Virginia Ayala and all her original glory. Photo by Denise Kuan/THE POP FIX copyright 2009

Virginia Ayala may be the creative force behind De La Luna Designs, but don’t call her a designer.

“I’m a re-designer,” she says, “I take something that inspires me and reinterpret it.”

Truth be told, the same term can be applied to many designers…but for now, I’m not delving into that subject.

I met Virginia at Flock Shop in LA’s Chinatown, where her nature-inspired recycled leather wallets, clutches, flasks (for emergencies, of course) and boots are best-sellers at the quaint boutique. Nature is a theme that resonates throughout the line, and Virginia admits to being in love with Mother Nature. But the motifs on her clutches aren’t of forests, animals or plants. Her emphasis is on capturing those little details in a flower bush or tree that we probably wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at. And it’s because we never bother to notice these things that De La Luna’s items command a second look. A clutch with a cherry blossom flower motif caught my eye—and I was suddenly transported to springtime in Japan. A peacock craning its head towards the sky evoked recollections of trips to the zoo when I was 7. I can’t even remember the last time a pair of shoes sent me down memory lane.

The ecofriendly brand is as intricate as it is interesting. Photo by Denise Kuan/THE POP FIX copyright 2009

De La Luna, meaning “Of the moon” in Spanish, originated with wallets and clutches, all made from recycled leather or locally sourced materials, and when I asked Virginia if her choice to use “recycled and local” products was in tangent with being “eco-friendly”, she admitted,

“I guess you could say it’s ‘green’, but this was the way I was raised; to reuse and just utilize what I have in my surroundings to make something new… for me it was more of a lifestyle. It wasn’t about trying to fit into that [eco-friendly] market…”

Naturally, she explains, it was easy to expand into the boots, flasks and purses that also comprise the De La Luna Designs collection today, but Virginia has no plans to become the next Michael Kors, jet-setting around the nation, selling thousands of dollars worth of merchandise at trunk shows. Makes sense, considering her low-key and laid-back attitude, and she prefers meeting fans or new customers intimately at events such as these.

One of the Japan-inspired designs by De la Luna. Photo by Denise Kuan/THE POP FIX copyright 2009

It’s the continued support of her clients and tiny shops as Flock Shop that helps to fuel Virginia’s passion to create. Seeking out the inspiration for product, usually from fabric, is also Virginia’s favorite aspect of the creative process, so much so that she even alluded to the experience as “being in a candy store.” Materials and price are both significant issues in the De La Luna collection, and despite the originality of each piece (nearly everything is hand-made), she wants her products to be accessible to everyone. Luxury accessory companies play a similar game: distributing “unique” items not available to everyone, and maybe spending $1,400 on a purse is validation that you do have something one-of-a-kind. However, it doesn’t provide the same delight as finding a $40 clutch in a hidden little shop in Chinatown, running into the designer and having such a great time conversing with her that you realize you should have put more coins into the parking meter.