“My mom has been purchasing these calendars for me for over 10 years. They brighten my day and each page is a unique piece of artwork that graces my wall all year round. The pages then get turned into cards, wrapping paper, random hearts and stars. I can’t say enough. My house would be gloomy without The Dolphin Studio calendars. Now that my mom has passed, I will purchase them for the rest of my life.”
— Kristen R, Google review
Artists John and Primm ffrench (Norman-Irish spelling proudly intact) founded The Dolphin Studio in 1970. They were just settling into their new community in Stockbridge, following a six-year stint in Ireland, where John grew up. “Our father was known for his work as a designer of hand-embellished dinnerware for Arklow Studio Pottery in Ireland long before our parents started making calendars,” Crispina ffrench Swindlehurst begins. “As public high school art teachers, our parents came up with the idea of a yearly calendar as a way to augment their income each summer and find a creative outlet for their art.”
“Our parents started making the iconic 12-by-24-inch calendars in 1969 as a way to stay in touch with close family and friends,” Crispina continues. The pair created 15 calendars for 1970 using different techniques (collage, watercolor, block print, screen printing—all rich in color and texture) and gifted them to their loved ones, near and far. And they learned two things from that first experience: a perpetual market for calendars existed, and screen printing was the most efficient and fun way to make them. The following year, the ffrenches decided to make more.
“We started getting involved when we were only five, and have been making designs for the calendar and helping with the printing ever since—nearly all our lives,” Sofia ffrench Hughes says. “When our father died in 2010, at the age of 81, we had to figure out as a family what we wanted to do. He was our captain and, up until the very end of his life, printed the calendar with very little help each year. His passing left us knowing we wanted to carry on the family tradition and in need of help to make it work,” Crispina shares. “We had such a huge fan base by that time, we knew we couldn’t stop. People thank us all the time for carrying on the tradition.” Jon and Marie Ahlen—dear friends, screen print mentors, and collaborators—“took us right under their able wings and showed us the way forward,” she adds, “and our mother continued to make her hand-cut stencils until her passing a few years later, in 2013.”
Sustainability built on connections and tradition
When their parents started the business in their home years ago, they didn’t think they had any business sense, Crispina recalls. But they weren’t just selling calendars—they were really selling connections, to family and friends and to their customers. “People would call them on the first of the month to discuss ‘the big reveal.’ It was brilliant! We’re often hugged by strangers who tell us, ‘You have no idea how much your calendar means to me.’ There are a lot of people like that, so they didn’t ever need to advertise.”
“It became a family tradition for us and for those who purchased the calendar,” Sofia agrees. In fact, the monthly anticipation and surprise are still so palpable that many calendar owners refuse to look ahead to upcoming months. Lily Hughes (Sofia’s daughter and the company’s marketing manager) notes that it never started off that way, but over the years, people have committed to keeping the surprise—“No peeking!” is a rule taken as seriously by calendar buyers as by kids playing hide-and-seek. The Dolphin Studio also carefully avoids revealing upcoming images in its marketing until the appropriate time. “Sixteen years ago,” Lily recalls, “we were really backed up, still collating and assembling the calendars at Thanksgiving. Putting out a distress signal to family and friends [to help get the calendars out in time], we heard back, ‘No, no, I can’t look!’”
Growing business, growing demand
Sofia and Crispina now carry on the ffrench family tradition, aided by family members Lily and Jamie (daughters of Sofia and Pat) and Lucy and Violet (daughters of Crispina and Chris), as well as employees Kerry (who has been working with Dolphin Studio for seven years) and Siobhan (who works seasonally). Each month is still designed by a family member, including four vintage prints per year to carry John and Primm’s designs into the future. Every calendar also includes one design chosen from an extensive portfolio by Felicitas (the eldest ffrench daughter, who has had Multiple Sclerosis for many years) and one honoring Crispina’s son Ben (who died in 2019 due to life-long cardiomyopathy), reflecting his commitment to social activism and music.
Although producing the calendar was originally a seasonal business (mainly during the summer), it’s now grown to a full-year operation—with sales during September through December and printing beginning at the end of January. Looking back on their 2025 sales, Crispina shares, “We’re happy to say we made and sold more calendars than ever before!” She adds, “It’s expensive to overprint, so we have to plan carefully.” Fortunately, they welcomed a new printing press to the studio in June, easing some of the physical labor and enabling them to make larger prints in the future.
