When students at Focus 4 Beauty Career Institute open the doors to their studio and classrooms, they are immediately reminded that their future career in cosmetology will be a way to make a living, but also a way to express themselves.
After recently moving to a bigger, brighter space, Focus 4 Beauty can now flourish and fulfill its owners’ dreams of serving the community through beauty and service. And the help of a local artist has kept the mood whimsical and expressive, motivating students to be the best artists they can be. Jules Burt, known for her bold pop art, has decked the walls in her signature style.
When Focus 4 Beauty first started at its studio on James L. Redman Parkway, it was confined to about one-fourth of the building. It expanded to fill the second floor, and eventually spilled onto the first floor. But the split between two levels caused disconnects.
“It really just wasn’t conducive for what we needed,” co-owner Paul Granville said.
As more and more students began to enroll at Focus 4 Beauty, Granville realized that the school was outgrowing its space. Plant City’s convenient location, central to Lakeland, Brandon and Tampa was attractive to many students, as well as its focus on community involvement and donating services to those in need.
“We’re offering a big city education, but a small town feel,” Granville said. “Who wouldn’t want to do a job that makes people feel better about themselves?”
During the holiday break this past December, Paul and Nanette Granville and their students relocated Focus 4 Beauty to 631 E. Alexander Street, in the Watson Clinic plaza.
The new studio is three times as large as the old one, all on one floor. About 70 students are currently enrolled, but the bigger studio can accommodate twice that number. Granville expects clientele to increase because the building is right along a busy route.
But in addition to providing a conveniently located and spacious studio for their students, the Granvilles wanted to decorate in a way that would foster an atmosphere of artistry and expression.
“We wanted to find a way to display that feeling of creativity, and letting yourself go, and inspiration,” Paul said.
The Granvilles searched, but did not find artwork that fit the purpose and coordinated with Focus 4 Beauty’s thematic palette of white, black and bright green. They realized that they would need to commission an artist to design custom work, and Jules Burt was the perfect candidate.
Burt, known as “America’s Pop Art Diva,” is a Plant City native, but she is acclaimed throughout the United States for her paintings and sculptures.
Burt’s work has appeared numerous times on television, including on the series “Friends,” where her paintings hang in the set of the Central Perk coffee shop. She once designed a line of ceramics that was available in Hallmark stores nationwide, and many of her pieces appear in high-traffic public places, such as the Tampa International Airport.
Burt has known the Granvilles for about 10 years, and has been a longtime client of services at Focus 4 Beauty.
“I pop in any chance I get, in case I need a quick manicure or a quick blow dry,” Burt said.
When the Granvilles approached Burt and asked her to create art for the new studio, she jumped at the opportunity, even though using just three colors wasn’t her usual style. She has created about 30 pieces so far — mostly paintings, but also two chandeliers for the skincare room.
“I especially loved this project because … I have been in and around a lot of people in the beauty business, and they’re artists in the same way,” Burt said. “It’s such a wonderful space, and they needed a lot of art.”
Some of the paintings’ subjects are stylists’ tools, such as scissors, nail polish or hairspray. Others feature Burt’s iconic women’s faces, which she calls her “ladies.”
“Every one of them in some way or another just captures what we’re all about,” Granville said.
“Every time I’d go in there, the students would get excited, and I’d tell them, ‘You’re all artists,’” Burt said. “I’m just so proud of Paul and Nanette. It’s been a dream of theirs for a long time. … To see them grow is just so exciting.”
