The Dolphin Studio started out as a family venture back in 1970 when local art teachers, Primm and John ffrench founded the business in their home on Main Street in Stockbridge Massachusetts. You can read more about our history here. Today, the family business is run by Primm and John's daughters Crispina ffrench and Sofia Hughes with help from their kids and a key year-round employee:
Crispina ffrench Swindlehurst is the middle daughter of Dolphin Studio founders, Primm and John ffrench. Her first calendar design appeared in August 1974, which was the first year that her generation of ffrenches participated in calendar designs. Crispina went to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, graduating in 1988 with a fully operational textile upcycling business that paid for her college education.
By 1990 that business - Crispina Design Workshop employed 40 people, manufacturing from 100% recycled discarded clothing, Ragamuffins, clothing and home goods. Crispina Design Workshop products were sold at over 350 retail outlets all over the world including Sundance Catalog, ABC Carpet and Home, Bergdorf Goodman and Fiourucci.
Today, Crispina heads up business development and custom design offerings at The Dolphin Studio. You can learn more about custom silkscreen printing options and Crispina’s textile upcycling teaching and history here.
Crispina is Ben, Lucy and Violet’s mom. She, her husband Chris and their family live on a remote dirt road in Becket MA two doors down (a quarter of a mile) from our print shop/studio. In her free time she loves to be outside skiing, rollerskating, running and hiking with her dogs or adventuring with friends and family.
Sofia Hughes, Primm and John’s youngest, runs The Dolphin Studio with her sister Crispina, where her passion for creativity and design shine. In addition, Sofia is a dedicated kindergarten teacher with over 25 years of experience shaping young minds. Her work in the classroom reflects her patient, nurturing nature, which also extends to her role in the family business.
Sofia is a proud mother to daughters, Lily and Jamie. She and her husband Pat have been married for nearly 30 years. She enjoys spending time outdoors, whether that’s her daily brisk walk, relaxing at the beach on Cape Cod, or traveling with her family to new places.
Sofia’s dozens of monthly images designed for our signature calendar and kitchen towels are customer favorites. The monarch butterfly created for ________, peacock feathers featured for our _______ 19___ month and her Lovely Pinecone kitchen towels are best-sellers. Sofia’s attention to detail and love for nature are evident in each of her designs.
Known for her creativity, patience, and thoughtful decision-making, Sofia takes her time to ensure that each design and business decision is carefully considered. This deliberate approach has played a key role in her success, both in her Dolphin Studio and classroom life. Whether she’s creating a new design or nurturing the next generation in her classroom, Sofia’s dedication and hard work have made her a respected and admired figure in many people's lives.
Lily Hughes, Sofia and Pat’s daughter and eldest grand-daughter of John and Primm, founders of The Dolphin Studio, has been designing calendar months since before she was in kindergarten.
Lily is an anchor member of The Dolphin Studio print team where she got her start at age 14. Today, she and Crispina work together on new product and business development. Lily heads up our online presence and captures the majority of our imagery.
Prowess for color matching is in her DNA, proven by her expert color tests and production ink matching. If you look closely, you’ll often spot traces of ink in her hair or on her face, a testament to her hands-on approach to the craft.
Her first design, blue and red flowers (very fitting), imbued June 2004 with her magical expressive of kid-art. You can see it here.
When Lily’s not working in the studio, she prefers to be outside (especially if it’s by a pool). You might find her immersed in a good book, taking a walk, or whipping up a delicious dish for family dinner. Lily is planning to head out into the world of non-family related career pursuit in 2025.
Kerry has been on The Dolphin Studio print team since 2019. She works full time year-round and prepares, makes, and cleans all the screens that we use. (Which is one of the most importants jobs!) She loves learning about paper and all its idiosyncrasy, is fastidious, takes pride in a job well done, is a skilled printer, and a generally all-around awesome person. She has printed everything from dishcloths to 6 color posters, and brings laughter and fun into the process of printing at the Dolphin Studio.
Lucy Swindelhurst is Crispina and Chris’s middle kid. She has been designing months for the Dolphin Studio calendar since she was five years old. You can see her first design featuring a girl jump-roping, here.
