Why I hate Halloween

Sorry, today my post has nothing to do with my jewelry, it is about why I hate Halloween!
I’m Italian, and when I left Italy in 2000 there was no sign of Halloween celebration there, the 1th of November is the real holiday for us. Halloween was something that I’ve seen only in the movies.
So you can imagine how thrilled I was for my very first Halloween.
I had studied “Halloween how-to” quite well, I had asked around what kind of treats I should have, and how should I greet the kids…so I was ready! The house was full of chocolates and candies, the lights were all on and in addition I came home earlier than usual (which implies I had to spend an extra hour stuck on the L.A. freeways traffic).
I waited and waited and waited….not even one kid showed up and the worst part was that next day I called my parents in Italy and they told me that some kids had rung at their door asking “Dolcetto o scherzetto” (trick or treats)!

In conclusion, this year I’m not yet ready to forgive Halloween but at least I put on a costume!

Frucci Design jewelry at OCMA

This weekend the 2008 California Biennial (CB08) will open at the Orange County Museum of Art.

Recently the exhibition has emerged as an important indicator of emerging art and artists working in California. This year’s biennial is guest-curated by Lauri Firstenberg and it includes works by more than 50 artists and, for the first time, incorporates off-site projects with collaborating venues from Tijuana to Northern California.

I was much honored to be asked to send a selection of my paper jewelry for the museum retail shop. These piece and more are at the store for the grand opening!

By the way if you haven’t visit the online museum collection check it out here

Does blog banner matter?

Few days ago, I decided to design a new banner for the blog, and I found myself wondering if blog banner matters at all.
This is the kind of question that never finds a single good answer. It is like asking if appearance matters more than substance. What do you think?
My personal answer to this dilemma is yes it matters!
Don’t take me wrong I’m not a superficial person, but it matters if you’re trying to introduce yourself through a visual media like the web.

And this is why I had put a lot of thoughts in what my banner should look like, and my last version is a fingerspelling of FRUCCI DESIGN.
Why fingerspelling?
Because it is made with hands or handmade, and my blog is about what I do and my hands are my most important tool!

By the way, while researching for this article I found out that the word BANNER comes from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made (Latin banderia, Italian bandiera).

I'm a member of crafthaus

I've been invited by Brigitte Martin to join a new contemporary art, design and fine craft network crafthaus.

It is a true honor for me to be part of this community, especially because most of the artists that I admire are members!

This is my page where I've added a little detail for most people, but a big change for me:
for the first time I'm using my name.

CUFFLINKS in PROGRESS

I'm working on a limited edition of cufflinks.
Last summer NORDSTROM advertising campaign saw artist Ruben Toledo and photographer Ruven Afanador teaming up to produce these fantastic pages

Of course, I couldn't help my longing for wonderful paper, I had to collect it.
Now I'm giving these pages new life, transforming them into man jewelry!
Here are few shots of my work in progress

UNLEASHED IDEA

Have you ever had impression of a concept buried in your mind and it seems it cannot make it out of there, like if it is not quite ready to come out?
I have...all the time!
And I’m so luck, I always find the trigger to pull it out of there!

This time it was a customer who asked for a pair of earring to match INSERTO R pendant

her request has unleashed this idea for new earrings that was floating in one of my brain drawers for quite some time

Thank you Jolene!

Discarded to Distinctive

Ross Art Museum Features Eco-Friendly Exhibit


My work was selected to be part of the eco-friendly exhibition, "Discarded to Distinctive", that is opening today and on display through Nov. 16 at the Ross Art Museum .

Twelve pieces are on displaytogether with the work of Chakaia Booker, Lyne Kearns, Hayley Muse Rupersburg and Aurora Robson:

"We have five artists who are all doing wonderful things with items that are easily overlooked," said Tammy Wallace, first assistant for the museum and curator of the new exhibit. "These women have truly elevated their raw materials into unique, beautiful, sometimes amusing, and sometimes inspiring expressions of creativity. Ultimately, the goal is for everyone to re-think the items they toss into the trash and ask themselves: 'Can this be recycled? Can this be reused? What could I turn this into?'"

And the icing on the cake was that my RB Shlelly was chosen to be on the exhibition flier!