Franceil Masi was born in Coral Gables, Florida. Her great-grandfather and aunt were artists and at an early age she expressed herself through the visual arts and writing. She used to sit for hours to color in coloring books, build toys and Lego structures, and create new objects. Her great-grandmother was supportive of her and critiqued each of her drawing pieces. In high school, Franceil was offered a full scholarship to Rhode Island School of Design but turned it down to major in Creative Writing at USC. During Franceil’s last year at USC, she discovered her natural ability to paint. Her sketches and paintings gave Franceil the freedom to be expressive with the use of line, tone, and techniques. She began to show at galleries and sold her paintings.
In 2001, Franceil started teaching with LAUSD and began to write and illustrate children’s stories. One day Franceil was working one of her children’s books, Kilkenny cats, and she came up with the idea to design a small plush toy of the cat. Hence she created her first doll. In 2011, Franceil showed her creations to the parents of one of her students at Coeur D’Alene and they were so impressed that they suggested they all join a business partnership. In 2012, Indy Plush was formed. The partnership gained huge business accounts and her plush toys were all over the nation, like Whole Foods and the Ritz Carlton. In 2016, Franceil left Indy Plush to propel her son’s art career and to start her environmental clothing line, Conscientious Clothing.