Chocolatieree is trying to find the sweet spot among Westport’s 3 artisanal chocolate shops.
Besides its hard-to-remember-and-pronounce name, it’s tucked a bit back on Church Lane — behind a parking area between Myrtle Avenue and Elm Street (across from Christ & Holy Trinity Church, if you still don’t know).
You can’t see its little designer chocolates from the road. But its window is now colorful, attractive and enticing.
Chocolatieree, and its colorful window.
It was decorated by artist Sophia Livecchi. It’s the first piece of public art in Westport for the 2017 Staples High School graduate — though not her first anywhere.
The project has sparked her interest in doing more such work — including murals — in her home town.
Sophia — a soccer and tennis player, and radio show host, at Staples who went on to major in environmental studies at Skidmore College — grew interested in the intersection of art and urban design during a semester in Copenhagen.
Since graduating last year she’s created an 800-square foot mural for a rugmaking studio in Brooklyn and helped turn an abandoned building facing I-91 in Hartford into a piece of art. She’s also served as marketing manager for The Knowlton, the exciting Bridgeport waterfront event venue, artist studios and mural park.
Sophia Livecchi, with one of her murals.
Sophia spent 2 days on the Chocaltieree windows, creating an intriguing fall scene.
As she worked, passsersby watched and chatted. That’s the power of public art, she says: It brings people and communities together.
“We need more of that here,” Sophia notes. “We have a lot of artists, but not a lot of outdoor art.”
There are plenty of empty walls, from the beach and the narrow driveway heading to CVS’ back parking lot, to the railroad station underpass across from Miggs Burroughs’ lenticular photos.
Meanwhile, Sophia continues to create art, indoors and out. Blow Dry Bar — near Chocolatieree — asked her to design a window too. She’s also painting a mural in a Westport family’s bathroom, and a Queens art studio.
Sophia Livecchi, at work.
In a couple of months, Sophia will be back at her first local project. Winter is coming, so she’ll update Chocolatieree’s windows for the new season.
By then, she and the owners hope, many more Westporters will know exactly where the shop is. They’ll appreciate the little pieces of artisanal chocolate — and the much larger public art on exhibit there.
(To learn more about Sophia Livecchi’s work — including commissions — click here; email livecchisophia@gmail.com, or follow her on Instagram: @Sophlive.
