We’ve been talking for months about Maxim and Antoine heading to the PBA Executive Summit in sunny Phoenix this November. What we hadn’t fully revealed was just how special this event would become for Aspasie, and how much of our heart, hands and imagination would quietly travel in those suitcases.
When the Professional Beauty Association invited Aspasie to be the main sponsor of the Biltmore Wine & History Tour, we were genuinely honoured. It’s not every day that a family-owned Canadian manufacturer of swatch books and hair-colour tools is asked to stand in the spotlight at one of the industry’s most prestigious leadership gatherings. But from the very beginning, we knew one thing for sure: our presence couldn’t just be about putting a logo on a sign or a napkin, even though, yes, we did that too.
If Aspasie was going to show up, we wanted to do it in a way that felt unmistakably “us”: creative, precise, handcrafted, a little playful, and very human.
So, we threw down a challenge to our teams in marketing, design, production and sales:
“How do we turn this sponsorship into a small, memorable experience that reflects who we are and what we do best?”
The answer arrived, naturally, through hair.
With wine as the theme, the idea of creating Wine Charms made from hair swatches quickly took shape. They would be beautiful, functional, easy to travel with, and most importantly; they would showcase the artistry and precision that go into every strand we produce for our clients.
What followed were hundreds of hours of brainstorming, prototyping, testing, adjusting colours, refining clasps, and perfecting the packaging. Teams huddled around tables, comparing shades. Production experts ran trial after trial to make sure each charm hung just right on a glass. Packaging was reworked until it felt both premium and practical.
In the end, 400 sets of six hair-swatch wine charms were carefully crafted, assembled, boxed and shipped off to Phoenix to be tucked into every delegate’s gift bag.
But we didn’t want to stop there. Aspasie has always been more about presence than “performance”, visible enough to spark curiosity, yet humble enough to stay in the background and let our brand partners shine.
So, a second idea emerged: what if we created a small signature accessory that our team could wear every day at the Summit? Something discreet yet eye-catching. Something that would whisper “Aspasie” without ever needing to shout it.
The result was a collection of hair-swatch brooches that Maxim, Antoine and Alain wore on their jackets throughout the event. Simple, elegant and meticulously crafted, these floral-inspired pieces turned out to be perfect conversation starters. People approached them not only to talk about data, design or swatch books, but to ask, “Where did you get that?” and “Is that really hair?”
From there, the stories flowed: about our factory and team in Trois-Rivières, about the craft behind every swatch, about our clients around the world, and about the pride we take in being a behind-the-scenes partner to so many brands and professionals.
For us, that is the real success of the PBA Executive Summit. Yes, the sponsorship was a highlight. Yes, seeing our logo at such a high-profile event was exciting. But what moved us most were the human moments: the surprise on someone’s face when they turned a charm in their hand, the smiles during the wine tour, the warmth of reconnecting with longtime partners and meeting new ones, and the quiet pride of knowing that our team’s creativity travelled all the way from our factory floor to the homes of industry leaders.
As you explore the photo tour of the event, we invite you to look closely at the details, the charms, the brooches, the small touches that say so much about who we are. Behind every image is a team member who measured, braided, cut, printed, assembled, double-checked and packed with care.
From everyone at Aspasie, thank you for being part of this story. We hope these glimpses from Phoenix bring you as much joy to discover as we had bringing them to life. See you next year!
