Frank Bentivegna

Woodshop Artisan

Frank Bentivegna fell in love with Naples after moving to the Paradise Coast from New Jersey. His good fortune continued when he was hired by Cocoon Gallery to build a geode storage room in the woodshop. “I fell in love with the uniqueness of everything Cocoon makes,” he says. When he learned that Cocoon founder Mitchell Siegel was looking for an artisan for the woodshop team, he was quick to take on the challenge.

Mitchell soon discovered that Frank is a masterful tradesman in the traditional sense, having built things since childhood, such as digging foundations for homes while still a teenager. He is now multi-talented at most trades: carpentry, painting, plumbing, tile work, masonry, marble work, and more. 

What sets Frank apart is his artisanship and ability to work with clients on custom pieces. He says that his goal is to give extra flair to every custom piece so that it represents Cocoon’s organic aesthetic, and has new, unique angles and shapes. He consults blueprints and isometric drawings and uses CAD software to help clients achieve their visions. 

His creations are known for their elegance, such as the exquisite small side table with a blue geode top on a jointed and grooved wood base, which he says is one of his favorites. 

When a Cocoon client wants a custom piece of functional art, they are fortunate to work with a craftsman who brings an artist’s eye to their project. Today, Frank says, “I’m just happy walking in every day and looking at everything.”

Benjammin Molina

Woodshop Artisan

Ben’s connection to Mitchell began in 2014 in Greenwich, Conn., when they were introduced by a mutual friend who knew Ben’s interest and experience in woodworking. 

Ben had been working with wood since 1992, stripping pine and painting furniture at Knock on Wood Antiques in Darien, CT. There he built a customer base that allowed him to work on his own to both creating faux finishes as well as build furniture.

Ben’s artistic bent began in childhood and continued through his college experience with graphic design, so he was familiar with color theory and design. But it was the hands-on work with wood that captured his interest most, and he was intrigued with the opportunity of working with Cocoon.

At one of their first meetings, Mitchell gave Ben a slab of cedar six feet by 20 inches and challenged Ben to “make it beautiful.” Ben created a striking console table with a high sheen, hand polished finish and so began his trajectory with Cocoon.

“I had been wanting to work with slabs for quite some time having came across a New York City company making large tables from domestic hardwoods and became fascinated with the process. Every few months, I would walk their store for inspiration.”

Mitchell, impressed with Ben’s talent, drive and productivity, asked, “Can you do everything that I need done?” Ben was at a tipping point professionally and says that it was “perfect timing,” and joined Cocoon as a full-time lead designer.

Ben comments that Mitchell gives his artisans a lot of leeway. “If I come up with an out-of-the-box design I will sketch it out and Mitchell will likely say, ‘just do it’.”

In 2021, Mitchell made the decision to move the workshop to Naples, Fla., where a year before, he had opened a showroom. Ben made the move with Cocoon and is celebrating his 10th year with the company.

Today, Ben says that the Naples workshop is like an artist’s studio where he is encouraged to explore ideas for creating art from natural elements sourced in Southeast Asia and the Americas. Most recently, he was on the team that created and installed the magnificent and majestic root sculptures suspended from the lobby ceiling of the luxury condo development, Kalea Bay.

DAVE COPELAND

Woodshop Artisan

Dave comes to Cocoon from a design and business background that has served him well as one of Cocoon’s artisans. His experience with graphics programs at college and employers gave him expertise that he now utilizes in imagining designs for Cocoon’s clients.

The Syracuse, N.Y. native achieved a bachelor’s degree in environmental science- communication culture and writing from Syracuse University of New York’s (SUNY) School of Environmental Science and Forestry before relocating to Naples. The first rung of his employment history was Whole Foods, where he worked his way up the ladder from the produce sign department to the store marketing manager, where he helped with promotional signage, corporate branding and strategic sales programs.

The experience with graphic design at Whole Foods inspired his creativity, and he sought additional opportunities to utilize those skills. After a stint with a painting company, he headed the marketing effort for an animal hospital, a job that allowed him to pursue his interest in animal care. Dave also cares for over 40 exotic animals he uses for children’s education programs, an occupation that also required building animal enclosures, giving Dave exposure to the fundamentals of construction.

His creative spirit and desire for a more hands-on vocation led him to Cocoon, which he joined in 2022. He describes his first impression of Cocoon’s woodshop saying, “I never saw anything like it, so artistic and free.” Cocoon founder Mitchell Siegel introduced him to the machinery of the woodshop environment and allowed him to find his niche while learning from his co-workers. “He didn’t know what to do with me at first,” Dave jokes, adding that he painted the entire 20,000-square-foot woodshop in his first weeks before handling the “Wiz,” the shop’s huge wood cutting machine.

Dave loves working on Cocoon’s live edge tables and root sculptures and sketching design concepts that will end up as a work of art in a client’s living room. “Mitchell finds the strong suit in people,” he says, adding that he is most proud of Mitchell’s trust in the team.

Nelson Schmidt

Woodshop Artisan

Nelson comes from a Minnesota family with a fourth-generation family farm. As a kid, he worked alongside his grandfather building structures and shelving and learning basic tools. “It sparked an interest in me, and it was a hobby I always pursued.”

When it was time for college, Nelson chose Florida Gulf Coast University. “My family vacationed in Ft. Myers every year and I got to know the area.” While studying business management -- “I figured it was a good foundation for whatever I was going to do.” – he considered part-time employment. 

While surveying his opportunities in the job market, the spark of interest in pursuing woodworking continued to grow, but no job materialized.

Taking the initiative, Nelson sought out training by an award-winning wood carver and master woodworker in Ft. Myers and began working as an apprentice. He worked with a lathe turning wood and carved maple leaf bowls, honing his skills.

With pure serendipity, an opportunity popped up on Indeed for a woodworker. “The description was exactly what I wanted.” It was from Cocoon. Rather than apply through the Indeed portal, Nelson sent an email with a message in his own words, and two images of his work. One was of a black walnut desk with oak legs and blue epoxy inlay, and the other of a two-drawer dresser he made for himself.

In response, Mitchell Siegel called him with a few questions, interviewed him in person, and hired him on the spot. He worked part-time at Cocoon for a year-and-a-half while he finished college. Upon graduation with his business management degree, he began working full-time at Cocoon.

Nelson says he will always work in construction, but it’s design that beckons. “The design of furniture is the highlight of working with Cocoon.” His favorite is working with the slabs and live edges, one-of-a-kind organic pieces, and “rescuing a piece of wood and turning it into a piece of art.”