Growing Up Wright with Lonnie Lovness
Lonnie Lovness grew up near Stillwater, and graduated from Stillwater high school. She attended Macalester College and the University of Minnesota where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her University junior year was spent in Madrid, studying art and spanish. In addition to her painting, she was a program coordinator for the Minnesota State Arts Board and later managing director of Theater de la Juene Lune in Minneapolis. In 1984 she began a business making hand painted scarves and jewelry, which became Lonnie Lovness Accessories. The company sold to retail shops, galleries, fashion catalogs and department stores, and employed hundreds of local women over 32 years in business. Her twice-a-year sample sales drew crowds to the downtown Stillwater studio.
She traveled around the globe sourcing exotic beads, stones and components for the jewelry, and after retiring in 2019, has continued to explore the world, although summers are reserved for her beloved St. Croix River. Her book “Growing Up Wright” pays homage to her parents and their unusual life. It was published in 2020. She and her husband Gordon have one son and have lived in Marine on St. Croix for 38 years.