Starting out as an apprentice inspired by the artists he once watched on stage, Dimitri Deacon Jones has build a career defined by dedication, creativity and growth. Now part of the Dyson team, he champions the brand's blend of cutting-edge technology and aristic styling, helping to shape the future of modern haircare. We caught up with him at Salon International this year to discuss his career journey and his vision for the future of hot tools.
Q: What would you say has being your biggest career highlight?
My biggest career highlight is doing a 360° of coming to Salon International as an apprentice, watching people that I admired on stage and watching their shows to now being on stage myself and seeing the next generation coming through. That's a real crazy moment.
Q: What would you say is the biggest challenge that you've faced in your career so far?
I think it's really easy to get disheartened. You hear a lot of noise in the industry. People say you should be aiming to be an influencer, you should be aiming to be on stage, you should be aiming to be in a magazine, and you have to find your own direction, and sometimes you feel like you're being knocked down or you should be doing what somebody else is doing. Actually, you've just got to believe in yourself and you'll find your own path when you need to.
Q: How would you categorise Dyson's upcoming marketing and brand priorities?
Our brand priority is always about hair health. It's technology first, so all of our machines have intelligent heat control in them, we're trying to take out the thinking for the stylist, so every attachment that you put on the Supersonic R already knows what the right settings are, how it should run, what it should do, but it still gives you the option to overwrite it and be creative yourself if you choose to do so.
Q: What would you say is the future for hot tools?
We're always looking at the future. Dyson's ethos is all about solving problems that others choose to ignore. So, all I can say is watch this space. There is lots of news coming in the next year, it's going to be really big.
Q: How do you think Dyson bridges the gap between scientific engineering and creative styling?
We work with a whole army of engineers. James Dyson himself always refers to himself as an engineer first. We will really go in depth and study our product, study our machines to see how they work and then we put them into tests. In terms of creative styling, we use our ambassadors, we use our salons, we talk to pros, and we take their feedback and we really build on it. So overall we try and meet through the real life experiences of engineers, of session stylists, of salon stylists, and partners and try to find a balance between the two.
Q: What would you say your experience has been of working at a globally recognised brand that is so rooted in technology and design?
I love my job genuinely. It gives me the opportunity so that one day I can be at somewhere like Salon International and the next day I can be doing a tech talk with a college or with influencers. Being able to have a varied diary and calendar of events and be a part of new product development really gives me the passion so that I'm excited to wake up, I'm excited to get to work. I love seeing all the new things come to life, from working on them, studying them and then seeing people use them.
