Laura Daza Carreño was born and grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia. It’s a lively coastal city, characterised by the colours of folklore and carnival. This has certainly influenced her taste for colour combinations and her passion for warm and lively palettes.
She studied Textile Design in Colombia and became interested in research in the field of sustainability and the use of natural materials via experimenting with dyes extracted from leaves, barks, roots, flowers, and vegetables. Through this, her passion for colour was formed.
In her work as a designer and artist of colour, Laura Daza constantly searches for new methods of production and colour designs that meets the needs of today. “Research is the key, it allows me to discover the secrets and history behind colours and the processes that have been forgotten.” She adds “as an example, while I was studying the Egyptians I was fascinated by the purity and magic of their palette of colours and how they introduced the first greens and blues ever used by humanity.”
This work may seem archaic yet Laura applies her findings to modern and sustainable design solutions. She looks to the past to get new inspiration, understand the origin and the science of colour in order to adapt it to everyday life in a practical and contemporary way.
Laura has become a colour craftsman. She uses different traditional methods in order to extract colour including corrosion, cooking, purification and pulverisation. With pulverisation, a long and tiring process, she uses a mortar and pestle to grind a stone and turn it into pigment. She has learned to understand the properties of different natural materials and their applications.
Laura has worked in New York with brands such as Narciso Rodriguez,Donna Karen, PREEN, Roche Bobois And Nissan Design Europe. In 2004 she founded a design studio where she works on multidisciplinary projects. She is the author of The DIY Color Recipe Book and regularly organises colour alchemy seminars throughout Europe.
