Maple Ridge salon owner seeking local artist to beautify storefront after car crashed through it

A Maple Ridge salon, whose front entrance was damaged after a car crashed through it, is putting a call out to local artists to brighten up the boarded up storefront.

On Aug. 9, a car flew through the front of Mardecus Hair Studio at 206 Street and Lougheed Highway, missing a client by inches. The accident happened at around 12:30 p.m. as a client was sitting in the front foyer waiting for a pick up after her appointment, when a 70-year-old driver crashed through the front of the salon.

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Since then, the salon entrance has been reinforced with boards. Owner Michele Rae is now hoping some local artist would use the boarded up front as a canvas to brighten up her studio.

“We have had to board up the front and it is hard, because we are open but it looks like we are closed. We were just now getting back on our feet with COVID and then this happened. It is a tough pill to swallow,” she said.

Rae first posted on her social media about seeking a graphiti artist to make the storefront look nicer until they get the glass replaced. The post was further shared by some of her regulars.

Any #artist out there in #mapleridge or close by who would want to draw or paint something nice on this #hair #studio that had a #car #drive through the #window yesterday? Contact them and ask for #michelle pic.twitter.com/SUaHqZXxKs

— Stephanie Hahn (she/her) (@rxstephanie) August 12, 2021

“What happened, has been really rough on all of our staff. On top of that when the front is boarded up, and you can’t really see outside, it makes you even more nervous,” said Rae. “I know the chances of this happening again are very slim, but it is hard to get out of your head.”

Rae said she is not sure how long it would take for glass to be installed, it could be days, weeks or even months before the studio front is back to normal. So in the meantime, she is hoping to get a local artist to work on the front, make it cheerful for people to look at and for the staff to look at when they come in to work.

“I just want to do it to spread a little happiness and help everyone cope with, and recover from something that could’ve been catastrophic,” Rae said, adding she eventually hopes to use the art in some way inside the store, but she doesn’t yet know how.

- With files from Colleen Flanagan

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