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From Olympic medals to eyewear

18 October 2011 by Kathy Eccles

It was a merging of two creative minds when eyewear designer Carla D’Angelo met Corrine Hunt in 2003 at a trade show where the First Nations artist was exhibiting her work. Drawn to the artist’s talent and values, D’Angelo thought it would be a “beautiful and different idea to incorporate First Nations artwork into eyewear.”
 
In 2009, she launched the AYA Accessories collection of sunglasses and ready-to-wear readers featuring Corrine Hunt’s evocative First Nations artwork etched into the side of the frames. Around the same time, Hunt basking was in the limelight as the co-designer of the medals for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
 
Hunt’s contemporary eyeglass art embodies traditions and themes of her First Nations heritage and of life in the Pacific Northwest. Her nature-inspired wearable artwork uses symbols such as an eagle, hummingbird, raven, wolf and killer whale to reflect aspects of First Nations legend and traditional culture.
 

In 2012, the D’Angelo/Hunt collaboration will continue with eyeglasses using environmentally sustainable products like bamboo, with $2 from every pair sold being donated to the ONEXONE First Nations Breakfast Program. Order a pair online from Claudia Alan or shop for AYA sunglasses and readers at museums and art galleries across Canada.

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