Meet Luciana Daly | Creative Director and Owner of Ankhara By Luciana Home Décor & Designs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luciana Daly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luciana, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I decided to start my own business for two reasons on being I’m a single mother who had a son going to college and I needed to figure out a way to pay for his tuition along with the rising cost rent and living in Boston MA. Im also a third generation seamstress who worked in the Architecture and Interior Design Industry. Unfortunately in the design industry there is an incredible amount of waste.in the Design Industry. an effort to practice sustainability within my office. I began buying all of the textiles from finished work projects that were destined for the landfill I began to create one of a kind decorative throw pillows, cushions, and other soft furnishings for friends and family. Before long i was creating decorative throw pillows and selling them at local craft fairs and vendor markets. .Which not allowed me to pay for my sons college tuition. But I started to make a name for myself in around the Boston area where Im from,. I was laid off during the COvid Pandemic but because I had amassed a large collection of designer textiles and due to the fact that world went into lock down. people began reaching out to me to design handmade home décor, while they were home. And the rest is history

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Im a third generation seamstress who was taught to sew by my mother and grandmother . Im from a community of women who used their God Given talent craft beautiful clothes, and housewares Although I did not go to Design School. I was able to see the beauty and usefulness of high end textiles that were destined for the landfill. I spent a tremendous amount of time and money going around to Design showrooms building and networking relationships that would allow mw to gain further access into the textile world..Im also black, Native American and East Indian where there are not many women of color have access to The Architecture and Interior Design Industry. My rise to fame really came during the Pandemic. I used social media to not only gain the attention of the world to show off my handmade creations. Iwas also able to participate in over 500 craft fairs and markets which allowed myself and my products to be introduced to a whole new demographic of clients.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love to eat and cook, I would start off by taking my friend to Boston’s North End. Which is a great food destination. The North End of Boston is like little Italy. Dozens of small family like restaurants in an exclusively Italian section of the city. There we would visit famous restaurants like Strega. Where the pasta and cocktails are world rebound. From there I would take the the various museums in and around Boston such as The Museum of Fine Arts. The museum of African American History and spend sometime relaxing with a nice message and facials. I would spend a couple of days at The four Seasons Hotel Boston where we would lay in the lap of luxury, taking advantage of all the amenities such as the swimming pool and the spa. Where we would end the week in Boston’s Seaport District where we would dine at The Capital Girille on Rib Eye stakes and Lobster. And I would finally end the week with a brief walking tour of Historic Boston

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes I like to shout out all the Seamstress, makers and sewist who are excellent in their craft and skill but never got the chance to have formal recognition of their skills and talent because they never went to school o r college to learn their craft

Website: https://www.ankharabylucianadesigns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ankharabyluciana/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnkharabyLuciana/