Evolve is a brash young product distributorship in Washington State that exemplifies what a dream of distributing beauty products should be.

It's pretty easy to succeed in this business. Mortgage your retirement, be brighter than the competition, work day and night (and weekends), travel the length and breadth of your state and - oh yes - never make a mistake. It's easy, like we said.

If you do that and have unquenchable faith, you may survive your first year. What is unusual is to do all of that and quadruple in size in 15 months.

Joseph and Gretchin Kingston are that couple and, although stepped in the beauty industry and ware of the challenges - are determined enough to overcome them.

We interviewed Michael Killgore, an Evolve spokesperson and a Director in their color line, Difiaba and both Joseph and Gretchin Kingston - owners of Evolve Distribution.

The interviews took place on a sunny August day at the Suncadia Resort in Washington State, a resort of unsurpassed elegance and beauty nested deep within the Cascade Mountains.

The interview location looked over a deep gorge between the resort and nearby foothills leading to the spectacular Cascade Range.

The event was a one-day workshop to train educators and representatives of both Evolve and Alternative Salon Products of Washington on the products both companies hold in common.

Michael Killgore is tall, tanned, and passionate about the beauty business.

He spoke about the excitement of working with the Kingstons and Difiaba Color and the way in which both approach the business of making hairdressers look good.

He is a hairdresser in the Wenatchee area of Washington State for about 20 years.

Both Joseph and Gretchin are energetic, young and good-looking.They are powerful presences apart and constitute a dynamic duo together. You see immediately why they are able to drive their company to such rapid success.

Gretchin

Capelli d'Oro: How long have you both had Evolve Distribution?

Gretchin Kingston: About 15 months.

C: Fifteen months is like the blink of an eye. Congratulations on your successes. This, by the way, is a fantastic setting for a sales meeting. We are on the veranda of a world-class resort overlooking several golf courses and a gorge with a river that must hold some pretty impressive trout. Most such meetings are held in warehouses or the local Holiday Inn. Did you, as Director of Operations for Evolve book this venue?

GK: I did and this is a regular meeting place for our group. We just call them and tell them how many people and we are good to go. They do it all from room with a view to customized meals and they do a pretty good job.

C: What has the growing pains been like for you, growing so rapidly in a little over a year?

GK: The biggest stress is not being able to predict the challenges of tomorrow or the next month. We always set our goals - financial and client goals - and try to reach the luxury-oriented client - as high as we can reach to satisfy the top end of the market and still be functional. Fashion and function must work together.

C: You demonstrate the growing power of the independent distributorships that embrace companies like Sudzz FX, Altieri Brothers and Difiaba - independent hairdresser-owned lines that are storming the industry. All your lines are committed to education. Are there any events on the horizon you wish to note?

GK: We at Evolve want to host a quarterly show or seminar that all our clients and future friends can attend. This will be a mix of one-line seminars with larger shows which will include as many of our offerings as possible. This includes our home-grown makeup line Scripts.

C: How do you hope to compete with the giant distributorships?

GK: Service, consistency and honesty combined with the willingness to own up to mistakes and correct them to favor the clients' points of view. Choosing lines that have the same values and integrity that we aspire to is a key to success. If we do that, we do not need to compete with others.

C: We are really impressed with the Difiaba color line. We already are in love with the Altieri Brothers' products and are just now introduced to Sudzz and see all of your lines as being shoulders above most other distributorship offerings. Do you plan to add more lines in the near future?

GK: We are focusing on growing the lines we have. We are in the process of expanding our sales team to support our current clients and meet the demand of salons that are calling us wanting to try our lines. The manufacturers we are now with are wonderful and we are enjoying working with them.

C: How did you and Joseph meet?

GK: We met when I was a beauty school student.

C: That rascal!

GK: No, not so much. I was, gosh, twenty-nine when he came to our school to educate us on the color line they used. I asked him way too many questions and really annoyed him. He came back to our school a few more times and I annoyed him less. When he asked me if I would like to manage a salon he knew needed someone, I interviewed for the job. I really didn't want that job but let him know I wanted to work with him or someone as talented as he. That started the friendship and it grew from that.

