Custom commercial signs make a positive impact on businesses and the community.

Newark is known for being a hub of entertainment and activity, but that doesn't mean the city's shopping areas and roads can't have the same cultural and commercial flare.

A diverse group of New Jersey-based artists is ensuring Newark's neighborhoods and commercial streets stay vibrant with their handcrafted signs, window displays, and storefronts.

Dez Jones of Newark makes custom holiday light displays, art, and canvases, and Ximena Montes of Newark creates unique terrariums and some other installations.

Signs

Jones' light displays, which include glass, color-changing lights, and even a real deer head, light up several local buildings. Each is custom made for its building.

For the past two years, Jones has worked on the tree-lighting display on Broad Street.

"It's awesome to get to light up Broad Street," he said. "The day before the tree lighting, we have a lot of people and cars coming in and out. We all get excited."

While it can take some time for the deer to warm up to strangers, Jones said he looks forward to the experience each year.

His work includes works for commercial properties, especially on Washington Street and State Street, and a children's room sign he made last year at Holy Rosary Academy. He even makes small signs for businesses that request it.

Jones also sells photos of his work, which include pictures of Broadway theaters, signs, and two-legged creations. His gallery is at 118 Montgomery St.

When he was growing up, he used to make signs for the school he attended in Newark. But the end of the sign makers' labor union came in the 1980s.

"My heart was not really in it anymore," he said. "It was an outlet. It got me a job. ... I was one of the last ones to still do sign art, and it's not that I didn't like doing it."