Shampoos: A Rainbow Of Choices
As professionals, we are constantly striving to bring the best to our clients. At least we should be trying, as sometimes it’s a fine line that separates us from our competition.
Teri DiMarino
GroomTeam USA Tops the Grooming World
“The USA wins the gold! The USA wins the gold! The USA wins the gold!” Those words rang across the grooming world as, once again, GroomTeam USA won first place in the World Team Grooming Championships in Barcelona, Spain, this past October.
More Conversations from the Contest Arena
My last two columns covered comments from both sides of the grooming table: the judge’s side and competitor’s side. There was a lot of good banter, and I’m sure there was some eye-opening all around. Thanks to everybody who sent me their comments. I would like to revisit those columns with a little more feedback that did not make it into the first two versions.
The History of Modern Pet Grooming
Industry Forefathers
Recently, someone referred to me as an “industry old timer.” I wonder when, and how, I had become an “old timer.” Silly as it sounds, I still feel like a newbie in some areas. My first certification was back sometime in the early 1980’s
Simple Pleasures for the New Year
Pet groomers work so hard year round and these long days are just compounded by the busy holiday season. Dogs you only see once or twice a year mysteriously reappear this time of year and their owners, with a straight face, insist on a prime-time appointment.
A Busy Salon’s Holiday Checklist
What happened to the year? It seems like just yesterday that we were all wondering if the country was ever going to be released from the grip of that never ending winter. I walked into Costco the other day and saw Christmas decorations! (Mind you, I am writing this column in early September!)
Setting the Standard
The Professional Pet Groomers and Stylists Alliance
Nothing makes me cringe more than turning on the television and hearing about an accident in a grooming salon.
Social media sites light up like Christmas trees with the bad news that yet another pet has been injured, or worse. My heart sinks in sympathy for the pets and their owners, but also for the groomer or establishment at the center of the unfortunate incident.
Poodle Pattern History
“Please don’t make him look like a Poodle.” This is a line that just about every …
Beating Heatstroke
Summer’s sweltering heat comes as a welcome relief from the grips of the tough winter that much of the United States suffered through recently. Snow suits have given way to swim suits and we slather ourselves with sun screen instead of sweaters, jackets, gloves and hats.
Professional Groomers’ History Project
A few issues ago, I devoted this column to the subject of the history of the professional grooming industry. Shirlee Kalstone and I have collectively wondered why no one has ever attempted to document how far the art of grooming has advanced in the past few decades from their modest beginnings. Shirlee recalls years ago in the mid-1970’s, while at the All-American Grooming Show in Chicago, that she was shocked to read a blurb in one of the Chicago papers that in the scheme of things “dog groomers were placed slightly above garbage collectors” who were on the bottom of their list.
Kick It Up a Notch
Easy techniques to get your black coats blacker, and your white coats whiter.
As professionals, we are constantly striving to bring the best to our clients. At least we should be trying, as sometimes it’s a fine line that separates us from our competition.