Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Rice.
Hi Helen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m an artist who started out in the studio making drawings, paintings, sculptures and furniture and since starting Fuzzco, a branding studio, with my husband 18 years ago I’ve had the opportunity to apply my eye to a considerable number of brands and a healthy number of interiors. I’m at a point now where I’m ready to get back into the studio and work on more self-directed projects. I find that I’m interested in a lot of different things and that has been a bit paralyzing. I’m trying to commit to doing one thing at a time right now but it’s hard when life is full of so many shiny objects. I’m forcing myself not to think, there will be no planning, I’m just grabbing the supplies I have on hand and making stuff. Right now I’m tiling a plinth with leftover tile from our recent renovation. I’d love to one day design a small line of clothing, develop fragrances, design furniture and lighting and renovate more buildings.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Fuzzco has been an incredible learning experience, very, very challenging in all kinds of ways – finding the resilience to year after year after year confront whatever is hard with energy and optimism – projecting strength while your stomach hurts – and you just have to push through because no matter what hard thing is happening there are a thousand other things that just have to get done.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think my eye is what really sets me apart – and my work ethic. The aesthetic I helped create at Fuzzco was always one of artfulness, playfulness and considered restraint. I like to leave room for anything creative I do to evolve. I don’t like when things feel too perfect or “finished” – that’s so boring. I like when things are given space to grow and become patinated. Things start to tell a more interesting story when they’ve been out in the world a while. I like to think you can see that in my work.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I have so many. I loved being a kid – that’s part of why we named the shop Ponytail because it reminds me to keep things simple and fun like they were when I was a kid.
One of my favorite memories was being at the beach with my family. My mom was looking for shark teeth on the beach with her sister while my sister and I and our cousin were being “shark attacked” by my dad in the waves. I remember swimming for hours and being the hungriest I’ve ever been – eating some watermelon and getting it all over my swimsuit and in my hair and not even noticing.
Contact Info:
- Website: fuzzco.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/fuzzco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fuzzco
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fuzzco
- Other: seriousbuildings.com
Image Credits
Fuzzco
