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Open Studio Tours: Fruccidesign


Story by FrucciDesign, Vanessa Published on February 21, 2008 in This Handmade Life	Photo by FrucciDesign

In this series, we’ll be snooping around artists’ creative spaces, how they set them up, when, why…even how often they clean them! We really want to know all about our artists, and maybe get a bit of inspiration!

Today we're visiting the space of the artist who will be editing the series — FrucciDesign. She's built a DIY studio nook where she works on metal and paper for her jewelry. So her pieces are truly homemade — and homemade in Italy no less!

What's your name and what kind of craft do you do?
My name is Francesca or Fru and I'm a jewelry maker, I do paper jewelry…but I'm in a transition phase to metal.

When did you decide that you needed a studio?
As most of us crafters, I've started my creative journey in my mum's kitchen then I carried on in my own kitchen, until last summer, when for the first time I met the fabulous world of metal at Penland School of Craft. Once I was back home from Penland I decided that metal is the perfect match for my paper creations. But work with metal involves a very dedicated space. So I started adapting my kitchen table to a jeweler workbench, but I simply was at crossroads: I needed to set up a studio or lose my already super tolerant boyfriend, who shares the same fate as this guy.

[ah, the lovely mess of creativity!]

When and how have you set up your studio?
There are two things you need to do setting up a jewelry studio.

First get the tools, second a bench where you can use them, and I can tell you this is not a cheap ride!

For the tools I shopped around a bit and eventually I bought all the basic things and few more. But when it came to the bench, I was a bit stuck: I found benches too big to fit in my little one bedroom apartment, and their huge price tags didn’t help. So I started looking into DIY benches, and I came across this article, which is written by Tim McCreight, a well-known jeweler and instructor. Based on Tim’s suggestions, one day last September I drove to store to get the raw materials (four wood sticks, three shelves a two drawers unit), and I build my little tiny bench, and now I use it all the time…well also because it is just next to the couch in the living room!

Did the studio set up impact your crafter budget?
It could have, but except for the tools I did everything by myself and secondly, the studio is right in my living room next to the couch, so I cut down also the costs of an extra room rent.

This of course has its disadvantages, because I need to be very careful: safety first!

Because I cannot do any "hot" metal work at home, I use the soldering facility at the local college where I'm taking a class (I actually recommend anybody who is just starting out to look for local colleges or schools, hidden treasure can be around the corner).

How big is your jeweler’s area?
Do you want to know the square footage? well, I don't know…let's say if I'll ever decide to take it down I can use that space to pile up about 30 large pizza boxes!

Which is your favorite tool in your studio?
Indeed there are two: the flex shaft and my paper shredder.

The flex shaft is a great tool that jewelers have stolen from dentists, and it is so handy, you can do almost everything with it.

The shredder is vital for my work, since all the paper I use for my jewelry is cut in tiny little strips, can you imagine to do it by hand?!

Do you want to share with us one secret of your metal studio?
Ok, but just because I love Esty and I know this information will be kept secret: I store all the extra paper (and believe me I have a lot) underneath my couch, sometime I feel like those characters in the cartoon that wipe the floor and hide the dirt under a carpet…but please, shhhh don't tell anybody, ultimately a crafter is always in need of additional storage space!

How many hours do you normally spend in your studio?
I spend all my free time there, especially at night, and the funny thing is that I'm never tired there!

Do you share your studio with someone or would you like to do so?
No, I don't share my studio with any other artists, but I do share the room where my workbench is with my boyfriend and with all our friends who come to see us.

I would love to work in a studio with some other artists, I'm sure it would be a very creative and inspiring experience. Besides, it would also fulfill my social side of my personality.

Is there anything you would add to your working space?
Oh yes! If I had more money I would first of all add more room, and then a huge table for all my ongoing paper projects, and a soldering corner with ventilation system, more light, more tools like a rolling mill, a hydraulic press and a big anvil…but for the moment I'm happy with my studio/corner/living room. Baby steps!

If you had to choose one synonym for your studio which one would you pick: atelier, family room, lair, lodge, nest, playroom, retreat, sanctuary, shelter, darkroom, or, showroom and why ?
If I have to pick just one, I would pick lair, because my tiny corner is MY world, where I can truly express my emotions and develop my idea still feeling safe.

And last but not least how often do you clean it?
Oops, you already asked for one secret, you can't get two!

Thank you Fru, until next studio snooping ciao!

If you have an interesting studio or workspace and some tips to share, comment below and you may be next in our Open Studio Tours series!