'I'm spreading Christmas cheer across Shropshire one window at a time in people's homes, pubs and a dog grooming parlour'
Lucy Wight is spreading Christmas cheer one window at a time. Since the beginning of November she has been busy painting winter scenes at homes and businesses across Shropshire and beyond.
Over the past few weeks, her creative skills have been in huge demand as the countdown to Christmas gets under way.
From pubs and shops to dog grooming parlours and beauty salons, they’ve all been given a festive transformation.
“I was just doing my own windows and a few of my family and friends said they liked it and asked if I could do theirs.
“This year it has snowballed. I can’t believe how much it has taken off. It’s all through word of mouth,” says Lucy, who lives with her son in Telford.
The 43-year-old mostly paints windows during the evenings and at weekends. “I absolutely love it, it’s all on top of my full-time job,” she explains.
Among the wide variety of local businesses that have hired Lucy to transform their windows are The Fox & Hounds at Shawbury; EL Beauty & Therapy in Admaston; Sofa Outlet in Market Drayton; Key Angels Estate Agents in Shifnal; and Abbey Foregate Post Office in Shrewsbury.
Her designs have featured everything from Christmas trees, baubles and holly to Santa, reindeer and penguins.
Clients will send her photos of the windows they want decorating in advance and Lucy will doodle a few ideas ahead of painting.
After getting the customer’s approval, she draws the design by hand without stencils.
It means every one is bespoke and no two windows are exactly the same.
“Ninety-per-cent of my clients say ‘do whatever you want to do on the day’,” says Lucy, who enjoys letting her ‘creativity flow’.
“It’s lovely that people trust me to just go for it and see what happens.”
To bring her freehand designs to life, Lucy uses Posca paint pens which she says produce “nice, clean lines”.
She works mainly in white but can also add in a splash of colour.
Each job can take Lucy between two and six hours to complete depending on the size of the windows and the number being painted at the property.
She is passionate about keeping the fee for her designs as fair as possible to make it more affordable and accessible for people wanting to have decorated windows at their own homes.
It is also her way of supporting small local businesses around the county and further afield.
“It’s important to keep the local High Streets going,” she says.
Lucy’s talents are not only limited to Christmas designs – she loves to paint windows all year round.
“I like to do floral designs in the spring and I paint for different seasons from Valentine’s Day to Easter through to Halloween and Christmas,” she says.
She is also happy to create bespoke designs for birthday parties, weddings and corporate events.
Lucy has been enjoying spreading festive joy around the area as well as meeting new customers and catching up with old ones.
She says she has been “blown away” by people’s reactions to the windows and the amount of enquires she’s received so far this year.
“For me, it’s my way of zoning out and going into my own little world. I have a stressful job and it’s a lovely, relaxing, creative process.
“When people love the design, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling,” says Lucy,
Lucy has availability for bookings during the week commencing December 8, visit www.facebook.com/p/Window-Magic-Designs-61553695844312/
