America's Beauty Show 2010! Work it!

Every year as the holidays roll in so does the design of the ABS program book for me, the staff and our fabulous exhibitors. The contents of this single book created just for you and is always filled with the best and the brightest stars in the salon industry. This year it will be hitting mailboxes between Christmas and New Years Day. So if you are in a snowy part of the country and have access to a fireplace, cuddle up next to a fire, with a cup of hot cocoa and dig in. Figure out what you want to learn or need to learn to stay competitive in the industry. If you don't know what you need, let the book tell you. WHAT? I know that sounds funny but every year we create a page in the book with a list of what you need to see and do at the show depending on your profession. This list is always approved by our CC Board of salon owners and professionals. Look for that page this year....Work it!

Earn all your CE hours from us in one weekend! Did you know if you learn more, you earn more? Spend two days at the show and spend one taking great classes and the other for shopping. Or go for all THREE days and SEE EVERYTHING!....Really Work it!

Plan your spectacular professional beauty shopping spree! Are you saying, "Oh I wish I could afford it this year?" Bunk! I say! Be a savvy shopper! If you plan and save for this in December, by March 27 -29 you could have saved up for everything you need and WANT from the show! You can also visit with the exhibitors and get their catalogs and business cards and use that connection after the show for even larger purchases..small too! The beauty of our show is you get to meet real people, see real techniques to use yourself, and these people really want to meet you. Bring questions, ask for their special show deal... Work it!

Every year I'm so excited to jump into the design of this very important book. It's even more exciting when it's ready to go live on our website and gets printed! I always feel like a proud parent. We post a downloadable pdf online around mid December of the book so you can print it out or save to your computer and take it on your holiday travels or hey even post it up in your salon! Maybe you'll find a partner to split travel expenses with! Hmmmm. Do you get where I'm going with this?...Work it!

America's Beauty Show | March 27 -29, 2010 | McCormick Place | Chicago, USA

Visit us at www.americasbeautyshow.com

I was onstage with the 2009 STARS!

This year at the show I got to go onstage with this years celebrity judge Luis Alvarez to present the 2009 STARS winners of the 9th Annual Stars Hair, Make-Up & Fashion Photo MAKEOVER Competition sponsored by America's Beauty Show and Modern Salon Magazine. Celebrity Styling. Celebrity Judge. Celebrity turn on The Runway@ ABS. All this plus $850 cash! That’s what the 9th Annual STARS Hair & Fashion Makeover Photo Competition offered three salon professionals. The 2009 Stars Competition found high fashion hair worthy of runway recognition, as judged by Luis Alvarez of Aquage, the creator of the ABS 09 visual images.

Here are the winners. Congrats to all!

Salon Team: 

Laurentius, Salon Color: Kim Ha Tran; Make-up: Laurentius Purnama, Philadelphia, PA

"Extreme Color, difficult to do, multi-dimensional and loose."

Salon Team:

Enzo’s Salon & Spa DJ Victory; Amanda Forrai; Make-up: DJ Victory, 

N. Roylaton, OH

"Full length is beautiful, great shot!"

Individual:

Sandra Carr, Wooster, OH, "Red-head – great shape, cool!"

America's Beauty Show wins the GRAPHIC DESIGN USA's 2009 AMERICAN INHOUSE DESIGN AWARD for their ad design!

The prestigious American Inhouse Design Award for the 2009, presented by Graphic Design USA magazine, was given to Cosmetologists Chicago, owners and producers of America’s Beauty Show, for the Show’s concept print ad.

The two-page spread, seen by hundreds of thousands of cosmetologists worldwide, featured an iconic model with Chicago’s magnificent skyline in the background. The concept was a collaboration between Cosmetologists Chicago’s Creative Director Kristen Erickson and Luis Alvarez of Aquage, who photographed the high-concept ad. The distinguished hairstylist Ann Bray created the hairstyle for this and all the 2009 America’s Beauty Show advertising.

“Working with Luis Alvarez and the Aquage artistic group was so inspiring,” said Erickson. “But I am exceptionally proud to be part of our America’s Beauty Show team, bringing worldwide beauty to Chicago.”

