LA POMPONNÉE MAKEOVER One of Washington Road’s longtime businesses known for giving people makeovers just got its own restyling. La Pomponnée Beauty Artisans underwent a major rebranding and renovation, downsizing from around 9,000 square feet to 5,500. The renovation began in October of 2014 and was completed this past April.
“It feels larger, more open feeling,” owner Kristen Peckich says of the new space. In the downsize, the salon removed its locker room and spa waiting area, creating one larger waiting room for all clients. “Our waiting room is for everybody. We wanted to give everyone the same experience, a relaxed environment.”
The men’s barber shop, Mec, is now front and center as well. “We pushed [the men’s side] out front,” Peckich said. “The men’s side looks very different than the women’s now.”
Peckich is excited about the remodel and hopes clients enjoy the new space. “We have generations of Mt. Lebanon residents who come here,” Peckich says. “The original people that started working with us are still here, and our young staff as well, bringing new, exciting trends.”
The salon is now approaching 25 years on Washington Road.
“We have always been a local business that has stayed within the community,” Peckich says, “with a classic clientele.”
ARTISTS’ MARKET The 2016 Mt. Lebanon Artists’ Market is Saturday, September 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, September 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Academy Avenue parking lot. Admission is free but you’ll want to bring money to purchase delicious food and something decorative from the 65 artists.
The Market, presented by the Mt. Lebanon Partnership, has been expanding quickly over the last few years, and now it’s a regional draw both for exhibitors and patrons. You’ll find jewelry, ceramics, photography, fiber, glass, metal, sculpture, woodcuts, leather and other media to buy for yourself or as gifts. To see a list of all participants, go to: www.lebomag.com/artists-market-participants/ [1]
Artists are donating pieces of their work for a raffle, with proceeds going to the Mt. Lebanon Arts Initiative, a non-profit that help promote art within Mt. Lebanon. One example of the Arts Initiative’s purchases is the art gallery hanging system in the municipal building. Every purchase made at the market qualifies for a raffle ticket, or you can buy tickets at the information booth.
Musicians Pete Hewlett and Scott Anderson will play from noon to 3 both days and food vendors include: Arancini House, BRGR food truck, Causetelot Creamery, Las Chicas (Saturday only), Mac & Gold Truck (Sunday only), Halal Foods and South Side BBQ. Bring some extra cans of food with you too, as Wallace Memorial Food Bank will be accepting much-needed donations.
Touchstone, a craft center in the Laurel Highlands, will present demonstrations during the market. And Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects program at the Douglas Education Center will demonstrate their artwork and apply zombie face paint both days of the event.
This year’s coloring contest is already underway. Download the coloring page from www.mtlebanonartistsmarket.com [2] or pick one up at the Customer Service Center in the municipal building. Do your best work on it in whatever medium you choose, and submit it at the municipal building, or at Create a Frame/Handworks Gallery, 615 Washington Road. Age groups are 8 and under, 9 to 12 and 13 to adult. The 2016 Emerging Artist is Lisa Turbeville Markowski, a financial advisor who works in Mt. Lebanon. She creates mosaic boxes, mirrors, tables and other items. “She was chosen because this is her first show and we have never seen such enthusiasm and excitement from an artist,” says organizer Steve Denenberg.
If you’d like to volunteer for the market, contact manager Carla Clipper at mtlebanonevents@gmail.com [3].
Get the most up-to-date info at www.mtlebanonartistsmarket.com [2] and on Facebook.
Artist Market’s 65 artists will feature creations that appeal to people of all ages.
LEAP INTO LEARNING Last winter, representatives from the Mt. Lebanon Library began meeting with the Himalayan Institute and Artsmiths of Pittsburgh to plan joint programs around the theme of “Mindfulness.” The discussions evolved into a plan for expanding learning opportunities by tapping the many resources available in our community. The idea of offering collaborative programs for residents who appreciate the concept of lifelong learning appealed to many community organizations that the library approached, so the idea now has a title: Live, Learn, Stay, Play, with a logo designed by Mt. Lebanon’s public information office. As you can see from the logo below, the program officially will use the acronym LEAP. The school district and municipality are among the groups that have expressed interest in communitywide programming, and a long-range strategic plan for LEAP is beginning to take shape, with the library likely to continue coordinating the effort.
The Historical Society of Mount Lebanon is selling medallions identifying properties in the Mt. Lebanon Historic District as contributing to the National Register designation. The cast aluminum medallions are six inches in diameter and include mounting screws and anchors. Cost is $214. To see if your house is in the historic district, check the map [4].
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES To keep you better informed and also to save printing, mailing and labor costs, the public works department needs your help. They need your email address. Here’s why:
If you’ve ever had your day-to-day routine interrupted by street reconstruction or had utility projects disrupt your ingress and egress, you know that standard procedure is for the public works department to notify affected residents of the project scope and schedule, sometimes by letter and often by door hanger. The idea is to allow people to plan ahead and know when the end’s in sight.
Unfortunately, many people, say they don’t get the information. It got lost in the mail, blew away, whatever. That frustrates them. Adding to the public’s frustration is the frustration of the public works department itself, which has to re-notify people every time the schedule of a major construction project changes— and some projects go on for months and encounter multiple delays and schedule changes.
Working with Mt. Lebanon’s IT department, Public Works Director Rudy Sukal has come up with a modern and cost-effective solution. We now have a database that can easily notify residents of construction updates in their area—if we have your email addresses.
Would you please take a minute to send an email containing your name, address and email address to construction_updates@mtlebanon.org [5]. You also may include a home and/or mobile number, if you wish and may update information at any time by sending a new email.
The general public will continue to get updates of street closures, utility projects and other infrastructure events by the subscription-based LeboALERT, which notifies anyone who has signed up in a particular category but cannot be tailored to reach certain streets or neighborhoods. Sign up for LeboALERTS at www.mtlebanon.org [6], and click on MyLEBO.
Thanks for your help and for sending your contact information email to: construction_updates@mtlebanon.org [5].
ONLINE TAX PAYMENT Want to pay your real estate taxes online? It just got cheaper. Rather than paying close to 3 percent per transaction as in the past, the new rate for a credit card is 2.45 percent. If you use a Visa debit card the rate is 1 percent. And good news, you now can use an e-check for a flat fee of $1.95. Go to https://mylebo.mtlebanon.org/ [7] and click on Real Estate Tax Payments. It’s easy!