Stuart Damon of Damon Designs
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Read about Stuart below.
Read about Stuart below.
Starting out in Atlanta as an electrician, Stuart Damon found his passion for creating beautiful illuminated functional art from found objects after he met and began working with the lighting designer Kim Fong. The two of them opened a unique space in downtown Historic Roswell, GA. After signing a three year lease, in August of 2001, in a burgeoning arts center called SOCA (South of Canton Street) the world changed within three weeks when the 911 attacks transpired. Since their creations were considered “luxury” items, their business dropped dramatically. Stuart supported the business with his contracting monies (and bartering with the landlord, doing maintenance and upgrades to the property). It wasn’t enough so at the end of that lease, he and Kim parted ways.
During that time, however, Stuart met Vikki Werbalowsky who had a design firm at SOCA. She loved what Stuart’s skill set brought to the table and they soon began working on a proprietary line of lighting and furniture inspired by their creative collaborations. He went all in and leased an old transmission shop to create their line. As they reached the precipice of launching the line, Vikki had some family concerns that required pulling the plug. So, Stuart returned to contracting and mostly set his art aside. Then the economic collapse of 2008 caused the life he had worked so hard to build in Atlanta to erode away to the point of bankruptcy and foreclosure.
His very dear friend Cayce Girardeau offered to provide a new start in Savannah, GA. With a new slower-paced town that was closer to the water (one of Stuart’s great passions), and a very affordable shop space in which to practice his trade, he once again built a solid electrical business and a following for his custom lighting. Unfortunately, after three years, his dear friend Cayce lost the battle to cancer. Heartbroken and devastated, Stuart took an opportunity to do some work on a Key West mansion with a friend.
After an amazing experience here, he jumped on the opportunity to relocate to the Keys when it arose and began to rebuild his business, again. Working on his art when he could, he was mainly focused on contracting work until his life changed dramatically. After hurricane IRMA, his contracting skills were suddenly in very high demand. Working 80-90 hour weeks for almost 18 months straight, he managed to set aside enough savings to live his dream of opening his own gallery where he could feature up-and-coming artists alongside his own work. In 2018, Damon Designs Gallery opened on Stock Island. He quickly built a loyal following of art lovers and clients that truly enjoyed the unique spin he put on his found object treasures. Everything was going great until Covid ravaged the world and the doors of his dream space had to close.
Now, although he moved into the Shops at Mallory Square with several of the artists he represented on Stock Island, Stuart is ready to focus solely on his own art. He is proud of the fact that by turning trash into treasured functional works of art, he is doing his best to keep the landfills less full and is creating items that brighten someone's life in a whole new way.
During that time, however, Stuart met Vikki Werbalowsky who had a design firm at SOCA. She loved what Stuart’s skill set brought to the table and they soon began working on a proprietary line of lighting and furniture inspired by their creative collaborations. He went all in and leased an old transmission shop to create their line. As they reached the precipice of launching the line, Vikki had some family concerns that required pulling the plug. So, Stuart returned to contracting and mostly set his art aside. Then the economic collapse of 2008 caused the life he had worked so hard to build in Atlanta to erode away to the point of bankruptcy and foreclosure.
His very dear friend Cayce Girardeau offered to provide a new start in Savannah, GA. With a new slower-paced town that was closer to the water (one of Stuart’s great passions), and a very affordable shop space in which to practice his trade, he once again built a solid electrical business and a following for his custom lighting. Unfortunately, after three years, his dear friend Cayce lost the battle to cancer. Heartbroken and devastated, Stuart took an opportunity to do some work on a Key West mansion with a friend.
After an amazing experience here, he jumped on the opportunity to relocate to the Keys when it arose and began to rebuild his business, again. Working on his art when he could, he was mainly focused on contracting work until his life changed dramatically. After hurricane IRMA, his contracting skills were suddenly in very high demand. Working 80-90 hour weeks for almost 18 months straight, he managed to set aside enough savings to live his dream of opening his own gallery where he could feature up-and-coming artists alongside his own work. In 2018, Damon Designs Gallery opened on Stock Island. He quickly built a loyal following of art lovers and clients that truly enjoyed the unique spin he put on his found object treasures. Everything was going great until Covid ravaged the world and the doors of his dream space had to close.
Now, although he moved into the Shops at Mallory Square with several of the artists he represented on Stock Island, Stuart is ready to focus solely on his own art. He is proud of the fact that by turning trash into treasured functional works of art, he is doing his best to keep the landfills less full and is creating items that brighten someone's life in a whole new way.