A lot has changed for PRINCE STREET BARBER Nathan Thompson, over the last 10 months! Born in Sydney and raised in Grafton, Nath and his wife Tahlia, along with his two beautiful kids, Laurie (3) and Tilly (15mths), have had their lives as a family take on a whole new direction...and fast! You see, up until February this year, this guy was a builder... Yes you read that correctly, Nath was a Chippy! But to see him in action on the tools full time at PRINCE STREET BARBERS you would think he had been cutting hair all his life. Building and Barbering you could say are worlds apart, but for Nath the structure he learnt as a builder has made the transition into barbering a simple one, it’s all about angles, balance and building a shape that is pleasing to the eye and suited to the client....... that and a whole lot of education about hair itself, which Nathan gets from family friend, mentor and boss Kerrie (Kez) DiMattia from DiMattia & Co and heaps of external education from industry legends like Lance Liufau and industry events such as Hair Expo and Brisbane Hair Expo. Funnily enough it all started over a few beers one Christmas, Nath who had been a model for Kez for a barbering workshop joked that he could see himself becoming a Barber, he loved the whole culture of the traditional gent and old school atmosphere of a Barbershop. Nathan may have been joking at that point, but the seed had been planted and with the building industry being a little less secure these days than it used to be especially in a rural town, maybe a change of direction was not such a crazy idea. “Kez showed real faith in my ability to learn a completely new trade and to be honest I was ready for something new. She started working with me on the tools after work and Saturday afternoons to start with, whilst I was still on the job as a builder, until we both new this wasn’t just a passing faze. Kez can often be overheard telling people that she reckons I was a Barber in a previous life as I have picked it up that quickly. Maybe that would explain my crazy obsession with old school barbering equipment and my new-found passion for a killer short back and sides!”
“My family and friends have also been incredible, all have inspired and supported me to take the leap of faith and walk away from all that I knew as a builder and start back at the beginning as an apprentice Barber. I am very grateful to each and every one of them, especially my wife Tahlia who has also had to make quite a few adjustments for our family to fit in and around my new schedule as you can imagine the hours and lifestyle of that of a Barber are very different to that of a builder.” “I started doing my certificate of attainment at Grafton TAFE to begin with and as soon as the Cert 3 in Barbering became a reality I signed on the dotted line. At this point Kerrie was also in the process of doing a whole new fit out and re-branding of her salon and it was the perfect opportunity to incorporate a separate area for a very cool new Barbershop.” PRINCE STREET BARBERS was then established! An authentic space, with cool old school hand painted art on the walls and vintage cinema seats as the waiting chairs that were part of Grafton’s heritage Saraton Cinema before their refit a few years ago. Nath is the main Barber on board at this point but has the back up of Kerrie’s rad young apprentice Rueben or Scoobs as he is affectionately known who grabs any chance he can to jump in and do what he loves in the Barbershop which is also fast becoming his specialty! Between them they are reviving the art of grooming for the local lads! And Nath’s advice?...”If you are looking for a cool new career change… go for it, if you want something then chase it, work hard, aim high and don’t let doubt cripple you. To be honest I’ve never looked back! I am doing what I love, and I am living the dream and the coolest thing about it all is that my son Laurie tells anyone who will listen now ‘my dad does Barber stuff and I want to be like him!’
15 Barber Shop Year 5 Issue 3