My background led to the artist I am today. 

Raised in a gritty Canadian mining town, my child’s eye seized upon color early on. I applied all 150 Prismacolor pencils to dream up wardrobes for my paper dolls. I advanced to oil painting at age ten and trained under local seamstresses. In high school, I earned pocket money painting classmates’ garb with our fav band emblems. Art and fashion stitched together as one. 

With grandparents from Italy, I embrace my full-Italian heritage—and thus my studio name, Felice A Mano. Enrolled at Ontario College of Art (OCA), I was honored to complete my fine arts degree in Florence. From gilded embroidery to polished statuary, Firenze affirmed my love for artisan-level craftsmanship. And what aspiring designer could complain about a trip to Gucci and Prada in nearby Milan! 

Eager to engage a bright new world, I relocated from Toronto to Los Angeles. My varied career led from a New York fashion brand exec to major-retail manager in Santa Monica to food-and-style writer at Palisadian Post. Each experience shaped the work ethic I carry forward to this day: professionalism, determination, and innovation. 

I love experimenting with different creative media. One never knows where such endeavors might lead. 

Invigorated by LA glam, I combined my passion for collecting and painting to create my first fashion line: custom-painted, one-of-a-kind vintage handbags. Sourced from Pasadena flea markets, each bag became a tiny canvas for my whimsical motifs. Imagery ranged from classic cars to oversized diamond rings. Featured fashion magazines and at LA boutiques such as Fred Segal Flair and Caviar & Kind, my very first bag sold at Barkley Hope on Melrose—to none other than Kirsten Dunst! 

The pandemic was dreadful, but the forced isolation proved a prolific period. Using a home-mixed clay recipe, I began experimenting with sculpted forms. I constructed an armature, over which my hands molded tin foil, then my pallet knife coated the form in clay, and my brush sparked each to life! I found myself giving them names such as “Umi” and “Fes” and “Brigitta Berlin.” I reveled in delight at having a new art form to play with, and new companions to keep me company in my studio. 

When I undertook sculpting, my intent was to create frames to display my personal accessories: rings, necklaces, sunglasses and such. In a surprising turn, I now find myself sculpting the accessories themselves. From brooches to earrings, drawer pulls to candlesticks, each new undertaking excites me to the core. Newly resettled to San Diego, I am rebuilding my studio and creating art just as eclectic as the furnishings and curios that surround me. 

If you browse the MIRABILIA on display in my virtual curio cabinet and MUST have something—or if you think of something to have commissioned—please don’t hesitate to email me at angela@studiofeliceamano.com.