Have Heart By Rex A.C Silver

Every now and then you meet a barber who has truly set their own scene. You walk into their shop, and you can feel the space is an extension of who they are. Jake Heart is one of these barbers, he loves what he does, and he loves being surrounded by what inspires him… you feel comfortable because he is comfortable in this world he has created.

Flash Art, which is largely Japanese tattoo inspired art, skateboard decks, skate punk (just the right volume) and a modern twist on traditional old school barbering is what gets this man going. That passion for what inspires him comes across in his work and his strive for setting the bar with regard to his customer service and customer satisfaction levels so high.

Creatively, Jake reminds us of a young Jürgen Neiderl (AMBA Judge, EU Barber of the Year) or even Bertus the Bloody Butcher (AMBA Judge, Barber Legend) both in his love for modern traditional, and, in the way he presents his work in images, in a story-like format, like a still shot from a movie.

I have spoken about this style of approach in presenting work in such a fashion to both Jürgen and Bertus - you can read about it in back issues of barbershop magazine on ISSUU.com It will be interesting to follow the creative journey of Jake from this point forward and see his creativity evolve… so, let’s meet him!

Tell us about Jake Heart:

I grew up on the Sunshine Coast Queensland. As a younger kid we were always out on the street with our skateboards and bikes I loved the atmosphere being outside with all the kids. We spent a great deal of time building little kickers and getting our parents to weld together little flat rails for us to skate. We would always be running extension cords from the houses out to the street so we could listen to punk/hardcore while we skated the streets. I guess I could say these formative years really shaped who I am as a person today.

Your Barber Journey:

I had always had an interest with hair experimenting with hair styles and always the guy wanting to cut my mates hair. I was about 22 years of age when I decided that this was much more than an interest and like everything in my world it had started to be a part of my lifestyle. I was driving trucks and working for earthmoving companies when I come across an opportunity for an apprenticeship in a hair salon. Naturally I jumped at the idea and landed the job. The apprenticeship started me off men’s cutting straight away gaining a love for clippers and shears I began to get really passionate about the craft. I was seeing a lot of the early years of the birth of modern barbering. I would have to take a 2-hour train trip into Brisbane to attend barber college 2 days a week and the rest of my training would be in the salon itself. I fell in love with classic barbering everything from the styles and shapes to the public figures that were representing it, Bertus the Bloody Butcher was a big influence on a lot of my early days in cutting. I remember being at college one day and my mentor coming to me at the end of the day when the class being let out and saying to me that barbering was my calling. That little push from my teacher launched me out of a salon and into barbershops where I had truly found a home and shaped the barber that I am today.

When did you open Have Heart? Tell us about the process:

We opened Have Heart around July 2021. We were having a look around a lot of locations, but nothing felt quite right. There are quite a few barbershops on the Sunshine Coast, particularly in and around Maroochydore, so we wanted to step outside the hub and stand alone. We looked and looked for the perfect location before we landed our spot, which couldn’t be more perfect, with a craft brewery and a tattoo shop right up the road. We actually started on the shop straight out of a lockdown. The day the lockdown was lifted, my fiancé Ruby and I went down grabbed the keys and got straight into the shop fit. Getting trades and everything to line up was pretty difficult at this time but we got it done. The day we started fit out; my book filled up for the following week. I wasn’t going to open the shop up with it looking half done I wanted everything to be 100% for opening. So, we put in some big hours to get it all done. If I was to do it again, I probably would have spaced it out a bit because some of the trades working on a deadline took a bit of advantage of the situation and stung us with a few costs above what we had budgeted in for.

A unique feature Jake, is your extensive collection of Flash Art, can you explain in detail your love of this and the fashion and culture of tattoos and how this all influences and inspires you creatively?

I’ve always had a love for art from a young age if I wasn’t outside skating, I was inside painting. Have Heart is an extension of all the things that I hold pretty close, music, art and skating. The shop is primarily filled with Flash from local artists, traditional and Japanese which I have been collecting over the years while getting tattooed myself. I also collect skate decks so there are a few late 90s early 2000s boards hanging up around the shop. The love of art and creating has always been there, I just now have a place I call home to be able to showcase all the things I love while doing what I love. I feel as though people with that creative feel look at the world a little differently and find art and inspiration in just about anything on a day-to-day basis. You can definitely see this transferred into my love of hair, drawing inspiration from those cultures, and creating some really fun haircuts out of that.

