In Bootleg Alley, just off Front Street in Greenport and up a flight of steps, a new shop has settled into the village's maritime downtown. Mojo Studio, opened this year by Joseph Francis, sells chef's knives the way a gallery sells paintings, and much of what hangs on its walls is both at once.

The studio's stock in trade is the saya, the fitted wooden sheath that protects a chef's knife, which Francis treats as a canvas. His custom saya designs run from Japanese-inspired patterns to original artwork, and the shop pairs them with curated high-end chef's knives, including matched sets in Japanese 440C steel with resin-finished handles. Recent work includes a complete chef knife art set titled The Fifth Element and custom art knife racks built to display a collection rather than hide it in a drawer.

Sharpening, classes and custom work

The shop is a working one. Mojo Studio takes knife sharpening drop-offs and pickups, and Francis has set fall hours with a practical twist: sharpening drop-off and pickup remain available outside regular shop hours by arrangement. Home cooks can reach the studio by phone or text at 201-814-3103 or through its website to time a hand-off.

Classes are part of the plan as well. Bookings open through the studio's site, where a class calendar sits alongside the shop's collections of sayas, knives, racks and merchandise. For businesses and restaurants, the studio takes commissions to add a custom logo or design to a blade or sheath, and it walks customers through starting a custom order on its site.

A saya, for readers meeting the word for the first time, is the fitted wooden scabbard traditionally made for Japanese kitchen knives. It protects the edge, protects the hand reaching into a knife roll, and in Mojo Studio's version it carries the artwork: each one is shaped to a specific blade and painted or finished as an individual piece. The studio sells them ready-made, builds them to order, and pairs them with the knives they fit.

A shop that joined the village quickly

Mojo Studio has worked its way into Greenport's calendar in its first year. The studio produced a Greenport maritime tee for the village's Maritime Festival season and showed work connected to the East End Seaport Museum's festival weekend. A neighboring Front Street shop announced the studio's arrival to its own followers in the spring, pointing customers up the alley.

The shop's following has grown alongside the storefront: several thousand followers track new sayas, knife sets and restocks on its Instagram account, where Francis posts finished commissions and weekend specials. A recent run of posts put a limited stock piece at a weekend discount and announced the new sign over the alley entrance.

Where to find it

Mojo Studio is on the second floor in Bootleg Alley, off Front Street in Greenport, a short walk from the harbor. Current hours, class bookings, custom order instructions and the shop's catalog are at mojostudioart.com, and the studio answers calls, texts at 201-814-3103 and email at [email protected]. A weekend special was running on the site through October 26, and the shop has said a grand opening giveaway is coming on its Instagram. Knife owners who want an edge back before holiday cooking season can drop blades off even when the shop itself is closed.

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