This January, 1,100 salon owners and managers, along with 500 other members of the beauty industry, gathered in San Francisco for The Salon Association's (TSA) annual symposium. The weekend featured education, inspiration, business-building and networking. Keynote speaker Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, kicked off the conference with an exploration of why most small businesses don't work and what owners can do about it. In "Road Trips," another popular session, Creative Nail Design's Jan Arnold, Brocato America's Sam Brocato, Sebastian's Robert Lobetta and Dermalogica's Jane Wurwand shared their personal journeys to success and inspired the audience to keep reaching their goals.
This year the symposium hosted two film premieres. In Hair Heroes, Michael Gordon lovingly and beautifully portrayed 12 hairstyling icons. After the movie, Gordon surprised the audience by bringing two of his film subjects—Vidal Sassoon and Christiann—on stage. Attendees waited in line up to three hours to meet these legends and have them sign Gordon's book, also titled Hair Heroes.
James Morrison's One Life Project, inspired by the death of hairdresser Carson Chirico, brought together the industry's best. In this moving film, beauty professionals including Robert Cromeans, John Paul DeJoria, Robert Lobetta, Vivienne Mackinder, Ann Mincey, Bruno Mascolo, Ruth Roche, Horst Rechelbacher and Melissa Yamaguchi reflected on the true spirit of the industry.