Joey Blogs: Season 2 Finale

June 27, 2009

I am not going to comment so much on this week's show as much as I want to talk about the people on the show and behind the scenes. First, I have to say we had a great production staff, the people who put things together, filmed us, made us sound good and lit us to make everything look great. Thanks to Animal Planet for airing a show like this and the great job on the website.

The groomers were all great, fun people who I will always remember, in a good way. I've said this before but I will say it again, unless you are in front of the camera, no one will ever believe how difficult it was for the groomers and when I read the blogs and see what people are saying, I laugh because you just don't know. I would probably say the same things if I did not know, but trust me it was as heartfelt as all the emotions that you see in the groomers and then some ... only the contestants will ever know.

Now, I will talk about Lisa and Huber. When we judged the finale it was so close ... so close, that it would not make me feel bad if the person I picked didn't win because they both were champions that day. I also have to say to my fellow judges, Jai and Nemo it was a pleasure to work with you guys again and hope to see you all again on season 3. I love this show and everyone I met working on it. If you have not had enough of me come visit me at www.joeyvillani.com or www.nashacademy.com.

THAT IS IT!

Joey Blogs: Ep. 11 -- Cut!

June 20, 2009

This was my quick sniff ... what I do best. I love this kind of pressure and would have whooped anyone if I was in it. Grooming instruction is what I have done at Nash since 1979 and being in front of a camera," for get about it." In my other life, I have been on stage and on camera with the Pope, the President and every major recording act on planet earth and that's no lie, but that is a story for another reality show. It was tough for the groomers to get comfortable in front of the camera and even Danielle who won the challenge was just okay at best.

The Bichon challenge, now that was different, they all did great. Lisa's dog was by far the best, I don't care what that guest judge said, I've judged too many dogs in my life to give in. Between Huber and Danielle it was very close, but I felt that Huber had a better scissor and better profile on what was the most difficult coat in the challenge.

Great job, Danielle and I meant what I said about making me proud that you are part of my industry. Well next week is grooming bowl Saturday starting at 8PM with a special highlights episode before the main event at 9PM e/p.

May the best groomer win!

Joey Villani
www.joeyvillani.com

Joey Blogs: Ep. 10 -- Green on the Go

June 13, 2009

This quick sniff was one of my favorites. It looked like a lot of fun. Huber was in shape, that's all I need to say. There was a lot more resistance than you could see (so I was told).

On the grooming van challenge, both sides did a good job ... a really good job. It comes down to splitting hairs at this point of the competition.  All of the groomers that are left are real good groomers, so it comes down to even the slightest mistake. That is what happened tonight. Bill was responsible for the rear and that was where I had the biggest issues. I do think that Bill is a more rounded groomer than Danielle, but just not in this challenge. Sorry Bill.

The final three. Next week.

Check me out at www.joeyvillani.com or nashacademy.com.

Joey

Joey Blogs: Ep. 9 - Look-alikes

June 06, 2009

I cannot believe that anyone was able to find their dog (during the quick-sniff)! I do not think that I would have been able to.

The look-alike dogs were great. This was a very hard challenge but for the most part I think that the groomers did very well. I felt real bad about Cassandra going home because it would have been Danielle if Lisa had not saved her. I did agree with what Lisa said, she saved Danielle because she was a good groomer and would be very competitive. I think I would have done the same thing. Danielle is a better groomer than Cassandra, in most cases, but my hat is off to Cassandra, with only five years under her belt she did great. Great job, Cassandra!

Now, Bill ... the winner of this challenge. He did a great job and the TV does not actually show just how good it was.

Only four remaining and three more shows.

Come visit me at www.joeyvillani.com.

Joey Blogs: Ep. 8 - Rescue Me

May 30, 2009

What's up people?  The first thing I want to mention, which is bigger than me or this show, is the amount of pets in the shelters today. If you or someone you know wants a dog, cat or even a bird ... go to your local shelter, these pets need us to live a happy life. If you cannot adopt but you have a little time on your hands you can even try to donate your time helping at your local shelter.

