Two days of famous faces, trend watching and pure talent

It got crazy at the Toronto ABA as a mass of well-dressed beauty pros came out to play! Thanks so much to all of our readers who came by our booth for all your feedback. It was a jam-packed two days. Between Tabatha Coffey, Nick Arrojo, Chris Baran, Nicholas French, and Ammon Carver tons of familiar faces were on hand to excite stylists and inspire industry pros.

When: Sunday March, 27 and Monday March, 28

Where: Toronto Metro Convention Centre

Who: Tabatha Coffey filled every single seat in the main room as she chatted about her rise through the biz and Salon Takeover’s success in 36 countries. She signed copies of her new book It’s Not Really About the Hair. Even though she has a reputation for taking no prisoners, Tabatha graciously inscribed copies until the last person in line had been seen. Salon spent some time picking her brain for a video interview, which will appear on salonmagazine.ca.

What: We spotted some really cool trends, presentations and educational classes. It seems the really fashionable bunch are rocking hair feathers, which are so hot at the moment. You can even curl and straighten them with hot tools. Texture and waves were big, and new product lines echoed the trend.

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Reuben Carranza, chief executive officer of P&G North America Salon Professional helped Wella debut an exciting new line called Care[3] and Styling at a private cocktail party in Toronto. Nick Arrojo also launched his new product line ARROJO, which he says is about youth and “fuss-free simplicity.”

Alexandre Chabot re-enacted his Elizabeth segment from Contessa 22, and we were proud to see the crowd loving it. Truly a showstopper!

We ran into Wella’s Fabio Sementilli and the Sebastian crew creating avant-garde looks on stage. The always-sweet Sonya Latreille of Rowenta showed us the latest tools and a gave us the scoop on a new line coming this fall. Lead stylist Diana Dagher used the Rowenta Beauty 2 in 1 ionic curling iron to create cool, beachy waves and texture.

Matrix pumped up onlookers by blasting Katy Perry as they hand-picked audience members to go head-to-head styling mannequins in only two minutes. So fun!

Soundbites: “Hire slow, Fire fast.”

“What’s the number one reason clients leave salons? They get bored. It’s not bad hair, it’s because we don’t take the time to have a consultation with them.”
– Tabatha Coffey