THE 10 MINUTE CHAT

Julius Arriola AKA Julius Cvesar and Miguel Gutierrez AKA Nomad Barber, two of the creators behind STMNT, discuss the process of creating and developing a unique brand using their combined experiences across the barbering industry

HOW DID YOU BEGIN TO DEVELOP THE COLLECTION? Julius: “Sofie (Pok AKA Staygold), Nomad and myself are not typical. Not that there’s anything wrong with being typical, but that’s just not us. We’re not working behind a chair, seven days a week – we’ve earned our stripes in that part of the market already. We’ve all been shop owners, worked in education and content creation – we put those experiences to use in the development process and I think it translates in our products.”

Miguel: “We all have different styles, but we wanted to combine them to create one thing. It’s weird how we all had such different ideas, but once combined it was such an easy process to make it.”

THERE ARE 14 PRODUCTS IN THE RANGE. HOW DID YOU SETTLE ON THIS? Miguel: “A lot of ranges will have one or two really good products and the rest will be a bit disappointing. I never wanted to take on full ranges at the shop – it was always an odd product from here or there. That inspired the idea behind STMNT – we wanted a complete range of hero products which could cater to every type of clientele. They also mix well, like a cocktail, so you can create any type of style within the barber shop. We all had such different ideas, yet we were aligned by how we wanted it to look and feel – premium.”

IS THERE A HERO PRODUCT IN THE RANGE? Miguel: “Thinking about what’s popular right now, we’d have to say the Matte Based Spray, the Grooming Spray and the Spray Powder. There’s also the All-In-One Cleanser, which works as a face cleanser, body wash and hair wash as well.”

WHAT WAS IMPORTANT TO YOU WHEN DEVELOPING THE COLLECTION? Julius: “I always say you’ve got to ‘nitch the glitch’ – focus on being niche whilst fixing a glitch, a problem. I don’t know many brands that come out with 14 products off the bat, and that could be overwhelming in some cases but because, as Miguel says, our products all work together like a cocktail, they’re quite special. At the same time they solve the problem of having to shop for different brands in order to find products you like.”

IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE OF RETAIL, DO YOU THINK BARBERS HAVE MORE TO PROVE TO THEIR CLIENTS? Miguel: “I think barbers need more market training and understanding. It’s something that we’ve never really had because we don’t typically deal with sales representatives. Usually, barbershops carry smaller ranges, and they usually source these from the wholesaler.

Quite often, salons are exclusive offering one range and everything they can within that range to all their clientele. Because we are offering 14 products that all work well together, our range is an equivalent option for barbershops and salons too.”

WHAT IS STMNT’S APPROACH TO VERSATILITY? Miguel: “You don’t need the word ‘men’ on a product anymore. We’re not saying that we represent all genders, but we are saying that we’re not excluding all genders. Everything should be inclusive, especially when you think about the stories of women with short hair who go to the barbershop and get told to leave.”

“IT’S NOT TO SAY WE’RE REPRESENTING ALL GENDERS, BUT WE’RE NOT EXCLUDING THEM.”

Julius: “I think the word barber is used a lot in reference to STMNT and this usually translates to, ‘this is for men’. But it’s like music: a new Jay-Z song is more likely to be played in a club, because it makes sense in that setting, but over time, it might trickle down into a café.

So, whilst our products appear to work better in a barbershop setting, from a business standpoint, we want to prove that they can work in spaces such as salons too and encourage them to trickle down into these settings. We aim to be genuinely inclusive, with intention – not just say we’re being inclusive without action.

We stand behind our brand and our story and believe that this range is accessible for everyone. Alongside being an inclusive range we are offering a high-end feel because we wanted to offer an elite product that is accessible for everyone. Build it and let everybody come.”