About the Award:            
The American Inhouse Design Awards, sponsored for the last 40 years by Graphic Design USA, is the original and premier showcase for outstanding work by corporate, nonprofit and institutional inhouse departments. The mission: to help assure that inhouse designers get the full recognition they deserve from colleagues, the creative community and, perhaps most importantly, their own upper management. 
 
“The 2009 America’s Beauty Show was a huge success due to the commitment of those involved with it at every level. Kristen and Luis’ artistic vision for our event is worthy of the all praise it is receiving.” added Cosmetologists Chicago CEO Paul Dykstra on congratulating the winners. 
 
To find out more about America’s Beauty Network’s involvement with salon community or for information on membership and upcoming educational events call (312) 321-6809 or visit www.AmericasBeautyNetwork.com.  

Photo Credit: America’s Beauty Network

America's Beauty Show at McCormick Place West ... A BEAUTIFUL PARTNER and is GREEN too!

Hi again everyone! Well the show was simply fabulous I must say! If you missed it you can join us next year at McCormick Place West, March 27 - 29, 2010. I loved the McCormick Place West building and want to talk about it more because I love it's design and architecture. The design was done by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates.  Here is some more informationt's called an addition, but the just-opened McCormick Place West in Chicago is more like a stand-alone, self-contained, 740,000-square-foot convention center, connected by an enclosed walkway to the 2.2-million-square-foot McCormick Place in Chicago. And it was designed with association meetings and conventions in mind. 

The "west building," as city officials call it, opened August 1--eight months ahead of schedule. Attendees of the American Society of Association Executives annual meeting, held August 11 to 15, were among the very first to see the new building, gathering for the opening night celebration in the 103,000-square-foot Skyline Ballroom, one of only two ballrooms in the country over 100,000 square feet in area.

Although the rest of the ASAE meeting was held in the main building, McCormick Place West was built for events just like it. "We wanted to design a building for groups that were having meetings, with exhibits" as opposed to events that require mostly exhibit space, said Dave Causten, general manager at McCormick Place, leading a tour of the facility during the ASAE conference. McCormick Place, which is a popular destination for trade shows, simply couldn't accommodate as many meetings--both association and corporate--as bureau officials would have liked to book.

The new McCormick Place West building allows us to bring new types of meetings to the center," said Tim Roby, president and chief executive officer at the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. So far, about 80 meetings have been booked in McCormick Place West, one-third of which have not met in Chicago before, added Roby, speaking at a press conference. Approximately 62 of them are association meetings. The first full convention in McCormick Place West, the National Confectioners Association's Candy Expo, takes place in September.

A tour of the facility reveals a state-of-the-art center custom built for meetings with design input coming straight from the source--meeting planners. A customer advisory board consisting of meeting planners provided feedback in two key areas: the location of the 103,000-square-foot ballroom on the third floor, directly across from the 470,000-square-foot exhibition hall. Originally, the massive ballroom was planned for the fourth floor, but planners felt that would create too much vertical movement.

The other recommendation was the layout of the meeting rooms. Most of the 61 meeting rooms, which total 150,000 square feet, are on the first floor, configured in an "H" design, with registration and lobby space in between. The width of the building is as long as Chicago's Sears Tower is high --minus the antennas--with dedicated bus lanes right in front. Overall, the ratio of exhibit space to meeting space is 2:1, compared to McCormick Place, where the ratio is 3:1. The meeting rooms are all divisible, with large doors in the front and back to make it easy to get equipment in and out. There are additional meetings rooms on the fourth floor.

The second floor concourse includes restaurants, shops, a business center, and food court. The fifth floor has a rooftop terrace with spectacular views of the city on three sides. It can be used for special events, receptions, cocktail parties, etc., for up to 800 people, and it overlooks rooftop gardens on two sides. The building is certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), meaning it is designed in an environmentally responsible manner.

When you come to the America's  Beauty Show in 2010 bring your camera or you'll really regret it.

-Kristen

www.AmericasBeautyShow.com