Meet Franke Santos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Franke Santos.

Hi Franke, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It started with a snuggie for a cat in 2012. I had gotten a call from the propmaster at The Office TV show, who asked me to knit this prop for a storyline that involved secret Santa gifts. (This storyline was ultimately deleted from the show, as fans will know.) My knitting skills were really not up to snuff but I said yes to the opportunity because I knew that it was not likely to come again. I was confident that I could figure it out along the way.

Let me back up: My first career was as a newspaper reporter at daily newspapers all across southern California. I initially decided to take up journalism because it was a way for me to be creative and still reassure my parents that I could always find a job. While I still loved writing, I was becoming less and less happy, covering city council meetings and just generally being bored with the strictures that day-in-day-out reporting imposed on me.

So when I moved back to Los Angeles from Orange County in 2011, I decided I wanted to live a much more creative life. I set out to meet more artists. At a fashion show for one of my new artist friends, I met a prop maker who would help set this whole thing in motion. She told me there was a whole world of work out there that involved making custom props and costumes for TV shows and that if I knew how to knit and crochet that I could make at least a bit of side money. She generously said she would refer me anytime she knew there was a need for a knit or crochet prop.

The next week she referred me to the propmaster at The Office, who was one of her clients. While I flubbed that initial prop (badly), the propmaster decided to give me another chance and I got to make something for the pilot of The Mindy Project (this prop was ultimately not used). And ever since then, I’ve gotten calls to do all kinds of things. I got a call from Raising Hope to crochet an entire suit. I got a call from Grace and Frankie to create a poncho that was an ongoing gag throughout the second and third seasons. I later made the conflict resolution sweater (a large two-person, four-arm sweater) that appeared in the seventh season of that show.

I recently compiled a list of all the projects I’ve worked on and saw that I’ve worked with more than 60 different productions over the years.

I have expanded my knowledge to all kinds of crafts besides knitting and crochet. For example, I’ve learned to cross-stitch. Some examples of this can be seen on Superstore, such as the time that Jerusha gives Dina a cross-stitch portrait of her on a stork’s body. I made a mysterious cross stitch for Servant that included two characters portrayed with a cross. I’ve also created needlepoint pieces; one I created recently will be in Season 2 of The Clauses.

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?
I am extremely lucky in that almost all my work comes from inbound inquiries. Enough people know me and I’ve been referred around enough that I get a fair amount of work. There are dry times of course, and that’s when I know I need to do more outbound marketing.

The deadlines can sometimes be really challenging. I usually only have about a week to execute an entire project, and that can mean a lot of very late nights and sore wrists and fingers from working so much. But deadlines also serve a clarifying function — it means I must focus on the exact task at hand and not waste any time.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My work has varied widely. I’ve created a variety of props, costumes, and designer projects throughout the years, including:
– An entire crocheted suit for Raising Hope
– A crocheted dummy (using the suit) for Raising Hope
– The conflict resolution sweater for Grace and Frankie
– Nick Lachey’s Christmas stocking in A Very Boy Band Christmas
– A sock for Bigfoot in a Little Caesar’s commercial
– Christmas stockings for private individuals
– A crochet doll resembling Olivia Benson of Law & Order

I think the most fun aspect of my work is also the most challenging, which is that in an extremely short period of time, I need to develop the technical way to make something and then I make that project. I take a lot of notes and then make a few calculations and sometimes make a few test pieces just to experiment and see if I’m on the right track. Sometimes this requires me to learn a new skill within a day so that I can make the project.

And of course, projects also require a lot of communication with the propmaster or costume designer and/or their director. And they are an absolute joy to work with. Propmasters and costume people are some of the smartest, most resourceful people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.

My other work is teaching. I’ve been approached to teach several times and I always enjoy it. Being able to teach something proves that you understand it in a deep way, especially if you’re able to break it down for a beginner. I’ve taught knitting to 6-year-olds, crochet to teenagers, and needlepoint to a famous actor who needed it for a scene. I’ve taught older adults who knit and crocheted in their youth and now are picking it back up again. I think at a certain point you almost have a duty to share what you know and to spread the enthusiasm for making.

One of the most fun things I did was appear as the knitting expert and then in a separate video as the crochet expert for The Try Guys. It was an incredible amount of fun to show the guys all how to knit and to help them finish Christmas presents for each other.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Taking risks is essential. Not just for a creative life but for life in general. The ability to tolerate uncertainty, to experiment, to realize you might fail is essential to growing both as an artist and as a person.

And obviously, take smart risks. Doing something that’s known to be dangerous is a stupid risk. But generally, most new opportunities in life come as smart risks. Say yes more often to opportunities if they seem interesting or if you might learn something new. More people regret what they didn’t do than what they did do at the end of their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: frankesantos.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankesantosprops/

Image Credits
Courtesy Franke Santos