African-American men asking for the “Obama look.”

I first heard it through Andis (andis.com), one of the leading manufacturers in the multicultural sector, and specifically, Ivan Zoot, the supplier’s knowledgeable director of education and training who broke three Guinness World Records in haircutting last August. Earlier this week I chatted with Zoot about this clipper-cut trend, and here’s part of my question-and-answer session with him:

Please describe the haircut as you see it.

ZOOT: If you were to walk into a barbershop or salon and want to walk out with this look, you’d request “even all over, mid length with soft edges.”

The look is longer than most of the recent trends in African-American men’s hair for the past few years. The fade has been dominant for a while. Part of the appeal of this look is that it’s specifically less “ethnic” than many other options for men with textured [curly] hair.

Is this an every-week cut?

This is an every two-week look. One of the advantages of the look is that unlike many harder-edged, African-American, textured looks, it is NOT an every-week cut. The softer edge grows out better and gives a very busy professional a bit of air in his calendar.

If you were his barber, any advice you’d give him regarding his hair?

“Sir, you’ve moved up a few notches on the ladder of power … it’s time to tip a bit more.” Seriously though, the look works for him. However, if history proves correct, he’s likely to get a lot grayer quite quickly so a bit of semipermanent hair color to blend away some of the gray will be a good idea. Based on some images I’ve seen, this is advice he may have taken up in the past.

Back in mid-November, Andis with Zoot and Rodrick Samuels posted on YouTube.com one of the company’s Tool Tips showing how to re-create the new presidential look using three Andis tools: the Phat Master Clipper, the Styliner M3 Trimmer and the ProFoil Professional Shaver (http://www.youtube.com/watch).

I’ll see Zoot this week at the Western Buying Conference (westernbuyingconference.com) in Las Vegas and then again at the International Salon & Spa Expo (probeauty.org/isse) in Long Beach, California, on Jan. 31-Feb. 2. He and Andis have a lot of other videos at YouTube.com, including one inviting beauty professionals to ISSE and his educational classes and demonstrations there (http://www.youtube.com/watch). I’ve sat in on his classes and have seen his demos—they’re great!

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

Recently, Rockaway, New Jersey-based haircolor accessories supplier Product Club (productclub.com) held a special promotion to see which of Emiliani Enterprises’ 15 professional-only beauty stores (emiliani.com) in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut would be the most creative in displaying the company’s many products. The winner? The Staten Island, New York, site, with a beautiful end cap!

Store manager Wendy Regan, pictured here with Vinnie Curcio of The Kirschner Group (kirschnergroup.com), collected $250, which she shared with her store staff.

We need to see more of these types of contests from manufacturers for all sorts of beauty stores.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc