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They are impossible to miss. Anyone who has driven around downtown Oklahoma City over the past month has had to have seen Soled by Melissa‘s handiwork
At the same time that the Oklahoma City Thunder were powering their way to the top of the NBA, Melissa Griggs-Hendricks, who created Soled by Melissa, was doing the same when it came to the signage game. Her brightly colored signs proclaiming allegiance to the Thunder seemingly popped up overnight throughout the metro.
Ruth’s Creole Kitchen in Oklahoma City features Melissa Griggs-Hendricks’ Thunder-inspired artwork in a window. (Photo by Michael Kinney, The Journal Record)
While Griggs-Hendricks has been painting store windows for the Thunder for the past eight years, it was the franchise’s run to the 2025 NBA Championship that propelled her small, two-woman operation to take off to another level.
“Some years it’s a few less windows than others. But this year it’s just really, really blown up and it’s really been embraced by the community and people have hired me through the community,” Griggs-Hendricks said. “I’ve gotten so many new opportunities with companies that it just really helped me get my foot in the door with places that I never would have even thought to be in contact and they’re all reaching out to me. And it’s just been amazing.”
While she had done a few businesses throughout the regular season, it wasn’t until the playoffs arrived that Soled by Melissa kicked into gear. From March 31 until the Thunder were crowned NBA champions, Griggs-Hendricks painted 157 windows. That’s more than triple her previous best year.
“The Thunder paid for part of them,” Griggs-Hendricks said. “But then the majority was just customers who hadn’t seen it. The Thunder gave my name out to downtown businesses and said, ‘This is our girl. Use her if you’d like to get your windows painted.’ And then people did it that way.”
Melissa Griggs-Hendricks’ artwork is featured on a Continental Resources window. (Photo by Michael Kinney, The Journal Record)
Soled By Melissa’s biggest job to date has been Continental Resources downtown. The project included 50 windows on three sides and took 11 hours.
But it’s other small businesses like Ruth’s Creole Kitchen and Culture Coffee that Griggs-Hendricks gets the most satisfaction working on.
While the Oklahoma City Thunder have been a great help in spreading the word of her work, Griggs-Hendricks’ biggest boost may have come from a simple change in her signage. Along with a Thunder slogan, she began to add @soledbymelissa at the bottom of each paint job.
“Whenever I’ve done my regular window painting, I always do that. But last I asked the Thunder if I can put my name on it? They said, absolutely. That was a huge moment. I think that’s when things really started to escalate. When people see your name associated with the Thunder, they call you.”