er ice
'Calvin
,
An 0 iginal
Calvin says that Big Show
Expo currently is the major
force in the industry, but she
stresse that it's more than a
beauty trade ow.
"The industry is gro ing,"
Calvin says, "and we now ba¥e
more to offer, a lot more."
And what does Big Show
offer?
Each Show bas over 250 ex
hibit including every major
manufacturer that is trying to
reach the Black beauty market
There also are classes,
demoDStratio , product sam
pling, social functions, career '
information, dealer meetings,
and hair and fashion shows.
"But are more," Calvin
says: "We are opportunity.
"B· Sh Expo is a meeting
of the min<k of so many facets of
the-indutry. Thi is what makes
it fan . c - who seU the
pr the dealer those who
buy the products, and the young
people who will be our future
hairdressers. We puU together
all these facets that liave made
the industry gro .
"It's about business growth,
about networking, about sue- "It's not enough for kids to
cessful careers. u's about Black say no to drugs. They also must
entrepreneurship." - say yes to a Pl'OductiYe career.
Calvin puts her strongest em: Here Big Sh Expo they see
phas. on educatiOll and train- role models, B ck women and
ing. e want to give sense of men who have devleoped sue
direction to youag people who cessful careers and fIourishing
are going to or Considering businesses in a short amount of
going to beauty school," Calvin tm;.he result we want to
�. �
"Career development· cru- achieve lor the Black woman .
cialto our concept of Big Show economic self- ufficiency and a
Expo: Calvin continues. -We feelingofself The beauty
devote a whole day _ 'Youth industry can give them that and
Day: we call it _ where en- Big Sho Expo. dedicated to
pie th· k encouraging that concept. I caU
courage yo pea to an it the three E's: education,
serioqsly abo a career in the
beauty or related· dustries. entrepreneurship, and excel-
_________________ lence."
The event also attracts
lawyers, tax accountants,
marketers, sales people, small
busine perso , and corporate
representatives, Calvin points
out
BigS ow Expo lSas owease
(or Black entrepreneurship. It
happe to focus on a particular
service area, hair care, that
Black WOlDen have excelled in,
but we are ot a beauty salon."
But the 1,500 volunteers each
day of the Sbo who receive a
&ee chemical treatment and
beauty makeover at B� Show
Expo may think differently. 'We
and the companies who em it
with u choo e hundreds of
en at each of our events -
'''Beauty is truth, truth
beauty," Bernice Calvin ys,
quoting from Keats' Ode On A
Grecian Urn, "and that's t
we are all seeking. And to help
us, there's a big industry out
there and that's t Big Show
Expo is aU about"
Calvin is president of Big
Sho Expo, the largest Black
health and beauty trade ow in
the nation, and she should
00 . She's become a jor·
force in the industry today and
has had a hand inshaping its
growth.
"8iglShow wasn't always tim
big," Calvin says. "When we
started back in 1960, we had
only 2,<XXl ttendees, Nowwe're
then times that big and four fu
ture looks bright. As the in
dustry grows, so does Big Show
Expo, and there certainly are no
signs of any 10 down!"
e fir B· Sh opened at
the former Sheraton Park
Hotel, now called the sheraton
Washingto , the hotel where
Big Show Expo broke all atten
dance records this August
"It w difficult in the begin
ning to get exhibitors to under
stand hat you are trying to do,"
Calvin says. "But we had the
major ones, and they said the
Sho w a fantastic idea, so
kept on. It was like giVing birth
to an industry and it has made
many companies gro and
make money. When I think of
where came from and re
are ow, it is mind boggling_ "
Today, in its 29th year, Big
Show Expo attr cts upwards of
20,(0) attendees in three cities
eac year - Philadelphia,
Washington, D.C., and Mem-
ph ..
�.
Sat.
7:30 a.m.
from the very young to the
senior citize - and give them
their choice of a chemical treat
ment, that is, a new color, a per
manent, or a relaxer. These
en not only leave Big Show
Expo with a total ne look, they
are encouraged to seek out a
professional to help them main
tainit
-Looking good"] not a su-
p_crr(luous attribute t all," Cal
vin sa� 'It bas been proven that
once you feel good about your
self, you will achieve more."
Calvin recently founded the
ai anal.PIack Beauty Heritage
association, a tax-exempt or
ganization dedicated to instill
i g pride in the Black beauty
heritage.
"To be aware of the depth 0(
this industry's past will bring in
tense pride in a profession that
has been such a strong
livelihood for so many Black
families, " Calvin says.
Calvin also sees the Associa
tion helping maintain and in
p-ease the number of accredited
Black-owned beauty choo .
The Association i de�lop.
ingplans to chronicle the history .
of the Black beauty industry and
·have this information, long
·ih a ooUectio of beauty ar
tifacts, available to the public
through a traveling caravan.
The mobile museum will visit
9
Black-owned beauty schools,
vocational high schools, and
cosmetology schools of
predominantly minority stu
dents during Black History
Month next February.
-We hope this traveling ex
hibi will help keep the dropout
r te low and will ecnourage new
vitality in the industry," says
Moses Brewer of Adolpb
Coors Company, which cospon
sors a reception at Big Show
Expo. "Hairdressers h ve
played a key ro in the urvival
of our community. Hairdressers
re role models."
"Coors is proud to be a part
of preserving the heritage and
legacy of Black entrepre eur
ship, " says Ivan Burwell, Coor '
National Programs M nager.
Coors is developing plans to
participate in some of the
Association'S programs.
In addition, the association
will distribute a free publication
-several times a year and has
plans to use top name per
sonalities as spokesperso .
"It' just the great American
dream, that's all," Calvin ays,
"and it can be achi ved through
the beauty industry. It's aU v il-
ble right there - economic io
de pendence, self-worth,
creativity, and, of course,
beauty. We want to keep Blac
America beautiful"
I ••