Cecilia Frittelli, co-owner of Saratoga Springs’ artisanal textile company Frittelli & Lockwood, and Saratoga Springs go way back—four-and-a-half decades, to be exact. Frittelli spent her college years at Skidmore, graduating in 1980 and moving away to the city. In ’84, she married husband Richard Lockwood, and the couple founded Fritelli & Lockwood as a part-time business. Six years later, they moved to the Adirondacks and transformed the venture into a full-time endeavor. Eventually, Saratoga came calling again. “I’ve always loved Saratoga,” says Frittelli. “I ended up going to school here, but I always wanted to come back.” The Frittelli-Lockwoods did just that in 2009, settling in Greenfield and setting up shop in the Beekman Street Arts District.
The couple now has five looms at their Textile Studio on Grand Ave., which triples as a gallery, storefront and manufacturing hub. In other words, if you want to catch loom weaving in action, stop on by. “We’ve inspired wannabe weavers, for sure,” says Frittelli. “It brings a whole new meaning to their understanding of the process.” They produce everything from tailored shirts, scarves and jackets, to vests, skirts and ties. And they have some great spring pieces, too. “One of our most popular styles is called a drape shawl,” says Frittelli. “It’s a 20-inch-wide rectangle that we weave on the loom and sew a twist into, so that the front of the garment is a beautiful swag and the back is a poncho.” The bamboo-fiber shawl is woven using a style known as a “leno weave,” which creates tiny spaces in the fabric, making it more breathable for those warm spring days.
While COVID has certainly taken a chunk out of the studio’s daily foot traffic, Frittelli says that her loyal customer base has come through in a major way, as have customers just looking to “support local.” (Online and virtual art show sales haven’t hurt either.) And their fellow artisans on Beekman Street have even pitched in. “We’ve tried to stay together as a group,” she says, “and support one another.”
