THE 10 MINUTE CHAT

Jlius Arriola AKA Julius Cvesar and Miguel utierrez AKA Nomad Barber, two of the creators hind STMNT, discuss the process of creating and veloping a unique brand using their combined experienced across the barbeing 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 i thing translates in our products.

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

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 oducts and the rest will be a bit disappointing. I never anted to take on full ranges at the shop – it was always an d product from here or there. That inspired the idea behind MNT – we wanted a complete range of hero products hich could cater to every type of clientele. They also mix ell, like a cocktail, so you can create any type of style within e barber shop. We all had such different ideas, yet we were igned by how we wanted it to look and feel – premium.”

THERE A HERO PRODUCT IN THE RANGE?

Miguel: “Thinking about what’s popular right now, we’d have say the Matte Based Spray, the Grooming Spray and the ray Powder. There’s also the All-In-One Cleanser, which orks as a face cleanser, body wash and hair wash as well.”

“It’s not to say we’re representIng all genders, but we’re not excludIng them.”

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. Everythings should be inclusive, especially when you think about the ories of women with short hair who go to the barbershop and get told to leave."

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 cafe.

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

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