The Sunday Wrap-up

It's never going to get any easier as the years go by to bring such a great show to a close. I'm still amazed when people say they won't go; with so many wonderful products, events, and people, how can you not love Groom Expo? However, as I look at the pile that Vanessa referred to as "grooming supplies throw-up" covering the entire corner of the room, I should be so lucky that the show isn't longer, haha!

First thing I did this morning was book it to the trade show. Frankie Brown stood at the doors, and--in a similar fashion of last year's opening day--was getting us completely riled up. He went right for the throat this year; instead of saying how he was going to put his size fourteens through the doors, he had us count down from ten and then he threw them open! Gotta love Frankie!

With a few extra minutes, I stopped to talk to Jorge before the Forever Stainless Steel booth got mobbed. He even said it himself: "D'y'know, every time I see you walk by I am running my mouth!" Yep, same old Jorge! When I told him about how far I've come since Intergroom, he was impressed with how much I'm constantly growing. Yep, I will never stop!

After swinging by the Romani's to pick up some water peelers, as well as to chat briefly with Marlene Romani (very funny lady), I decided to go and show support for Ellen. Her seminar on mobile grooming was excellent; although primarily geared towards mobile groomers, she included a lot of ideas and strategies that can be incorporated into any salon. I hope to use some of these great tips to better improve my customer relations.

It was already time for the Sunday luncheon, which included a happy retirement party for Judy Bremer-Taxman. Emotions ran high as Mr. B played a video entitled "The Best of Judy". The fifteen minute collection included some of Judy's best--or, not so best--moments of her seminars on carding and client relations. Everyone in the room was laughing hard, especially when she was singing Harvest Moon, with modified groomer's lyrics, to an Old English Sheepdog doll, and then dancing with it! Other clips included her poking an audience member with a skip-tooth blade, pretending to do battle with an angry stuffed animal kitty, and declaring that she just plain had enough! When Judy took center stage and thanked all the people who had an impact on her career with Barkleigh, tears flowed steadily from everyone; some of her friends were lost, and others saw her through her darkest moments. In closing, she thanked all of us for coming and showing the love through all the expos each year. Mr. B loaded up his air gun with confetti and shot it onto the stage. Judy teased him to shoot her in the butt--even though she is retiring, she will always be the same hilarious Judy. While she will be missed in the programs, she still plans on coming as a spectator. Good thing, it just wouldn't be the same without her dirty sense of humor!

"Hey Mr. B! Hit my butt!" ~Judy Bremer-Taxman

Rock on Judy!

I also had the honor of meeting some of her friends, originally from Russia. They presented her with a photo frame containing two paw prints shaped from dog hair and an embroidery of a Hershey kiss that said "20 Great Years". If I can say one thing about this year, it's been my most emotional by far!

I met up with Tosha, Vanessa, and Sunny at the Poodle demonstration. Although our speaker covered a lot of things I already know, I picked up some useful tips for scissoring topknots and tails. Tails especially tend to turn out funky for me. Turns out there's a better angle I can hold my shears to. Can't wait to try it out!

Ooh la la... Poodleful!

After bolting around the trade show for a bit longer and picking up some Furminators for the shop, Vanessa and I went to our last seminar: the Oster clipper clinic. I can't say that it was the most exciting thing ever, but now I'm looking forward to going home and opening my clippers up. I need to check things like the carbon brushes, the blade drive, and the wiring. I want those babies to last; now I have the knowledge I need to extend their life. The seminar let out early, but I got to catch up with Novi, Dianne, and Debra. Then I got to meet Vivian Nash! With as crazy insane as the show was, I'm glad I got to reconnect and make some new acquaintances. These are the friendships that will be able to be instantly rekindled at the trade shows I go to. The only person I was looking for and didn't get to see was Judge Joey. Bummer, I was looking forward to talking to him for a bit. But wait, there's still some other things left to do!

Vanessa and I went to watch the creative competition. There were some truly amazing entries this year, one of them being Jean's Toybox theme. Others included a Bambi Poodle that looked less like a dog and more like a real deer, the Queen of Hearts, a Jurassic bark, and a breathtaking 9/11 tribute with a feathery-looking eagle sculpted out of the Poodle's hair. We didn't get to see who won; I needed Groomer's Helpers, Tosha needed a Les Pooch brush, and the trade show was minutes from closing! We got to our respective booths in the nick of time, as several other vendors started breaking down early. And so concluded another wonderful year of dog hair, products, tools, and me being mischievous with my credit cards, haha!

Both Tosha and Vanessa left just over an hour ago. We thought it was funny how we're all going in separate directions to get back home. It will never cease to amaze me how these shows can bring us all together with one common goal: to become better groomers. Well, that, and to have a fun time! As I stated at the beginning, it's never going to be easy to bring such a wonderful thing to an end. But I know that I can't be sad, because I always remember one of my most favorite quotations of all time: "It's never really goodbye, because there will always be another dog show."

Peace out, and see y'all next year in Hershey, baby!