Greenport has a new kind of storefront: a chef knife art gallery. Mojo Studio, run by chef and artist Joe Francis, is open in the village and is marking the occasion with a grand opening giveaway on its Instagram page.

From restaurant kitchens to a workbench

Francis founded Mojo Studio in 2023 as an online business, selling his work mostly to other restaurant professionals. The studio describes itself as a chef knife art gallery and culinary studio: part shop, part workshop, part exhibition space, built around the tools of a working kitchen.

The signature piece is the saya, the traditional wooden sheath that protects a chef's blade. Mojo's sayas are handcrafted in wood, held on with magnets rather than the usual pin, and finished with original painted designs, from wood-burned portraits to collaged vintage Japanese newspaper. The studio takes custom commissions, walking each client through a consultation on the design, the wood and the fit of their own knife before the piece is made.

Knives, racks and classes

Alongside the sheaths, the shop carries curated high-end chef knives, Japanese-inspired blades among them, and one-of-a-kind knife racks built as functional art, meant to hang in a kitchen the way a painting hangs in a living room. A five-inch utility knife with a matching saya, listed at $150, sold out on the studio's online shop.

Francis also offers professional knife sharpening and teaches culinary classes, which can be booked through the studio's website. The wholesale side of the business, which lists the studio as founded in Greenport, supplies shops around the country through the Faire marketplace.

Finding the Mojo

Mojo Studio is in Greenport village; the studio posts its hours, events and the current grand opening giveaway at instagram.com/mojostudioart, and its full catalog, custom order process and class bookings are at mojostudioart.com. Questions go to 201-814-3103.

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