Jake Thompson，擅長前衛創作，他將美感與前衛結合的恰到好處，深厚的藝術底子和精湛的技術，給了他更遼闊的創作空間，得以將天馬行空的想像幻化成絕美的作品。他的作品深受時尚雜誌和專業雜誌愛戴，更曾被北美最富盛名的美髮賽事NAHA提名六次，並兩次獲獎，Jake Thompson絕對是目前美髮界最炙手可熱的人才之一。

Two-time NAHA winner and being nominated for six times, Jake is now gunning for three more NAHA trophies to accomplish his goal. Jake is no doubts one of the most sought-after hairdressers in North America.

才華洋溢的他，雖然尚未擁有明確的目標，自幼就深信自己終將成就一番大事業，也許是畫家；也許是廚師，只要與藝術沾的上邊，似乎就能成為未來的一項選擇。

即將從中學畢業前，他的母親就跟全美國其他家長一樣，前往學校，與老師一起研究他適合的生涯規劃，考量到他對藝術的興趣和天賦，他的母親花了一番功夫說服他試試看髮型師這條路，卻沒想到美容學校制式的教育壓抑了他對創作的渴望，直到從學校畢業，Jake發現創作的樂趣後，才真正打從心底愛上美髮。

Jake always knew he was destined to become big, but not knowing which path to take until his mother suggested hairdressing.

Always being in touch with his creative side, his mother mentioned hairdressing to him. Although it took a while for her to convince him, Jake still entered hair school in 1995. He wasn’t that much into this industry because the school he attended has made hairdressing harder that it should have been. He fell in love with his craft a few years after he graduated and has been doing what he loves ever since.

進入職場不久，他遇到了職涯第一個也是最困難的瓶頸，過度害羞的個性，讓他不敢主動與客人互動，時常與顧客站在門口尷尬的大眼瞪小眼。Jake笑著回想剛踏入職場的前幾年真的很掙扎，雖然很辛苦，但好險他強迫自己努力克服。

現在看著Jake在舞台上髮光發熱，他身邊的人都表示，實在很難把這位在眾人。面前自信十足、談笑風生的髮型師與當初那個害羞的小男孩聯想在一起！

Before long, he had a hard time suffering from the biggest difficulties in his career, “I used to be the shyest boy ever!!! I was super shy, so approaching strangers to ask them to come in to have me do their hair was really challenging. I struggled with that for my first couple years but I overcame it now.” It’s hard to tell that this successful hairdresser who enjoys sharing his passion with others on stage was once a shy boy.

美髮固然是Jake最熱衷的行業，當客人們坐上椅子，他們的眼中閃爍著期待，等著髮型師們動動巧手，剪出漂亮的髮型，這幾乎是所有髮型師每天的工作。

不過對Jake來說，客人的期待卻侷限了他的創作力，當越來越多的想法積聚在腦海裡，前衛設計就成了他的雙翼，帶領他衝上雲霄，遠離框架，飛到更高更遠更寬廣的世界，而在這個世界裡，只有他和源源不絕的靈感，共同交織出絢爛的色彩。　

“I love hairdressing day to day in the salon, but avant-garde work really allows me to ‘create.’ When you’re paid for something, there is an expectation or limit to how far you can go, but when creating for a shoot, especially avant-garde,?you’re left to your own inspiration, opinion, vision and taste.”

「在前衛設計的世界裡，沒有限制，這讓我覺得自己無所不能，相信我，當我這麼說的時候，我是真的無所不能。」

看著Jake一再突破自己，憑著前衛作品入圍、得獎，似乎不相信他都不行了！

如同所有前衛創作者，Jake也把傳奇大師Robert Lobetta視為典範，更將他比喻成美髮界的鬼才藝術家薩爾瓦多．達利，改變了整個前衛創作的領域。

每當Jake在創作時，總會如此勉勵自己，「若是Robert Lobetta在這裡，他絕對不會只滿足於這個階段，他一定會盡所有的努力勇往直前，即使到了懸崖邊緣，他也會不顧一切的往前跳！」

Jake has made his name in hair industry by his amazing avant-garde works. All things beautiful inspire the way he dresses hair. He has always enjoys the darker side of things. ”I find beauty in the things most people over look. And avant-garde was an outlet to spread my creative wings, I could do anything, and believe me when I say this, I DID!”

