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the Lockport Legend | November 23, 2016 | 7
Lockport art shop a dream come true for owner
Joliet woman fulfills
lifelong goal with
opening of Wings Art
Shoppe in Lockport
Jason Maholy
Freelance Reporter
Leanne Wargowsky and
her family went out for dinner
in downtown Lockport
one night in September, and
parked on State Street outside
a vacant storefront with
“for rent” signs in the window.
The Joliet woman had
been looking for a space
where she could fulfill her
life-long ambition of opening
her own art shop, but
little did she know less than
two months later her dream
would become a reality.
Wargowsky’s 13-year-old
daughter, Katie, texted the
phone number on the “for
rent” sign to her mom’s sister,
Laura Trento, and the
wheels were set in motion.
“I called the number,”
said Trento, of New Lenox.
“I said, ‘I’ve got nothing
to lose,’ and that’s where it
started. I called, talked to the
owners, and I called Leanne
back and said, ‘this might
work.’”
Wargowsky and Trento
opened Creative Wings Art
Shoppe earlier this month,
and held a ribbon-cutting
ceremony Nov. 12 to formally
announce their presence
at 1011 S. State St.
Lori Duke (left) helps her granddaughter Lyla Moyer, 4, of
New Lenox, color a picture at Creative Wings Art Shoppe.
About 30 friends and family
members attended the event,
and packed into the quaint
shop where Wargowsky’s art
adorns the walls, shelves and
bookcases.
The whirlwind of activity
over the past six weeks has
included conference calls
at 6 a.m. and late nights at
the store, but those long
hours and hard work are
what one puts in when pursuing
a dream. Wargowsky
has wanted to own an art
shop for as long as she can
remember, and recalled that
as a child she watched oil
painter William Alexander
on PBS.
“I would sit with my crayons
and try to do what he did
with oils on the screen,” she
said. “So my love of art has
been a life-long passion. I’ve
worked in health care to pay
the bills and always had this
dream not quite knowing if
we could make it, but here
we are.”
Wargowsky and Trento
were inspired in-part by comedian
Steve Harvey, who,
in a much-watched YouTube
video, states attaining one’s
dreams involves taking a
risk.
“Just jump,” Wargowsky
said. “If you have a dream
you have to jump. You’re
going to hit a couple rocks
and get some scrapes and cut
Creative Wings Art Shoppe co-owner Leanne Wargowsky (right) talks with Lori Duke
during a Nov. 12 grand opening celebration at the store in Lockport. Photos by Jason
Maholy/22nd Century Media
up, but you’re never going to
fly unless you jump.”
The sisters agree they
have complementary skills:
Wargowsky is the creative
one — the dreamer — while
Trento is the practical realist.
“She dreams real big and
I have to say, ‘hold on, let’s
get back on the ground, this
is still a business,’” Trento
said. “We’re two nuts, we
are. We’ve never done anything
like this before, but
we’ve surrounded ourselves
with great people, smart
people. We’ve asked a lot of
questions and have learned
a lot along the way, and it’s
been a great experience.”
Wargowsky works in
various mediums, as evidenced
by her paintings,
ink drawings and collages
which decorate the
shop. She plans to hold
mixed-media workshops
and classes, and Creative
Wings will host open art
nights as well as private art
parties. The sisters plan to
expand the shop’s offerings
as they get situated.
“We really want it to be a
wonderful space for the community
to come and create art,
all kinds of art,” Wargowsky
said. “We’re going to have
open art nights where people
can bring their bag of art supplies,
and just sit here in this
space and be here and get
away, and escape a little bit
from the reality outside, and
just be free to create.
“It’s a stress-free zone.
That’s what we want it to be
here: a really positive environment,
inspiring, and we
are really just thrilled.
“I create my art because I
want to put positive things
out into the world, and I say
that my art is kind of my
message to my daughters if
I’m not here. Everything is
really full of positive quotes
and inspiring thoughts as
they go onto becoming
adults themselves.”
Will County Board approves 2017 budget at meeting
Submitted by Will County
The Will County Board
approved the annual county
budget of $569 million at its
Nov. 17 meeting.
The board made some slight
amendments to the proposal
that was submitted by County
Executive Larry Walsh at the
September board meeting.
This new budget proposal is
balanced and confirms a reduction
in the levy rate from
the fiscal year 2016 budget.
The amendments the board
made in the budget include
a $277,000 increase in the
corporate fund, which funds
general operations of county
government, to $198 million.
There is also a decrease in the
special funds, which are restricted
for specific purposes,
to $371 million.
The property tax rate was
increased to .6130 percent,
and is lower than the 2015
rate of .6358 percent.
The fiscal year 2017 budget
does not include any use of the
county’s cash reserves to balance
the budget. Will County
continues to fund the Other
Post-Employment Benefits
(OPEB) liability at $1 million.
Overall revenue remains relatively
flat with slight increases
in sales tax collections.
The start of the fiscal year
for Will County government
is Dec. 1, 2016.