Finally.  I could enter a grooming show contest that I was actually eligible to compete in. And I won!
Okay, so it wasn’t a grooming contest, per se.  But it was a contest.

I entered the Groomers Got Talent contest at the Hershey Groom Expo and won 1st place for a song I wrote.  Despite the fact that my voice was coarse, scratchy and almost gone the night before and still quite raspy the next morning, I was able to squeak out the song.  A few of the notes were a bit ragged, but hey………what can I say.

And to think I almost bailed on the whole thing right before it started.

Thanks for letting me brag a bit.  It’s just that I either find myself at shows (like Barkleigh shows) where I can’t compete in any competitions just because they are biased against cats.  Or I am able to “participate” in a competition, without the option to actually compete or win anything, because of one of those pesky show rules about speakers not being able to compete.  So for now….I am basking in my trophy and my new “diamond” ring prize, and the fact that Mr. B’s Productions whisked me away to their nearby recording studio to cut a single!

This groomer’s got talent, baby!

My Lifelong Dream – click to listen

Hershey is less than a week away!  I am excited as we gear up for the biggest grooming show of the year.

This year I will not be speaking, which is sort of a relief.  I am usually so overly busy at this show that I come home completely wiped out.  Since my schedule isn’t quite so full this year we will be able to do some booth demos with live cats – something I’ve wanted to do every year. In addition, I’ll be doing my usual demos in the Wahl booth.

At the NCGIA booth, we will be showing some live cats before their groom.  Then we’ll run downstairs to give them a good show bath before bringing them back up to the booth to dry using the CS Vac. As we perform all the finish work, observers will be able to pick up some handling techniques and cat-specific product usage tricks.

A few cats will then go with me to the Wahl booth for some clipper work while I do a standard lion cut, a creative groom, and whatever else suits my fancy at that particular time.

Something new this year at the show is the “Got Talent” competition on Saturday.  It is a luncheon event.  I took the plunge and decided to enter.  If you want to know what my entry is, you’ll have to come see for yourself.  I promise it will make you laugh even if I don’t mess it up royally.

See you there!

The Chicago All-American hosted the first ever Abstract Creative Runway competition.  I “participated” with a cat.  I say “participated” because I was ineligible for competition because show rules state that speakers cannot compete.  But I find it hard to pass up on an opportunity to walk a runway with a kitty in tow

C2, my solid white Persian, was crafted into a black and white design and did a great job hanging with the big dogs and working the stage on Saturday night of the show.  I am proud of her.

The rules called for some sort of abstract design with little or no color.  The design had to be something that could be done in a day at the salon and something that customers would like done on their dog or cat.  No props were to be used.

Photo shoot after the Runway Competition

C2's abstract design

Some other entries

Being interviewed by Huber