Lily, who studied marketing, recently expanded her role by writing and sending a weekly email newsletter called “The Sunday Splash.” She notes, “I love all aspects of the business—marketing, printing, making videos.” In one newsletter, she posed the question, “What do you do with your old calendars?” Many people shared that they’ve used images, dates, and letters from past months to make personalized cards; others have framed them or created collages, chair rail borders, gift wrap, and writing journals. The ffrench family members started creating origami ornaments from old designs (three circles stitched together on a sewing machine). “We have all sorts of ideas,” Lily assures, “including saving them, since after a certain number of years, the dates come full circle again!”
Print Club is launched—and flourishing
Wondering collaboratively how to increase the element of surprise in the monthly calendar experience, the family members envisioned a Print Club and launched it last January. The club is a yearly membership; each member receives a small 6-by-9-inch print in a screen-printed, hand-addressed envelope once a month or every other month. The first month’s design comes in a frame that you can keep reusing, with the other months’ prints stored behind it. “Many people gift the club membership to family members and friends at Christmas,” Crispina says. Because of the smaller format and the fact that they only make a few hundred each month (for now), they can use more colors than they typically do in a calendar print.
“Print Club is still very new for us, but it quickly became clear just how special it could be,” Crispina attests. “We realized it fits perfectly alongside our other signature product [the calendar], while offering something even more personal: a way to bring people together, make them feel extra special, and include that little element of surprise we love so much.” Lily adds, “It’s not only about sharing art and the element of surprise—but receiving something special in the mail adds to the fun and makes a cheery gift year-long.” (As of this writing, they were still accepting new subscriptions to the Print Club, but were close to selling out.)
They have next to zero waste, thanks to selling off cuts of paper, making doodling journals and ornaments out of ‘strikes,’ and holding their annual online “Biggest Sale of the Year” in June. They also offer local pickup for people who prefer it to receiving the calendar by mail. In addition to their website, you’ll find Dolphin Studio calendars at local vendors like Guido’s, Township Four, and Windy Hill Farm, and at choice locations throughout the country. “We want to keep it special, so we don’t want to oversell,” Lily says, noting that they were overwhelmed with orders in 2023 when the New York Times listed the calendar on their holiday gift guide.
With retail locations across the country and loyal customers worldwide, production requires a lot of physical work, from pulling the squeegee to collating the calendars to stuffing the envelopes. “For the longest time, we haven’t been able to keep up with retail, so we didn’t do wholesale,” Crispina acknowledges, “but we’re carefully growing the wholesale part of our business now. Our new flatbed press will help, offering the ability to print without as much physical demand on bigger sheets.” They continue to use environmentally friendly inks and experiment with different processes—and are a “Top Shop” on their wholesale platform.
Deeply rewarding, from generation to generation
“People all over the world want to feel connected, appreciated, seen,” Crispina states. “Our prints deliver an ancient craft into this moment with relevance. People are drawn to handmade things, and most people want more human touch in their lives—we like to provide all of those things with our prints.” She notes that in Ireland, where the family spent many summers, people are celebrated for being traditional artists and craftspeople. She often hears a similar affirmation from past students: “I don’t think a month has gone by without someone saying, ‘Your mom or your dad taught me art.’
To understand the name of the business, you need to know that the ffrench family crest had a dolphin on it. As Sofia explains, “Our ancestors came from Normandy (France) to Ireland during the 10th century. There were 14 tribes in County Galway at that time, and our crest—with a stylized, and somewhat scary-looking fish—denoted nobility. Mom created an iconic image from that crest and it became our studio name and logo.”
“We were encouraged by our parents to be creative, follow our passion, and do what makes us happy. The opportunity to carry on the business feels like carrying their torch. We all love each other and are totally invested,” Crispina concludes. It’s a passion and tradition—not an expectation. “Our grandparents would be amazed and so proud to see the studio still thriving and to know that, even with wholesale partners across the United States and customers around the world, we still print everything ourselves in small batches and keep a close connection with our community.”
As for the third generation? “Working in the studio has been a big part of my life. I started printing with my dad when I was 14 and now do it every summer. It’s exciting when it’s your own thing, and you care so much,” Lily beams. “Together, we make a pretty great team. We’re so proud that something that started as a family tradition and a handmade gift for friends has grown into a tradition for so many of our customers. Every year, there’s never a question of whether we’ll make another calendar. It’s simply part of who we are.”
Note: Although the 2026 calendar is sold out, you can preorder the 2027 calendar now. Print Club subscriptions are available for purchase from January 28 to February 1. Visit their website for all the details.