Can you tell us about the vibe of your shop, customer service procedures; your strengths in your barbering and what has helped make you so popular in such a short period of time?

The shop is very much so, an extension of my personality. So, the vibe comes across as just that. Loud music playing, craft beers flowing and a lot to look at. We pride ourselves on being a strong pillar within our community, and stive to make people feel just that, welcomed, and excepted. Have Heart isn’t just about our shop art, it’s about our way of making our customers want to come back not only for the haircut but the atmosphere we have created, the feeling of being welcome to just come hang out and have a beer. We are primarily a bookings shop, but of course walk ins are welcome where we can fit them in, but I have found that allocated times for haircuts has been very fruitful for us to be able to deliver haircuts that we are truly proud walking out of our shop. That’s been a very powerful word of mouth tool that has brought in many new clients, alongside keeping my loyal clientele I have been lucky enough to keep over the years of my barbering career which was great to kickstart Have Heart for sure.

Turning a negative into a positive, everyone, like every busy shop in the country has staff problems, for most even getting staff at all right now is the biggest issue. Your business, however, has taken off. Can you expand on this?

When Have Heart kicked off it was a really fast pace, we were booked out completely and the weeks that followed were of the same pace. By the time I had gotten 3 months into trading I was at capacity. So, the decision to hire had come about. Staff was important to me as the shop definitely attracts a certain demographic. So, we employed someone that we thought was the fit to get us through the busy period unfortunately at that time the decision was made that it wasn’t the right fit. So back to the drawing board we went. I had a young guy that was hanging around the barbershop quite a lot and had a genuine interest in the industry and what the barbershop represented so eventually the decision was

made to start up his trade. The route of hiring an apprentice has been a better decision for the shop because we can strip down hair right to the basics and begin right from the fundamentals. He is now on the floor taking clients of his own. Getting the right people within the four walls of your shop is super important because it’s your reputation on the line, I can’t stress that enough. We have now made the decision to have my fiancé Ruby step out from the behind-the-scenes aspect of the shop and start learning to barber as well.

What products do you use, love and why?

I love a range of products from oil-based products for the big old school pompadours, the Matte Pomades for the modern haircuts. We stock King Brown and Uppercut in the shop. Both of these brands are so complimentary to the haircuts that we do in the shop. I’ve found that product selection is one of most important things when it comes to hair as it has to be products that you truly believe in. You have to be confident that the products that you are using and recommending are the right selection for the haircuts that you are producing. It’s important that the client can take a product home with them and recreate the haircut at home. King browns wax powder has definitely become one of my favourites. I love how much texture I can get from this product perfect for those haircuts that are completely texture focused like crops.

What tools do you use and love - and why?

All Wahl everything! I started with a pair of Wahl clippers when I first started and that’s just what’s felt right for me other the years. I’ve always enjoyed how they feel in my hands the weight and shape has always been a win for me. I love the way that they glide seamlessly through the hair time and time again. I use 4 pairs of clippers on my daily routines. Super Tapers to set in my base lines and all my over combing techniques. I love using the Seniors as a bulk removal and fading, the motor on this clipper is really powerful so I’m always really confident in this clipper. I use the Magic Clip for any detailed clipper, this clipper is a personal favourite of mine. I love the way the extra teeth pull the hair into your fades I’m always really using Magics to create the most detailed fades. My most recent addition are the cordless Wahl Legends. I’m loving this tool that I picked it up at Wahl event in Brisbane at Barber Temple and have been experimenting with them a lot. I love the extended taper arm, it’s a real game changer for my style of barbering, as I like to predominantly work in free hand and very rarely use guards in my barbering.

I use a pair of the cordless Detailers for my outlining the T-blade on this is super handy for edging and I’ve found it a really good tool to use to scrub out the line between skin and foil. (Great Tip-Ed) I’ve tried other brands and experimented a lot with clippers over the years, but I’ve always found myself at home with Wahl. To me they are what symbolises the traditional… all the way through to modern barbering.

Any advice to someone who is wanting to start their own shop, Jake?

My advice to anyone that aspires to open their own shop is to keep it authentic. Stay true to what you believe in. Don’t hesitate to ask, and ask again for help and for advice, and for guidance, because everything you hear from people who have done it before, you will take on, and make it your own. Then can then start achieving the goals you set yourself but remember, you’re only going to miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.