Local artist transforms ordinary store fronts into window wonderlands

From whimsical reindeer and Santa Clauses to store logos and even Olaf, from the movie "Frozen," Kim Lonsky has been illuminating the facades of area businesses with the strokes of her paint brush adding to the magic of the season with her artistic window wonderland creations.

Lonsky, who lives in Stockholm, has always loved art, in fact, not only did she study as an Art Major at Sussex County Community College, she went on to take classes at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Her love of art led her to the beauty business where she became a highly-sought-after nail expert and became well-known for her nail art. She also freelanced doing water color and mixed media over the years. This led her to starting a side business called Potterflies, creating colorful custom indoor/outdoor hand painted pots.

This past fall, one of her clients at Bella Boutique, in Andover, where she does nails asked her about painting windows.

“It had never occurred to me,” Lonsky said, “But it sounded intriguing.”

It also sounded intriguing to the the salon/spa's owner, Laura Rinaola who, at the suggestion, hired Lonsky to paint her window in a fall motif.

That was the beginning. As customers and shop owners noticed the window, Lonsky started getting business, and before she knew it, she'd painted many of the windows in Upper Lake Plaza for the holidays as well as a number of other windows around Sparta, Franklin and Sussex.

Unique designs
What sets Lonsky's work apart is that no two windows are the same.

“It's completely up to the customer,” she said.

Once she gets a call, she visits the business and assesses the size and lay out of the window. She then asks the business owner what he or she wants and comes up with a sketch. Once the sketch is approved, she goes to work on the window.

Lonsky said that since some businesses opt for seasonal murals while others choose logos or advertising options, “the paints I use are acrylic latex paints so this means they can be removed whenever the business wants yet are super reliable to last a long time too.”

The window at Main Street Barbers, in Sussex, is one of her favorites that she's done. "[Lonsky] herself is a super sweet and friendly person with very reasonable prices. I saw her work on Facebook and hired her," said the barber shop's owner, Nicoe Halliday, "She made the whole process very pleasant and the end result was fantastic."

“It's rare to meet a person as talented and versatile as [Lonsky]. Not only does she do beautiful nail art, but she has an incredible talent as an artist on all sorts of media including the beautiful windows she does,” said Rinaolo. “We are so excited to see her take her talents to the next level of window painting in her career.”

Lonsky said she is thankful for her supportive husband, Jonathan, and grateful for their two-and-a-half year old daughter Paige.

"I love what I do, and this new facet of art is an exciting addition," she said.

Lonsky already has jobs lined up for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day and anticipates doing different designs for a number of her clients throughout the year as the seasons change and for advertising.

For information about her window painting, call 973-270-1985 or e-mail kimlutkins@yahoo.com.