We spoke with Frankie Playground
We spoke with Frankie from Frankie Playground from her studio in Paris
L: Hiiiii Frankie ❤️ can you tell us a bit about yourself and what Frankie Playground is all about?
F:Heyy <3 I’m Frankie, I grew up in Brittany, hypnotised by sea mist and the sharp neon of buoys and boats. I make rings that feel like tiny emotional armours.
Frankie Playground is where candy meets chaos: handmade, colourful, a bit punk, a bit absurd. I work with recycled piercings, crystals, clay, resin... and a lot of instinct. It all started with a ring I made for my sister’s 30th. I was working in fashion at the time, people started asking about it & I followed the spark.
L: What’s the story behind the name ‘Frankie Playground’?
F: ‘Frankie’ is a name I gave myself at 13, my teenage alter ego: bold, slightly ridiculous, and it stuck.
‘Playground’ because that’s exactly what the studio is: a space to try, fail, play, make a mess, and find magic. No rules, just weird joy and unexpected beauty.
L: What does a typical day look like for you at the moment? Do you have any rituals when you're working or creating?
F: It starts with a matcha (cliché but honest). Then I jump between sourcing, crafting, packing, shooting, editing… all from my Paris flat that’s also my atelier, my saloon, my headspace.
L: What do you love most about running your label? And what’s something that’s surprised you along the way?
F: I love the freedom to create without asking.
What surprised me? How emotional it is. Knowing someone in Japan or Australia is wearing something I made with my hands ( from my messy little studio — that gives me chills) .Seeing people wear the pieces and make them part of their identity is the biggest joy.
L: Any recent sources of inspiration — a place, book, song, person, feeling — that have stuck with you?
F: The freedom of people who live by the sea. Always the sea, especially the contrast between misty Breton landscapes and those sharp flashes of fluorescent colour.
I’m obsessed with that hypnotic tension.
Also: oyster shells : rough on the outside, hidden beauty inside. And Magritte, for his way of making the absurd feel calm.
L: What’s your relationship to materials like? Do you tend to plan things out or do pieces take shape more intuitively?
F: Very intuitive. I don’t draw, I build. I let materials speak, a colour, a texture, a found object.
I love when things feel a bit off, a bit imperfect, that’s where the emotion is.
Sometimes it’s a clear image in my head, other times it’s pure improvisation. The accidents, the flaws, they’re often the most alive part of the piece.
L: What are some things that make you feel excited about the future — with Frankie Playground or just in life in general?
F: Letting Frankie Playground grow while staying sincere.
I’d love to collaborate with other artists, show pieces in physical spaces, maybe explore performance or other mediums.
But more than anything, I just want to keep creating without losing the spark. That’s the real dream.
L: If we were to visit you, what’s a perfect day in your world? Places to go, things to see, snacks to eat?
F:Start in Brittany, walk by the sea, snack on a galette-saucisse.
Pick oysters straight from the dock.
Back to the studio for a gluey-finger session, then a night out dressed like a character from a dream.