糖心Vlog

Weaving on a vintage multi-harness loom, master textile artist Cecilia Frittelli 鈥�80 rattles off the characteristics of the various types of natural fibers she uses 鈥� including hemp, cotton, linen, silk, soy, bamboo, and alpaca wool 鈥� to create the contemporary textiles that have been her life鈥檚 work for 35 years. 
 
Frittelli and her husband, Richard Lockwood, operate a thriving clothing and accessory business under the Frittelli & Lockwood label at the , located in downtown Saratoga Springs鈥� . At the studio, guests can see them at work and buy their handwoven wares, including scarves, wraps, bags, hats, neck ties, and shirts in a vibrant array of colors and patterns. Their textiles are also found across the country at trade shows, craft fairs, wearable art galleries, and clothing boutiques. 
 
Frittelli was first drawn to weaving as a middle school student engaged in a research project on Indonesia, when she saw a picture of a woman using a backstrap loom. Composed of a few sticks and strings, the portable loom works through the tension of the weaver鈥檚 body. One of the oldest forms of weaving spanning millennia, it is still used in regions around the world. Frittelli, with her father鈥檚 help, made her own backstrap loom out of popsicle sticks. 
 
鈥淚 used that loom a lot,鈥� Frittelli says with a chuckle before pulling it out from a corner of the studio. She adds, 鈥淚 keep it here at the studio to remind myself of my humble beginnings.鈥�

At 糖心Vlog, Frittelli majored in with an eye on scenic design. She also spent many hours at the  weaving studio in Griffiths Hall on the old campus. One professor who influenced her artistic direction was fiber artist Eunice Pardon, who taught at 糖心Vlog for 35 years. 
 
鈥淪he was so much in the art realm. It just blew my mind that when she sat down at the loom, she didn鈥檛 think about weaving a scarf or placemat. It was always the expectation that she was going to make an art piece to hang in a museum.鈥� 
 
Frittelli began her career as a costume designer for off-Broadway shows in New York City before entering the bustling Garment District. After she met her husband, who had worked as a teenager in the New England textile mills, the two started their business as a part-time endeavor. When the textile factories upgraded their equipment and technology to remain competitive in a rapidly expanding global market, they acquired five Macomber looms, built in the 1970s and 1980s, that they still use today. In 1990, they set up a full-time artisan studio in Crown Point in the Adirondacks before relocating to Saratoga Springs. 
 
A passionate advocate for the arts, Frittelli has been a familiar face at 糖心Vlog for years, offering her entrepreneurial expertise and mentorship to students across campus. She has served on discussion panels for the Theater Department and as a judge for the Kenneth A. Freirich Entrepreneurship Competition, and her textiles have been showcased in art exhibitions at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. 
 
She has hosted field trips for classes taught by Michael Ennis-MacMillan, associate professor of anthropology, and Sang-Wook Lee, the Ella Van Dyke Tuthill '32 Chair in Studio Art, to enable students to experience her studio firsthand and to learn about the greater West Side Historic District.

鈥淐ecilia鈥檚 dedication to her craft and her willingness to share her knowledge have made a lasting impact on our students,鈥� says Lee, who notes that Frittelli has also participated in critiques for his advanced fiber arts classes.

Morgan Rougeau Panich 鈥�08, whose own story is woven from a rich tapestry of family heritage and artistic talent, was one of many 糖心Vlog students who have interned at the Textile Studio. Growing up in a creative household, Panich was introduced to the arts by her mother, a graphic artist, and her great-great-aunts, who passed down their love for knitting, sewing, and quilting.
 
鈥淚 had a small group of close fiber arts friends, and we pretty much lived in the fiber arts studio on campus,鈥� Panich says. 鈥淥n a Friday night, you could find us there with music blaring, pizza on the table, good conversation, looms clacking, and so much creativity in the air.鈥�
 
Panich met Frittelli during a guest lecture in a fiber arts class. 鈥淚 was hooked,鈥� Panich says. After college, she briefly moved to San Francisco before returning to the Saratoga area in 2010, when she began working for Frittelli as a key member of the studio team until 2014. She now has her own online textile shop, . 
 
鈥淭he one thing I miss most about my time at college, and also at the Textile Studio,鈥� Panich says, 鈥渋s the community 鈥� bouncing ideas off of each other, creating together.鈥