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JAMISON SHAW

Jamison Shaw was born and raised on a farm in rural Tennessee, where he received only an eighth grade formal education. He learned to cut hair while serving in the United States Air Force. After his military service, he pursued a career as a beautician.

He opened his first salon in Atlanta in 1960. In 1962, he became the first American in history to win hairdressing’s Grand World Supreme Championships, held in Amsterdam that year, a centuries’ old honor previously held only by the great European stylists. As a result of bringing this honor home to America, Shaw appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and in Time magazine. He has remained at the forefront of the international beauty scene ever since and has mentored generations of hairdressers.

Celebrating fifty years in the beauty business, Jamison has been the recipient of countless awards. Among them, the National Cosmetology Association has inducted him into its “Hall of Fame” (his friend and contemporary Vidal Sassoon presented him with this award), he was the first recipient of the Aveda’s Corporation’s “Master of the Arts” award, and he is a recipient of Intercoiffure’s President’s Award. In the 5,000 square-foot, fifty-chair salon in Atlanta that bears his name, Jamison has personally trained several generations of American stylists. He is a highly sought after performer and speaker who has touched the lives of thousands of beauty professionals and is considered by many as a mentor. Jamison’s greatest asset is his ability to simplify problems and communicate practical, down-to-earth solutions to clients and hairdressers alike. He is known for his emphasis on family, and while his business is large, it has always stressed a sense of family and community. For nearly five decades he ran the business with the help of his wife, Sara, and his daughter, Candy, who is leading the company into the next millennium as it’s new chief executive officer. Modern Salon magazine named Jamison one of the top beauty educators of the 20th Century. The Georgia Secretary of States Office has presented him with the state’s distinguished service award for his contributions to the state, which was presented to him by United States Senator Sam Nunn.

Some of Jamison’s contributions seen by the rest of the world include: Burt Reynolds’s and John Voight’s hair for the movie Deliverance, First Lady Rosalyn Carter’s hair, anchorperson’s Lynn Russell’s hair as the original face of CNN, and the Atlanta Falcon’s Cheerleaders hair for Super Bowl XXXIII.

Jamison was married to the former Sara Clark for fifty three years she served as his makeup artist and model in his competition days. Jamison still works behind the chair six days a month to standing room only.