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Burbank salon patron, artist creates unique storefront mosaic with everyday items

Renee Howard, pictured with her dog Dudley, has created a mosaic at Color Lounge, a Burbank hair salon, using everyday items, including press-on fingernails, hair-trimmer guides and old computer components.

Renee Howard, pictured with her dog Dudley, has created a mosaic at Color Lounge, a Burbank hair salon, using everyday items, including press-on fingernails, hair-trimmer guides and old computer components.

(Roger Wilson / Burbank Leader)
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A quaint beauty salon in Burbank’s Media District recently had its façade refreshed with a unique mosaic created by one of its customers.

Press-on nails, hair clipper guards, computer parts and hundreds of various other trinkets line the lower portion of Color Lounge’s storefront, all thanks to artist and former Burbank resident Renee Howard.

Howard, who now lives in Arleta, spent 10 weekends collaborating with the hair stylists at Color Lounge, meticulously and strategically placing the nicknacks onto the wall.

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A detail shot of a mosaic Renee Howard has created at Color Lounge, a Burbank hair salon, using everyday items, including press-on fingernails, hair-trimmer guides and old computer components.

A detail shot of a mosaic Renee Howard has created at Color Lounge, a Burbank hair salon, using everyday items, including press-on fingernails, hair-trimmer guides and old computer components.

(Roger Wilson / Burbank Leader)

Some parts of the mosaic are salon-themed, while other parts represent those who work at Color Lounge. One panel is a tribute to a stylist’s love of wine, and another is dedicated to someone’s fondness of art and drawing.

The project came about after Howard showed her stylist a piece she had created in 2014, when she transformed a 27-foot-long wall in Van Nuys into a mosaic that utilized pennies, CDs and other items.

“She told me that she wanted me to do that at our place,” Howard said. “So we worked it out, that I would get my hair done for the wall.”

Traditional mosaics encompass the use of different colored glass, stones or tiles to create an image. However, Howard fell in love with making her mosaics with everyday items lying around her house.

“I think that everything should live twice,” she said.

Renee Howard, pictured with her dog Dudley, has created a mosaic at Color Lounge, a Burbank hair salon, using everyday items, including press-on fingernails, hair-trimmer guides and old computer components.

Renee Howard, pictured with her dog Dudley, has created a mosaic at Color Lounge, a Burbank hair salon, using everyday items, including press-on fingernails, hair-trimmer guides and old computer components.

(Roger Wilson / Burbank Leader)

Howard’s love of making mosaics began when she lived in Van Nuys, where she took it upon herself to beautify her backyard. It started off with her decorating a sidewalk using Corona beer bottles and then branched off to her making a wall out of wine bottles.

“Then it just kind of snowballed, and I covered the entire back wall of the garage,” she said, laughing.

Grace Ilasco, co-owner of Color Lounge, said that she has noticed an uptick in people walking by the store and taking photographs of the mosaic. She added that one of those passersby became her newest employee at the salon.

Ilasco said Howard’s mosaic fit in with the salon’s already do-it-yourself decoration theme inside the business.

“We all love it, and it’s unique,” Ilasco said.

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio

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