Native American design studio Amatoya adds lighting to mix
TULSA, Okla. —Amatoya, a design studio and lifestyle brand found and led by Cray Bauxmont-Flynn, is expanding its furniture collection and adding lighting that reflects Native American culture.
Operating from its creative hub in Tulsa, Okla., Amatoya’s work is deeply rooted in heritage while embracing modernity. Each design draws from Bauxmont-Flynn’s ancestral narratives and craftsmanship, transforming tradition into luxury pieces.
Bauxmont-Flynn, who is a tribal citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the Delaware tribe of Indians, has been in the interior design industry for 40 years. He has created product for other interior designers and lighting manufacturers, he said, and he and his design staff of seven work on both hospitality and residential design projects.
“Having my own firm, I’ve always made custom pieces for clients and in doing so, the lightbulb went off — why not do this for myself?
“My inspiration relates to my cultural heritage… There is no other interior designer that’s a tribal citizen doing something that Amatoya or I am doing. It’s an untapped market. There’s no one else in the space,” he said.
“Other manufacturers or brands are doing thing inspired by Native American cultural or identity, but they themselves are not Native American,” he added.
Amatoya was founded in 2017 and produced a small furniture collection of accent chairs, sofas, end tables, upholstered items and case goods in 2019. Its newly launched lighting includes table and floor lamps as well as fixed lighting and each piece, like everything in the Amatoya collection, has a backstory.
One lamp is named Nah Tso Tso, which means “big spider” in the Navajo language. The spider form represents interconnectedness and community, and is transferable across Native American tribes, according to Bauxmont-Flynn. Its basic geometry symmetry, angular arms and geometric patterns are often seen in Native American weaving.
Another design, called Nvwoti, the Cherokee word for “medicine,” features a feather motif in handblown glass. The feather is usually used in healing rituals, symbolizing purity, spiritual guidance and the connection between the physical and spiritual world.
Amatoya is still figuring out pricing, paused due to looming tariffs. Amatoya’s lighting is assembled in North Carolina and Texas, but components are made overseas, in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The studio is actively seeking licensing and manufacturing partnerships to expand its brand and promote its collections globally. Bauxmont-Flynn said that down the road he wants to produce wallpaper, textiles and accessories, but the furniture expansion and lighting come first.
