After deciding the image we wanted for the business, considerable effort was expended coming up with a name that would represent who and what we were. After much investigation and debate we settled on Fe29.
Many of you will recognize that the Fe probably stands for Iron, but what about the 29? Well for those that thought we’d got the number wrong (26 is the atomic number for Iron), 29 is the atomic number for copper. But still, why Fe29?
The answer is not quite as simple as it may appear. Yes iron and copper are two of the metals included in many of Fe29’s first works. But there are a couple of other reasons we arrived at the name. The first is that Fe29 puts artists together in collaborative projects which, if carried out in the spirit of openness and generosity, should result in works that are new and unlike the works produced by any one of the artists on their own – in much the same way as when you put two chemical elements together and get something new i.e mix, in the right proportions, highly flammable hydrogen with oxygen that supports combustion and you get something quite different – water.
Thirdly, the name worked nicely as a tribute to Cecilia’s son Karl who passed in 2006 from cancer. They had together named his first café, Café FE, and Cecilia credits her son for getting her art when he commissioned her to make architectural pieces, and later art for the walls of his new restaurant. This not only helped keep her from feeling completely helpless in his last months, but also gave her a tool to help her work through her loss. While this might seem like a sad story, Cecilia sees it as anything but as it has given her a way forward that brings her much joy. Megan and Cecilia hope Fe29 will bring happiness to the many artists they help through the business.
