Founded 1948 the oldest ongoing metal arts design house production studio and gallery in the United States.

Hello and welcome to the new location of the Macchiarini Creative Design Studio and Gallery! This studio has been in existence for sixty years on Grant Avenue in SF in one form or another, and we are very exited to begin the new phase of this latest incarnation. Please visit us, contact us, and be part of this space!

What We Do: Each sculpture, wedding ring, pendant, and bracelet is individually handcrafted. We both originate new design concepts, and work with designs we have already created as departure points for new inspiration. In this way we create a body of work that is all related, but very unique. Each new piece is original either as a new design or as a variation on a theme, and each customer gets both design integrity and innovation in their new piece of artwork.

Our customers also have an important role to play in the creation of the work. Often people will come in with rough sketches or ideas of what they want created for them, or see design elements in one of the pieces we have already created that they want integrated into a new work of art for themselves. We love to work this way as we recognize that the interaction with our customers in the creation of our work advances us as artists and positively develops our creative work. In this sense we are "neo-modernists" as we see this interaction with our customers as part of our artistic process. This results in giving back to our customers something personal in character, hand-crafted in creation, and just for them! Recently we have also begun to invite customers right into the studio to be a part of the casting of their jewelry. This can be a very exciting and even moving process: to watch and take part in the birth of a new work of art.

Who We Are: Macchiarini studio and gallery was founded by Peter Macchiarini, whose life was dedicated to the creation of innovative metal sculpture, jewelry, drawings, and photography. Some of his work is still on display in this gallery as part of a permanent family collection and many of the designs created in this shop are still based upon his original creations. As such his work is our inspiration. We carry on in the spirit of his artistry, and his integrity, by continuing to make hand-made individually crafted work in a jewelry and art world dominated by mass production. During his lifetime, Peter Macchiarini and his wife Virginia, who was also a talented metal enamel artist and draftsperson, were a vital part of the North Beach community. They ran and organized the North Beach street fair for many years together, encouraging artists of many ilks to come together.

As Peter Macchiarini got older, his son Daniel began consistently working in the shop. Daniel himself had spent much of his life creating sculptures and jewelry, and making artwork. Growing up in the 1950's and 60's Peter taught Daniel the metalwork craft for jewelry and sculpture, as well as form and design concepts to aid in the development of Daniel's own artistic expression. In the early nineties, Daniel began to work side by side with Peter to help with his Father's failing health and the business side of the shop. By the time Peter died in 2001, Daniel was a working artist creating and selling his own work, and carried on the Macchiarini Creative Design Studio. Daniel Macchiarini's work has been enjoyed and celebrated throughout the Bay Area as an important metal work artist. Soon after college, his daughter Emma Macchiarini Mankin began to work in the shop part-time to learn the craft of metal work and jewelry design. She is also a painter and is currently in graduate school working towards completing her MFA.

Metal Workshops and Classes available: We will turn this new location into a place where we can offer more and better metal workshops to the public. In the past we have had a much more limited space and were only able to have a few apprentices and students. We have had many people come to us and express interest in learning how to cast, or solder, or create wax or clay models to make into sculptures or jewelry. This new space actually makes it possible for us to offer such classes to interested people. Our workshops and classes are project based learning experiences for students interested in learning metal arts to enable them to make an artistic piece of their own. We are taking enrollment now for new workshops and classes, please contact us at Danny1mac@sbcglobal.net for more info.

The Gallery Space: We also would like to extend an invitation to artists who would like to have their work displayed in the Gallery area. Currently we have several "invited" artists featured in our studio, most of whom are metal work artists. New artists of any media are invited to apply for a showing in the space. This will be a selective process as we will need to determine that the work is in the same vein as the other art in the gallery. Please submit slides and cover letters for photographs, paintings, sculpture and metal work by email to emagrl@sbcglobal.net attn. Emma Mankin.

Thank you and Happy New Year,
The Macchiarini-Mankin Family