Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been missing in action for the last few weeks. I’ve been buried under a stack of directory listings, all-new industry statistics, and an awesome new NAILS Cookbook chock full of service recipes! That’s right, we’ve been working on the 2008-2009 Big Book and it’s great! (If I do say so myself.) It will arrive with your December issue, and if you’re not a subscriber (Why not? You can order NAILS here.), you can purchase the Big Book at our online store later this month when it comes out.

A few things I’d like to alert you to. The size of the industry is UP this year! That’s right, as it turns out you guys are listening and have finally begun to raise your prices. Check out the Big Book for all-new stats on what the industry is charging on average for all the basic services, and you can also compare it to what Vietnamese salons are charging. (You’ll be happy to know, the Vietnamese salons are raising their prices too. That’s great for the industry as a whole.)

I think you’re going to love the NAILS Cookbook too. It’s 46 pages of signature service recipes all in one place! Hopefully you’ll get some great ideas out of it and it will get your creative mind working overtime to come up with new ones. (I've also started a recipe forum where you can go to share your own service recipes.)

In addition to these two great features, the Big Book also includes updated listings for all the top manufacturers, consultants, and associations in the industry, as well as updated state board guidelines and a product cross reference section.

Look for the December issue packaged with the Big Book in your mailbox in a few weeks. I hope you enjoy it! It was worth all those late hours, and now I'm just happy I can breathe again.

— Hannah