Ava and Mark Daniel founded AVARK in 1983 with the attempt to capture the essence of the Caribbean through wearable, useable art as their impetus. Since then, the duo has created hand-crafted and hand-painted Caribbean interpretations of male and female fashion & home-furnishings. Their mutual artistic background was the genesis of, and continues to be the inspiration for, the Barbados-based range which is made from locally-sourced materials such as burlap and cotton. Their design aesthetic is based not only on unique beauty but functionality in a Caribbean context.

These one -of –a- kind pieces are at once familiar and new. In their own words “In a successful piece, the past and the future come together creating a sense of timelessness.”  This motif of timelessness carries through their clothing and accessories collections, featuring designs which appeal to consumers of all ages.  The couple sights African art and culture, as well as Caribbean culture, as their inspiration and has stated that “we seek through our work to recapture a sense of the sanctity of our heritage”.

These references seem to have resonated with the audiences of the shows at which they have exhibited including Caribbean Fashion Week in Kingston, Jamaica from 2002-2006, A Fashion Affair Kaleidoscope in Atlanta, Georgia in 2006, St. Vincent Fashion Week in 2007 and Trinidad Fashion Week in 2008 earned them regional recognition. This appreciation was manifested in the form of awards for the Best New Product at the Caribbean export’s Caribbean Gift and Craft Show and special recognition by Shabeau Magazine.

The brand’s most recent venture, spearheaded by Mark Daniel, is the collection of handbags known as the “Avark bags”. Like all of its predecessors, the bags are hand-crafted, hand-painted and each one is unique. The bags signify the unity of the tenants of the brand: fashion, art and functionality in an edgy and current yet timeless way.