Winning two NAHA by category avant-garde really proves his talent. Just like many avant-garde hairdressers, Jake sees the legendary Robert Lobetta as his #1 mentor; Jake describes Lobetta as the Salvador Dal? of hairdressing, the one of the most recognized hair artists to walk this earth. Whenever he is creating a collection, he asks himself “Is this how far Robert would go? No, he would take it to the edge and jump!”

如果說創作是Jake的動力，那麼NAHA就是他創作的原因。

「參加NAHA讓我的創作得以被記錄、被保存，更甚者，在分享我的創作之餘，啟發其他髮型師。」因此當他在2011年首度獲獎後，懷著滿滿的感激，他如此說：「能被同業中的佼佼者肯定，是何其的榮幸，我無法言喻我是多麼的尊重這個獎項，它給予我們這些髮型師一個機會，得到專業大師的講評，甚至，順利的話，還能贏得一座獎項！」

If creating is really what drives Jake. Then NAHA is a reason to create.

“Entering NAHA is my legacy - it allows me to create and capture my art, and share and inspire others.” It helps him take himself to the next level and get the best results. And winning NAHA for the first time in 2011 means the world to him. “To be chosen by your peers from all over the world is a mind blowing emotion. I respect a competition like this cause it allows artist like myself to enter, be judged and hopefully prevail and win!”

Jake的每件作品都極具個人特色，漂亮、華麗、更帶有一點黑暗的元素，「美麗的事物能啟發我創作，但是他們黑暗的一面卻是真正吸引我的地方。」

Jake的作品深受大自然和動植物影響，他認為，「美麗的事物能啟發我創作，但是他們黑暗的一面卻是真正吸引我的地方。」，這組於2014年NAHA的得獎作品La Noir Reine（闇黑女王）便是取材自火山熔岩，他用燃燒過的假髮試圖創作出火山滾燙的岩漿流入大海，凝固後，隨著時間推移，植物破土而出的樣貌。

He is deeply inspired by nature and creatures of the world. His 2014 NAHA winning collection ‘La Noir Reine’ (The Black Queen) is based on lava and how it runs into the ocean and over time foliage grows out of it, he created the looks with burned hair. This is also his currently favorite collection, due to a great team work and incredible members.

La Noir Reine不只幫助他再下一城，奪得第二座獎盃，更是他目前最喜歡的作品，他將這次的成功歸良好的團隊合作。

問起他如何領導團隊，Jake表示自己總會在創作時，把所有啟發他的不論影像、材質、色彩都匯整在一張靈感板上，並邀請團隊成員也把他們覺得相似的東西放上來，以確保整個團隊有相當的共識。

The secret of him leading a team is when he’s doing a collection; he creates a vision board?containing images or anything that have inspired his particular vision. He then asks his team members to bring or create something “similar” so they can work together cohesively to ensure they are all on the same page.

Jake在創作時，始終忠於自我，為了自己而創作，他也以此鼓勵想投稿比賽的髮型師，絕不要為了取悅他人創作。可以先預想作品完成後想要達到的效果，在創作時抓緊主軸，並且切記不要做過頭，使作品過於花俏而失了焦。

Jake advised those who want to join the competitions never create a collection to please other people, just make sure to stay consistent with the main goal and don’t over-do it.

對攝影也頗有一番研究的Jake也時充當攝影師，拍攝自己的作品，他建議髮型師們可以在拍攝時站在攝影師旁邊，甚至自己透過鏡頭看看作品的呈現，比較與現場的不同，更藉此找出髮型的重點，去蕪存菁，拿掉一切會奪走風采的配件。

Not only is he a hairdresser, Jake is also a photographer. He recommended a hairdresser could stand right beside the photographers, and ask to look in the camera, try to see what they are seeing, because you need to try to start to see two dimensionally. And the hair should be the main focus, it is important to cancel out anything that is distracting.

「不要把身邊美麗的事物視為理所當然，用心去觀察，每次都用全新的眼光來看待事物」，是Jake給予所有髮型的最後一個建議。

The last but not the least, Jake encourages hairdressers to try to see beauty that others can’t. “I worked many years trying to “see”. I always try to take it all in, walk slower, stop and breathe, just look like you haven’t seen it, try not to take all the beauty for granted.”

分享能讓他更進步，Jake非常樂於與人分享自己的熱忱，從小小的教室到偌大的舞台，他不曾感覺一絲倦怠，「我在做我熱愛的工作，我享受著每一天能接觸頭髮的人生！」

Jake is humble, hard-working, talented, and most important of all, he is willing to share. Just as he says, “I love what I do every day, especially being able to share my passion with other hairdressers.”