Aya Optical partners with artisan for new capsule collection

Aya Optical just announced a new collaboration with Navajo master weaver Kathy Marianito. By partnering with Marianito, Aya is creating a new collection with proceeds donated to indigenous communities in need.

The eyewear collaboration is set to launch this June priced at approximately 169 dollars. The capsule collection will be available at claudiaalan.com as well as select opticians throughout North America. “Aya is a celebration of Indigenous Art, through collaborations that look to the past and future," creator of Aya Optical Carla D'Angelo said in a statement. "I work together with indigenous artists with the goal of making their work less obscure by bringing their art and stories to a wider audience via our eyewear. It’s a small but important act of reconciliation. I have always been drawn to the beauty of Navajo textiles and love the strong geometric patterns in the weaving, and I am excited to incorporate this historic tradition into a modern medium," said stated.

With any Aya product purchased, proceeds are donated to indigenous communities in need. This special collaboration is set in partnership with Marianito because of her personal history with weaving in the past. Her work can be found at Nizhoni Ranch Gallery located in Sonita, Arizona. Nizhoni Rach Gallery is known for its specialty antiques as well as for its fine Javajo rugs. "Aya Eyewear has collaborated with indigenous artists in the past, so when Carla D'Angelo contacted us about using one of Kathy's Navajo designs for an eyewear collaboration, we were thrilled,” Gail Getzwiller of Nizhoni Ranch Gallery said in a press release.

Photo Source: Aya Optical