“THE FACIAL HAIR FAD: GROWING GLOBALLY”
Even Those Who Can’t Grow Their Own, Can Now Simply Order Facial Hair Online.
A Canadian company appropriately named ‘Beardo’ has developed a knit toque with a foldaway and adjustable beard (Photo). A unique design to say the least, founder and Gold coast resident Jeff Phillips noted, “it is a bit odd, but also quite comfortable and functional”. He added that the Beardo Bearded Beanies have been very popular, mainly with winter sports enthusiasts, but surprisingly women make up 70% of our customer base … they are mostly buying as gifts for their boyfriends and husbands though.” Phillips first came up with the idea when he converted a scarf into a makeshift beard while on a snowboarding trip on Whistler Mountain, in 2007, he says “its a long stretch from ripping a hole in a scarf … the design has changed so much, and I never would have imagined they would generate such an interest.”
last year, Beardo launched their online store www.beardowear.ca to coincide with ‘National Beard Month’ and ‘Movember’ (the annual fad of growing a mustache during the month of November). In its first week, the site generated interest in over 50 countries from Korea to Kazakhstan. All this interest was shocking to Phillips who says ” I knew that we had a quirky product, but within the first day online there were already blogs [about the Beardo] popping up in South Korea!” The website is now receiving over 200 hits a day from all over the world.
Though the month for letting your facial hair run wild is far over, Phillips hopes the nearing cold weather, will ensure a continued interest in the ‘Beardo’. Phillips noted that in June, Alice Springs, Australia holds the world’s largest beanie festival (www.beaniefest.org), where he plans to attend. “I never would have imagined winter wear being popular in the hottest part of Australia, but it also gets down to zero degrees out there, so beanies are very popular with the locals… especially artistic styles” Phillips added. At the moment, the Beardo is available in a one size fits all, slouchy fit toque (6 colors) and an dettachable, foldaway and adjustable beard. Phillips says of the companies’ plans for the future, “our goal is to continue bringing out different colors as well as new products every season… we do have a few ideas, not all are related to body hair, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise.” Only time will tell if the beard culture will continue to grow in popularity, or if this is a trend that will simply get the cut.
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WEBSITE: www.beardowear.ca CONTACT: Jeff Phillips EMAIL: [email protected]
If you would like more information about The Beardo, promotional pictures, or to schedule an interview
please contact Jeff Phillips via email: [email protected]