The quick sniff: there is not much to say, these groomers did the best and most humane thing they could have done and there were no winners or losers in my eyes. I will say that my favorite part was when Huber's dog came out of his depression and opened up.

The elimination challenge was great for me. This is all about what my products were designed for, waterless shampoo, odor eliminator and cologne. So I really wanted to see how the groomers would do. I think most of them did not do too well, they needed to use the waterless shampoo heavy, towel dry, apply a lot of corn starch to absorb everything left behind and than a lot of brushing, that's it. Lisa really did great and her dog showed it. Now how can you send someone home on such a good note? Not even the tin man, Xavier could do that! Great job groomers!

Hey, check out my pictures at http://jargapix.zenfolio.com/joey_villani and tell me which ones you like best at www.joeyvillani.com

That's It!

Joey

Joey Blogs: Ep. 7 - Piggies

May 23, 2009

Well here I am, twisted steel and sex appeal, Dr. finally got it right!

On the quick sniff, I've never worked with pigs since I live five miles from Manhattan so I was amazed that they were so dog-like and lovable. I will be the first to say when I am out of my element so that is why I will not comment on the quick sniff but I will say I think all the groomers did great.

Now, how comfortable do you think I was being an overweight judge on a slimming challenge? And what could have been better than a fat dog named Joey? This really was a hard challenge because as a groomer, you rely on the dog's coat to help you create a good groom and some of these dogs did not have the best coats to make a great change. So as a judge, when a dog does not have the coat, I need to watch the groomer do their thing and at least try to make the dog look slimmer without making the big mistake of over-trimming ... a little can go a long way.

The cut always needs to look good and that is why Huber was safe. His trim was not very slimming but it was not done poorly. As much as I liked Lisa's dog, I actually voted for Bill in this challenge but was out voted. Cassandra's dog did look worse than Marco's but her degree of difficulty was far greater than his. Marco should have breezed through this one but was not able to pull it off. We all have bad days and this was Marco's. That's it for this week but visit me and my world wide official launch of Dogs In Style at www.joeyvillani.com .

Joey Blogs: Ep. 6 - Old Dog, New Tricks

May 16, 2009

It's week six and it's going by fast. How could I not love this quick sniff? I'm in it a lot! These guys all did great, but the two stand-outs were Bill and Huber. What made my final decision was that Bill had to teach a left-hander how to scissor when he is a rightie and couldn't touch the dog. That's a really hard challenge if you've never done it before. Great job, Bill.

Now the elimination challenge. Danielle and Huber did a great job handling and grooming these older dogs (the edge going to Huber), matter of fact, the groomers all did a great job with handling but not all did good grooming.

Cassandra and Vanessa were in the bottom for two different reasons. Cassandra, who impresses me with the short time she has been grooming, seemed to be overwhelmed with this dog which made for an incomplete job. Her handling was great and if I had an older dog, I would go to her.

Vanessa, on the other hand, just could not bond with this dog and for some reason could never just get in the groove and that is why I think she needed to go home. You always need to at least seem to be in control even when you are not.

Janice Dickinson was great and a lot of fun. Well, THAT'S IT for this week. Come check me out on joeyvillani.com or nashacademy.com.

Joey

Joey Blogs: Ep. 5 - Tying the Knot

May 09, 2009

Can you believe Danielle dumped Cassandra? Bold, gutsy move. I tip my hat, but it could come back to haunt her.

It was good to see Artist back on the Groomer Has It set. The topknot challenge was hard because most of the dogs had coat to short to make an easy topknot.

I thought the wedding was great and the dogs looked great, but my wife (who was sitting behind me) never made her TV debut so you didn't see her. Like I said, Danielle made a gutsy move with Cassandra but a dumb move when she picked the Scotties. Yes, her team wanted her to pick Scotties but she was the only one on the team who was not too familiar on how to groom them. It worked out well for them as Scotties won but what if they didn't? She would probably have gone home.

Competition means stick to your strong points. Now, the Westies or the grooms side ... the dogs looked okay for the most part, with Cassandra's looking real good. Jessica's dog looked okay but the head, which is probably the most important part of a Westies grooming, was much too narrow and that is why I made my choice to send her home.

