Alexander Graham Bell

“Mr Watson—come here—I want to see you.” With these words, spoken in 1876 by the quintessential innovator, Alexander Graham Bell, to his laboratory assistant in an adjoining room, the telephone was born.

Perhaps no other invention has had more impact on society than the telephone. Its Scottish-born creator began his long career as an inventor at the age of 12 with a device for processing wheat at his family’s flour mill in Edinburgh. Later, as a young  immigrant to Canada, Bell became fascinated with mechanical speech devices. In 1872 Bell founded a school for the deaf in Boston, and with funding from the wealthy father on one of his pupils, he established a laboratory to research the transmission of sound waves—known as “acoustic telegraphy.”

A patent granted in 1876  led to the Bell Telephone Company which still exists as a division of AT&T.

What’s Trending in 2018

by Bill Alley, Broadcast Host, Wordsmith and Beard Advocate

We here is absolutely no shortage of opinions for styles and trends for the bearded man. The Beard Revolution has entered its 13th year of growing popularity and shows no retreat.

Why haven’t men taken to the days where shaving was routine? Each one that gave their morning stubble the chance at full maturity dared themselves to explore their own complete self. After all, whiskers are a fact of life for 99% of the male species, and as we have discovered, daring females who can grow decent facial hair have let nature take its course and develop a bold, individual presentation that isn’t for many, but for some, they say it is utterly liberating.

Here’s what some of the talk is regarding trends in 2018.

Hairdrome got my attention first this go-round, as they tout whiskers with length and style. I’ve kept my facial hair moderate to long these past 30 years as it suits me and my persona. Longer beards can be easier to maintain due to the relaxed presence and fullness the whiskers display; closer cropped facial hair tends to be more maintenance-heavy. They have a bevy of beard examples along with matching hairstyles to make up the best composition for your best look. It’s a fine resource for taking your growth to the next level or promoting easy-care style to what you have that adds attraction and machismo.

Echoing the bigger beard trend Mens’ Hairstyles Today gives viewers an array of looks, color and shades, styles and presentations of style and gears it toward the under 50 crowd in a way that I find transitional. It’s long been my experience that each generation will gravitate toward a trend—and in the world of whiskers, so much is trending that younger men still seem to have time to pronounce their style choice before becoming pegged. With more companies offering an array of styling apparatuses, hair care products, mix & match presentations in coiffed looks and intermittent length compliments,every man can achieve a great look with his own imprint

And for those of us who were surrounded by the best beards grown on the planet at the 2017 World Beard & Moustache Competitions in Austin TX back in September, a tip of the hat goes to Remington’s Beard Boss division. As one who still takes extreme care around things that cut, one learns quickly how important the barber-stylist’s eye and hands are to making the most of your visage. With over 30 divisions awarded this year, you can get a true panorama of looks, all based on very specific themes, traditions and trends. A great place for a guy who knows his family lineage to wed it to the facial hair worn by such, or a gent who has aspirations of being the envy of the runway for a future contest (in which Brussels, Belgium is the 2019 host). Over 100 styles are featured at their Pinterest web entry.

Beardsley at 25: Niche Marketing a Whiskered Revolution
by Bill Alley, Broadcast Host, Wordsmith and Beard Advocate

Beardsley And Company is the Originator of mens’ beard care products —with creative formulations that appeal to the senses while providing superior results to whiskers and hair. The blueprint that started it all was original, emerging from a rather vexing, common problem.

1993: John Odam had reached the point where facial hair was once again desirable. He had a goatee through his college years as an art design major in London, but wedding bells beckoned him and with his American bride, the whiskers were history. Settling in California, his graphic design endeavor began to flourish. The need to restore a beard entered the picture once again. In the early stages of growth, irritation turned to aggravation. John was determined to get past the itch, seeking help through endless purveyors of shampoos, lotions and salves. Nothing worked. In the midst of the dilemma John discovered a marketing niche. Why not start a company that caters to beards, especially since it was a wide open opportunity? Enter Beardsley and Company (After Aubrey Beardsley, the Edwardian illustrator noted for his erotic prints). Newly incorporated and immediately at work with dermatologists and herbalists to formulate its first product. A lab in San Diego specializing in botanical products developed the world’s first beard shampoo for Beardsley. To give the brand unique identity, the attorney who set up the corporation and brand registration suggested the name Leo9 (leonine = lion-like) for the shampoo. The Beardsley Lion emerged as the corporate logo. The new product was soon on the shelves of gift shops and boutiques around San Diego, but sales were less than spectacular.

1994: Beardsley introduced a set of four flavors plus a conditioner. Illustrator Fiona King added specific eye-catching designs printed on the bottles to distinguish each flavor. In order to boost distribution the decision was made to create a website and market globally—another Beardsley milestone. The very first order was from Australia.

Early 2000s: Production moved to Riverside, California with a new formula and a new bottle design which allowed Fiona’s bearded portraits a striking presence. The concept of a beard shampoo was finally catching on; sales gradually increased, driven by online orders, and retailers followed placing wholesale orders. Beardsley marketed the product line with a guarantee of ‘no bitter aftertaste’—another first.

Latter 2000s: The product line was later simplified to just one flavor of shampoo plus a conditioner which became available as a squeezable tube. Product performance underwent extensive enhancement, thus eliminating potentially harmful ingredients. Meanwhile a growing number of resellers in France, Italy and England began to import Beardsley products for the European market. With European sales increasing and product content disclosures facing new requirements, it became necessary to have the products reformulated and certified to comply with the strict European Union standards.

2012: New flavors were lined up for testing and expansion of the product line. After testing Licorice, Honeysuckle, Almond and Coconut, Cantaloupe emerged as the consensus favorite.

2013: Beardsley’s sales take on exponential growth. American sales accelerated from product placement at Amazon. Product demand meant a new location for expediting order fulfillment; San Bernadino became Beardsley’s shipping hub to supply distributors. The company’s European importers became regional exclusive distributors with hubs in London, Rome, and Oslo, allowing the brand to have strong entrenchment and better access to storefront and online customers. Our London distributor, Carter and Bond, prompted Beardsley to develop a daily use product which would enhance and maintain facial hair between shampoos and stylings. An Oil for Beards was introduced, coupled with a unique product—a companion Lotion for Beards —another industry first.

2014: The Oil, Lotion, Conditioner and two Shampoos became a striking gift set, housed in a handsome wooden box. The Gift Box became Beardsley’s number one seller in the United States. In the same year, a limited run of 4 oz bottles of Candy Cane Shampoo with Santa’s face on the box was introduced.

2016: A request from London’s top marketer Selfridge’s was fulfilled for a Shakespeare-themed beard shampoo to mark the bard’s Quadricentennial. Inspiration adapted the Bearded Notables as a set of boxed 4 oz Shampoos with graphic illustrations of Shakespeare, da Vinci, Socrates, Freud, Darwin, and Lincoln on the boxes.