DOUGLAS J DESIGNER
IS FINALIST FOR PRESTIGIOUS AWARD
When One Career Door Closed, a Better One Opened
OKEMOS----- Jeremy Lance, a talented
young designer at the Douglas J Day Spa Salon in
Okemos. Lance, 31, has been named one of the top
10 finalists of the 2007 National Intercoiffure
Nouveau “Timeless Classics” Contest.
The competition included hair designers from the
United States, Canada and Mexico.
As a finalist, he will appear on stage at the Venetian
Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday, June
10, at Intercoiffure’s 2007 Spring Symposium
where the top three winners will be selected and
announced by Stephen Moody, the International Education
Director of Vidal Sassoon. Intercoiffure is an international
association of independent hairdressers that aims
to maintain high standards of service and professionalism
in the hairdressing industry. It is headquartered
in Paris, France, and membership is by invitation
only. Douglas J is a member of the association.
The contest is designed to recognize new talent—people
who have been in the hair cutting industry for five
years or less.
“I am completely blown away by this,”
said Lance, who was selected by Douglas J to participate
in the contest. “This is the best thing that
has ever happened to me,” he added.
Doug Weaver, the Founder of the Douglas J Company,
said, “I’m proud that Jeremy is a member
of the Douglas J team.”
Perry Monge, Chairman of Intercoiffure Nouveau,
said in a letter to Lance, “You have been
selected because of your hard work, determination
and future for success.”
Life wasn’t always so kind to Jeremy Lance.
A few years ago, he was a manager of a telemarketing
company. When it outsourced the work, he was left
without a job and he was forced to sell his house
and car to get by. That event turned out to be a
significant turning point in his life. He had dabbled
in hair work before and he decided to pursue it
as a career. He enrolled at the Douglas J Aveda
Institute in East Lansing and graduated from there
in 2005. Then he went to work at the Douglas J Day
Spa Salon in Okemos, where he is now a Level 2 designer.
To get to be one of the top 10 finalists in this
competition, Lance demonstrated his hair cutting,
coloring, makeup, and styling skills on a model.
He will repeat that procedure in Las Vegas. Should
he win the top prize, Lance would receive a free
week’s education at the Vidal Sassoon Academy
in Santa Monica, California. He also would receive
free admittance to Intercoiffure’s Fall Atelier,
which will be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel
in New York City. In addition, he would receive
a backstage pass so that he could personally talk
to the big names in the hair design industry. The
second and third place winners also will receive
free admittance and a backstage pass to that fall
event.
In addition, the pictures of the top 10 finalists
in the competition will be submitted for possible
publication in Inspire, a hair design magazine.
Las Vegas is a long way from Okemos, but Jeremy
Lance knows that everyone at Douglas J will be cheering
for him to come up with the top prize.