Well 'til next time check me out at www.joeyvillani.com or www.nashacademy.com.

That's It,

Joey

P.S. Check out Artist's new show, Beverly Hills Groomer, next Saturday night (May 16) at 10PM e/p.

Joey Blogs: Ep. 4 - The Cutting Edge

May 02, 2009

Now you cannot tell me this show is not great! This was my favorite challenge to date, but let's first talk quick sniff. Are you kidding me? Who was this judge? The blue team's caddy was by far the best but the judge voted for the red team. The yellow team, forget the yellow team. Not every judge can get it right, I guess. :)

Now the vac system challenge. Sometimes you want to just get in there and show them how it is done. I like vac systems and I am damn good at it. That being said, the condition of the dogs was another thing. These dogs were knotted and it was a lot of work. Any groomer that watches this is going to say the time limit was too short to complete the challenge and you know what I say, "You are right," but that made this a perfect challenge. See, if you gave more time, the best stylist would always probably win but in this case you needed to do the best you could with what you had and that is what made it a good challenge.

To me, incomplete is not as big of an issue as just plain bad. Show me what you can do. The groomer under pressure that keeps their cool and does not finish, but shows me they know what they are doing is better than the one that thinks they are finished but isn't, or the one that loses their cool and is all over the place not finishing anything.

Danielle's dog was the best package and most complete for me, which is why I voted for her to win. Now why did Krista go home and not Bill? Speaking for myself, Bill was a victim of time but he was right, all the knots needed to come out before he could finish the dog with the vac system. My approach would have been different and much better, but he showed me that he had a plan that would have been successful if he had more time.

Krista was all over the dog and didn't commit to one step at a time, instead trying to do it all at once. I do not think that she didn't know what she was doing, as much as the time limit played tricks on her mind and panic set in. I sometimes judge things by asking myself if I had to finish this dog at the point I was judging them at, how long would it take me to finish this pet to my standards of grooming . Bill's dog was the easier fix . Sorry Krista and good luck. Keep your cool and you will always be okay.

I will be at www.joeyvillani.com all week showing off my new products so visit me!

That's it!

Joey

Joey Blogs: Ep. 3 - Deep Breaths

April 25, 2009

Well, week three has come and gone. Tension is building in the doghouse and the competition is getting better.

In the quick sniff, canine massage was a great way to see what skills the groomers knew besides trimming. I feel that they all did a great job but Huber and Marco really stood out in the bunch and deserved the massage they received by winning.

On to the elimination challenge, difficult customers are not something I normally deal with, as most of my clients are always happy. Sometimes you cannot please everyone and that is when I say "GET OUT", but I can do that because of who I am and I am not a contestant, thank God. 

Let's start with Krista and Vanessa. They did a great job, no, an excellent job in customer service. Singing to that dog for two hours was not easy, but I give Krista credit and I think customer service is probably her strong point. She may be annoying the other groomers but I could see how her customers probably love her personality in her salon/school.

Danielle and Cassandra: Is this a good lookin' team or what? These are two good groomers that listen and are pleasant, which is hard to beat.

Bill and Lisa: Not much to say this week.  They did a great job, perfect all around.

Huber and Marco: I do not think they worked best together in this challenge, both are completely different types of groomers. The trim was not the way I would have done it, but it was neat at least. In my mind, if Sherri had not colored the tail, one of them would have been sent packing.

Now, let's talk about Sherri and Jessica. I am so sorry it went this way because the dog looked great, it was just putting color on the dog's tail when the owner did not ask for it that was the mistake.  This was probably the most difficult of the clients, because how can you predict if the cut will attract women? This is that type of client that, in my salon, I would have said, "The best way for your dog to help you attract women is for the dog to pull you into a dating service."

Sorry, Sherri, you and Jessica did a great job otherwise and possibly could have won the challenge if not for the color. I hope you're not feeling too green after reading this.

Thanks for reading and visit me at nashacademy.com and joeyvillani.com.

Judge Joey