Lucy has contributed creative, out-of-the-box designs for our signature calendar and was first to master the use of an iPad to create images. She spent several summers production printing in the studio and eagerly fills in when needed. Lucy is a quick learner, hard worker and is always excited to discuss new ideas for growing our small family business.
A bright, multi-talented individual, Lucy has a strong passion for both science and art. She graduated high school early and is now exploring her next steps leaning toward micro-biology or equine medicine. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Lucy an animal lover, particularly when it comes to her horses, and she enjoys expressing her creativity through nail art.
Jamie Hughes, Sofia and Pat’s daughter is our youngest Dolphin Studio artist (just a month younger than her cousin Violet). She is a passionate and creative young artist who spends hours creating intricate and awesome anime drawings. Currently a senior in high school, Jamie loves her job at our local food coop and plans to head off to college this fall.
Jamie has grown her love for animals and the arts, both deeply influencing her interests and pursuits. From a young age, Jamie has been captivated by the world of animals, with a particular affection for cats. This love has been a central theme in much of her artwork. Her talent as a visual artist has flourished over the years, especially in the realm of digital art. She enjoys creating on her iPad, where she can blend her greatest passions: animals, anime.
You can see her first ever calendar design created for March 2014 at this link.
Violet Swindlehurst is Lucy and Ben’s ‘little’ sister, Crispina and Chris’ youngest. She is always reading a new book, sometimes 5 at once. She loves Shakespeare, mythology of all kinds and Broadway - sometimes dressing the part on a whim. Violet is known for completing her design right in the nick of time with a strong vision for what she wants it to look like before it is done. She loves dressing up, knitting, cooking and baking as well as horses. Her designs generally showcase fashion or animals. Her first ever design was of a cat as seen here.
Benjamin Lucas Paley is the eldest of Primm and John’s grandkids ~ Crispina’s first born and best friend. His first calendar design is the April 2000 image in our signature Dolphin Studio Calendar. Ben was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy on Mother’s Day 1995 at the age of 2 and given a prognosis of living for 18 months.
It was apparent from a very early age that Ben loved all kinds of music - John joked that he would be a conductor based on Ben’s dramatic baby arm movements and giant grin timed perfectly to music while sitting in his infant car seat.
His first guitar was Crispina’s birthday gift to Ben on his 6th or 7th birthday. The lessons that followed proved to bring Ben deep joy and sense of accomplishment. While music was Ben’s creative priority, he was an accomplished artist, drawing, painting, and writing beautifully.
He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2017 with a dual degree in Guitar and Production. He played in several Boston-based bands and taught guitar privately and for Noteworthy Experiences based in Sudbury MA. His pet project was The Lost Collective - a 12 piece hip-hop band with horn section and a standing gig at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA.
Throughout Ben’s short life, he navigated physical limitations presented by his heart disease with grace and determination. He died at 26 on July 30, 2019 - after a full year of declining health, on the very day he was listed on the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart/Lung transplant list in Boston.
Each year Crispina creates a design dedicated to Ben in The Dolphin Studio calendar.
You can support Ben’s legacy with a contribution to the scholarship in Ben’s name for students from our region pursuing education focused on music.
Keep your eyes peeled for our annual Ben Paley Scholarship Fund Drive in July.
Felicitas ffrench is the eldest of Primm and John’s kids. She designed the May image in our 1974 Dolphin Studio calendar. Felicitas graduated from highschool at the top of her class a year early. She went on to London where she lived with our aunt Frieda and enrolled in Tottenham Technical College where she aced her A-Levels.
Her political activism lead her to UC Berkeley where she completed her undergrad degree in English Literature with a focus on female African American writers. She studied with and was enamored by Angela Davis. At age 20 Felicitas was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, yet continued to pursue her education securing a full scholarship to Stanford Law School and interning in Public Service Law. Exacerbated by stress, Felicitas’ disease progressed over the year to a point where she can no longer be independent. After many attempts for alternative situations, she currently resides in Great Barrington, MA in a home where she professes to be having the ‘best year of my life!’.
Each year we include a design in The Dolphin Studio calendar that is derived from a piece of her artwork from her early years. We visit Felicitas often and are buoyed by her quick smile and perpetually sunny disposition. A lesson to us all. Felicitas has lost her short term memory but loves music, good icecream and to reminisce about days gone by
