zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Jenna Engel wasn’t going to apply to Salon Magazine’s Contessa Awards this year.
The annual competition recognizes the nation’s best hair stylists, nail technicians and makeup artists.
After over a dozen tries, Engel had been named as a finalist more than once – including last year, when her salon was named as a finalist for Canadian salon team – but she’d never taken home the grand prize.
Engel, owner and stylist at Medicine Hat’s Plush Salon and Spa, said her attentions were divided this summer as her business is expanding.
“My extra time and effort went to something else this year, and after so many years of not winning, I thought ‘Whatever, we’ll miss a year,'” she said in an interview with the News.
But Labour Day weekend fell right before the application deadline, and her husband suggested she use the day off to stage a photoshoot.
She was named a finalist again, as she has been several times before. She travelled to Toronto for the awards ceremony Nov. 16, but she didn’t really believe she’d win it until her name was called.
“It was very surreal. Almost every time, I go up against some of the same people. One of the girls in the category has won so many times. As soon as I see somebody’s who’s beat me before, I’m thinking, ‘She’s going to win.'”
But this time, it was Engel’s turn.
The contest requires stylists to submit a collection of photos that highlights their creativity, while incorporating colour, cutting, textures and trends. For her winning collection, Engel’s husband suggested they follow a cyberpunk theme. The photoshoot features dazzling colours, edgy accessorizing and dramatic silhouettes.
In her day-to-day work as a stylist in Medicine Hat, Engel says she rarely gets to experiment with her full set of skills.
“I do work full-time behind the chair still, doing extensions mainly. So this is my creative outlet, where I get to do whatever I want and just push my boundaries,” she said.
Winning this year’s prize was extra special for Engel, who had both her mother and her husband in the crowd in Toronto. Although Engel has been nominated for the prize several times before, this was the first time her mother came along.
Hair is their family business – Engel’s mother owned a salon in the Medicine Hat Mall for 25 years, and today she works at Plush. Her mother’s husband is also a barber and former salon owner. Engel’s husband is also the photographer who shot the competition photoshoots.
“She was the reason that I’m in this industry, so the fact that she also came to the gala for the first time with us was very special. Having my husband and my mom there for my win, that was very exciting.”
Engel is thrilled to receive the recognition at the Contessa awards this year, but she’s in no way satisfied.
“I am such a competitive person. I just have that burning desire, I always need something to light a fire under me,” she said.
“As much as I am a service provider, I am very much an entrepreneur at heart. I am always thinking about the next big thing I want to do.”
The next challenge on the horizon is expanding her business. Engel has owned Plush for 15 years, and expanded the spa side of her operation two years ago. She’s also acquired the space next to her salon and is in the process of opening a hair academy.
Engel says she will also continue to enter competitions. Her team has already entered the North American Hair Awards with an expanded version of the Contessa-winning collection.
Finalists for that contest will be announced in February.