C: Ok, you are the rascal. How long have you been married?

GK: Three years in October.

C: You are a talented couple and we can tell that increased success is a forgone conclusion. Thank you for your time and I will go look for Joseph - if I even have a question left for him.

Joseph

Capelli d'Oro: You are well known in the hair products industry and left a successful career with a history of working with major manufacturers and distributorships to start your own independent distributorship. Where did you get the determination to take this risk?

Joseph Kingston: I had been working since 1982 building education, marketing and shows and got my fill of the growing negativity and cynicism of the major players in the beauty business. The consolidation of manufacturers and distributorships is giving hairdressers fewer and fewer choices in where they can get which products.

Also, hairdressers are being directed to stores and salon reps are disappearing. Stores are not necessarily a bad thing, but the salon reps created community: information about products, education news, classes and business assistance. I woke up one morning and realized I couldn't be a part of this withering of our connection with salons and hairdressers.

C: The stores seem like fast food to us at Capelli d'Oro and we feel that salon fitness requires thought and proper nourishment. Outside salon reps used to provide pathways to salon health. Why did they disappear?

JK: Things happen for reasons that may not be apparent at first. Do not count them out, because they are making a comeback with the independent distributorships. Right now, there is a coming together of the independent distributorships and manufacturers that may turn the tide. We have a commitment from the companies we work with to not divert and support education at the salon level.

C: You come into the distributorship business with a wide range of abilities and the sensitivity to know where the pieces will fit. Is it a good business to be in?

JK: We love what we do.

C: What is the primary skill you bring to this endeavor that will make you successful and is it a skill that our readers can develop?

JK: It has been said before: bring passion to the game and the other tools will show up. That will work every time.

C: You offer remarkable lines - Difiaba, Tuscan Oil and Power Hair by the Altieri Brothers and Sudzz - and they are of a like mind when it comes to the need for passion.

JK: There are a lot of good products out there, but we look for the ones that also make the connection with the hairdressers and salons.

C: What is your biggest challenge to date?

JK: The same as our salons: step back and evaluate correctly the things you eliminate and the products and services you add. We all need to focus on the color, retail products and back bar services that will get us through this down economy and grow us in the process.

C: This reevaluation already occurred in the recessions of the 1970's and created the model of salon success that the recent consolidation of the salon industry has destroyed. Is the current march of the independents similar or different from beauty industry revolutions of the past?

JK: People are ready for a change. The largest distributorships are owned by a trio of giant conglomerates and are so top heavy and distant from the salons and hairdressers that they are at the tipping point. There will always be a place for the big companies with their diversion, but salons that want to count for something in their markets have no use for that model.

C: I spoke with Michael Killgore about the possibility that you may sponsor Difiaba Creative Director Enzo Bonifini in an early spring 2010 show here in Seattle. Is that a possibility?

JK: More than a possibility. We are putting a spring show together as we speak.

C: I want to return to a question I asked you earlier because I need to get deeper into your thoughts. Why did you drop out of the big corporate structure and start on this path?

JK: Life is short and no amount of money is worth sacrificing your time on the planet. I wanted to put my passion for the industry into a pursuit that made me a positive element of our industry. I could not believe what the top buyers, boards and sellers of our industry were saying about all of us. I woke up in a hotel - the poster child for the dysfunction in our business - and got ready for a sales meeting that would make no sense at all and realized I could no longer participate nor continue in that environment.

C: They lost their way and you found yours.

JK: I had to come to this place to stay true to my personal beliefs.

C: Then you will truly be a busy man. There is much for you to do, my friend. Thanks for a great interview. Your sense of this business and your passion for it really touches all of us. Good luck to you, and, may we stay in touch?

JK: Plan on us working together and thank you for your time.

For more information visit Evolve's Website at Evolve Distribution NW

Interview By Edward Paul of Capelli d'Oro ©2009