An Eye for the Extraordinary
Week of June 8, 2024
Angela Damman is a sustainable luxury brand inspired by the beauty of native plant fibers and the ancient artisanal traditions of Yucatán, Mexico. Since 2012, Angela and her talented team of artisans have been collaborating on design and production of textiles, luxury products and limited edition works, handcrafted from the fibers of agave and sansevieria plants. Her operation is full circle from harvesting and defibering plants to producing the final products. Her constant search for innovation result in unique pieces that bring imagination to life. Angela’s efforts not only connects centuries-old knowledge with contemporary design, it aims to help stimulate local economic development and preserve the cultural heritage of Mayan communities.
Her work is produced at her studio located at a historic hacienda in Yucatan, Mexico, and in neighboring villages. She cultivates her own materials for her work at the hacienda, including henequen agave, sisalana agave and sansevieria. Her first endeavor was to weave a highly refined textile from henequen fiber using the ancient process of a backstrap loom in collaboration with local women who are experts in this craft. The result was a beautiful luminous textile which opened up opportunities for new designs and applications in the luxury goods market. She has since continued exploring unique art and design ideas with plant fibers, extending her efforts to include espadin agave from the fields of Oaxaca.
Angela’s work has been shown in several museums and exhibitions around Mexico and abroad, including the Museo de Arte Popular, Fundación de Artistas, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo MUAC, Museo Franz Mayer, Epiphany Arts Center Chicago, Zona Maco, London Craft Week, Design Miami, Paris Design Week, Object D’Art, FOG Design and Art Fair, Le Tri Postal, and more. She has been featured in various publications including Vogue, Architectural Digest Mexico, Architectural Digest US, New York Times, Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Monocle, Departures, L’Officiel Mexico, Manera, Trend Tablet, Selvedge Magazine, Hotbook and Coolhunter, among others.
Angela studied Fashion, International Business, and Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin campuses. She spent 20 years in international development of plant based products, renewable energy, and sustainability initiatives in the U.S., Canada, China, India, Brazil, Australia, Spain (Canary Islands), Brussels (for the E.U.), Mexico, and Argentina. She made her way back to her first passion of design, incorporating inspirations she has gained from her world travels.