Phil smith's hairdressing career in pictures
British Hairdresser of the Year nominee Phil Smith has been hairdressing for 25 years and maintains the same passion he has always had.
Phil originally wanted to be a fantastic salon-based hairdresser but his ambition and drive soon took over and now he is a successful businessman with eight salons and a huge collection of business and creative accolades under his belt.
"To me hairdressing is about making people look and feel better about themselves," he says. "At the end of the day I am a hairdresser and it's important never to forget that. I still have a regular column in the salon - how can you motivate your team if you don't practice what you preach?"
We asked Phil to talk us through his hairdressing career and these are the images that define his hairdressing achievements to date.
 Second salon |  Avant garde Hairdresser of the Year |  Desert Island disc |
Second salon
I was 23 years old and opening my second salon in Bath. I look so young and without a care in the world, but it was actually my second chance in business. My first salon in Salisbury wasn't doing well and I decided to open a second salon as a means to an end. I was the first Toni & Guy franchisee to have two salons and the youngest franchisee in the company.
Avant Garde Hairdresser of the Year
I won 1997 Avant Garde Hairdresser of the Year at the Toni & Guy awards. It was very special to be recognised by the company I work for, especially as the competition was worldwide and I was up against so many talented stylists. I really enjoy avant-garde work and would like to do more of it.
Desert island disc
I trained at Raymondes in Birmingham and this photo was taken during my qualifying test when I was 18 years old. I created an island on the model's head with the hair as a palm tree which I thought was fantastic at the time. The world was my oyster and I wanted to be a successful salon stylist - I hadn't thought of anything else and being a salon owner wasn't even on my agenda.
 One model - nine looks |  Ambitions |  Family matters |
One model - nine looks
The whole idea behind this collection I did in 1998 was to create nine different looks using fake hair, wigs and pieces with just one model. I created different textures and wanted the model to be a silhouette with colours of the hair showing through. I love this collection but it was the last time I did avant-garde hairdressing. I started to concentrate on commercial, wearable hair and went on to win Wales & South West Hairdresser of the Year at HJ's British Hairdressing Awards three times
Ambitions
This was part of the first photo shoot I did in 1990. I was working for John Carne in Guildford and it was John who instilled ambition in me. He had a nice house, a Porsche and he made me believe I could have the same. He also taught me that to create inspiring collections you need to have a good business first and have money behind you - I have never forgotten that. This was a test shoot but after this I was hooked on the creative side of hairdressing.
Family matters
My family is everything to me. Material objects that you strive for when you are younger don't matter as much as you get older, it's much more important to create security for your family. I work with Louise at the Salisbury salon and I think we make a really good team. We have created a good balance where we work and live well together.
 Hall of Fame |  2007 Collection |  2008 Collection |
Hall of Fame
These images are from my White on White collection which took me into the Hall of Fame in 1999. I wanted to create a collection that would show off my hair cutting skills and demonstrate that less is more. Commercial hairdressing is what I do best.
2007 collection
These images are from my 2007 British Hairdresser of the Year collection which is my favourite collection to date. I created diverse hairstyles, but the collection still has a commercial feel to it - the images come alive. It showed people what I could do as there were lots of different looks. When I show these styles at seminars people wonder how they were created, but it was simpler than it looks.
2008 collection
This is from my 2008 British collection and I was trying to make hair look difficult, but it was actually easy. I learnt this trick from Angelo Seminara - he makes hair look incredibly difficult and you really have to look carefully to see how it was done.