Posted by Haley Cronin '24
Sausages made by 19th century Italian immigrant families and socks woven by 21st century textile artists have much more in common than one might think. On the West Side of Saratoga Springs, New York, sits the Textile Studio, a picturesque, teal house-converted-shop, marking the northernmost point of the Beekman Street Arts District. Artists Cecilia Frittelli and Richard Lockwood, a married couple and co-owners of the Textile Studio, came to the arts district after finding success as weavers in the Garment District of Manhattan. While both Cecilia and Richard take pride in their personal art making, they express great pride in the artists’ community that is renewing and uplifting the heritage of local entrepreneurship on Beekman Street.
Over the ‘clack-clacking’ of the loom while weaving a plaid-patterned scarf, Cecilia told me about the history of the Textile Studio building. Cecilia described the Desidoro family that occupied the space before her and Richard, and how the Italian immigrant family used the space. She relayed, for example, how the family made sausages that they hung in the windows. Cecilia connected the story of the Desidoros to a larger identity of entrepreneurship on the West Side:
“What I think most artists located in these buildings really relate to is the mom-and-pop entrepreneurial nature of the people that came before us. So, between the restaurants and the people that provided baked goods and sausages and all the things for the community, not that they were necessarily artists, but I think that the artists feel very related to that entrepreneurial spirit.”
Over the ‘clack-clacking’ of the loom while weaving a plaid-patterned scarf, Cecilia told me about the history of the Textile Studio building. Cecilia described the Desidoro family that occupied the space before her and Richard, and how the Italian immigrant family used the space. She relayed, for example, how the family made sausages that they hung in the windows. Cecilia connected the story of the Desidoros to a larger identity of entrepreneurship on the West Side:
“What I think most artists located in these buildings really relate to is the mom-and-pop entrepreneurial nature of the people that came before us. So, between the restaurants and the people that provided baked goods and sausages and all the things for the community, not that they were necessarily artists, but I think that the artists feel very related to that entrepreneurial spirit.”
Having noticed the numerous pairs of socks for sale hanging from the windows of the Textile Studio, I thought that Cecilia and Richard were reflecting the ways in which the Desidoro family displayed their wares, albeit unconsciously. In a sense, Cecilia and Richard physically embodied that entrepreneurship identity via the Textile Studio space.
Similarly, Richard expressed to me that same admiration for the entrepreneurial spirit on Beekman Street. He had just walked through the Textile Studio back door, bringing Cecilia a warm cup of coffee. Without hesitation, he spoke thusly and matter-of-factly, as he removed his jacket and took his spot at the northernmost loom in the shop area. “We have great respect for the building that [the Desidoros] occupied, and we want to continue the tradition of maintaining it and representing it as part of the community of the West Side.”
Similarly, Richard expressed to me that same admiration for the entrepreneurial spirit on Beekman Street. He had just walked through the Textile Studio back door, bringing Cecilia a warm cup of coffee. Without hesitation, he spoke thusly and matter-of-factly, as he removed his jacket and took his spot at the northernmost loom in the shop area. “We have great respect for the building that [the Desidoros] occupied, and we want to continue the tradition of maintaining it and representing it as part of the community of the West Side.”
Cecilia and Richard firmly believe in uplifting the entrepreneurial roots of Beekman Street. In doing so, they have helped foster a community of artists who share those same values, thus renewing the heritage of entrepreneurship on the West Side. Cecilia and Richard do not view entrepreneurship as a solely a financial matter, but as an aspect of their identity. Therefore, Cecilia and Richard at the Textile Studio have come to represent that entrepreneurship is not simply an economic process but a cultural phenomenon.