S2E40: Jewelry Artist Danny Macchiarini

Film photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Macchiarini Creative Designs has been in North Beach since 1948. Today, it enjoys legacy business status.

​In Part 1, the studio's owner, Danny Mac as he's known to his friends and loved ones, talks about his father's involvement in the Bohemians (one of our city's early counter-culture groups) of the 1930s in San Francisco. He goes into detail about the group's plans to erect a giant statue of Emperor Norton to face the Pacific and welcome immigrants to San Francisco.

Part 2 picks up with Danny Mac telling us about Emperor Norton's dogs, Bummer and Lazarus, as well as Norton's currency system.

Danny goes on to talk about growing up in the Excelsior in the 1950s and '60s, the Vietnam War, his evolution as an artist and his dad's influence on it, and explorations of art theory.

We recorded this podcast at Macchiarini Creative Designs in North Beach in August 2019.