Introducing PAZ –Recycled Canvas Hats and Bag Fashions That Makes Us All Look Good 

PAZ Story

For as long as she can remember, PAZ Co-Founder, Melinda Damico, always wanted to somehow combine her professional skill as a licensed customs broker specialized in fashion and her deep passion for animals and the environment into a meaningful new direction that could sustain and fulfill her. 

She finally found it on her first trip to Brazil in 2005.  Ardent travelers, she and her husband, PAZ Co-Founder Dan Fries, were soaking in the rich culture and hot sun while touring around on a small boat when a friend offered Melinda the use of his wide-brimmed hat.  

She immediately fell in love with it.  It was the greatest looking hat she had ever seen.  Dan concurred.  The two were intrigued to know more. 

Where did it come from?  What was it made of?  Gradually, they pieced together the story of the retired trucker’s canvas that was being used by a few clever Brazilians to make unique accessories.

With the help of their friend and a number of gracious Brazilians, Melinda and Dan discovered a small, family-run factory where some of the hats were being made.

After expressing their interest to the factory owner, they learned more about the recycled canvas as well as a unique “faux leather” being made in the Amazon.

The more they heard, the more they realized that the story spoke directly to Melinda’s skills and passions as well as her innate fashion sense. 

PAZ Founders

Having grown up in a remote town in upstate New York, Melinda has spent the better part of her adult life in and around New York City, working for the last 20 years in the logistics industry with an expertise in fashion. 

A licensed customs broker, she has traveled to places as diverse and far reaching as Hong Kong, South Africa, Eastern Europe, Portugal and Italy to facilitate production and supply-chain management and was exposed to processes used to ensure fair and humane working conditions.  A 20-year vegan and animal lover, Melinda spends her spare time with animals. 

She has volunteered for the last 15 years with Companion Animal Placement, an organization committed to finding homes for homeless animals and has fostered many of them in the home that she and Dan share. 

She also practices a type of horseback riding known as classical dressage. 

At PAZ, Melinda spearheads design, image development and importing logistics. 

A 15-year vegetarian and avid animal lover as well, Dan was born and raised on Long Island and has been COO of a large, Manhattan-based HR consulting firm for the last 18 years. 

He oversees PAZ business planning, forecasting and projections.  Outside of Melinda and PAZ, Dan’s greatest passion is music.  In his down time, he can be found practicing on his drum set (a gift from Melinda, of course).

Introduced to one another by a friend in 1986, Dan and Melinda married in 1990.  They have a home in Weehawken, NJ and a country escape in Hope, NJ.  Over the years, they have shared their home with a number of beloved animal companions.  Currently, they have one dog (Elliott), two horses (Orador and Beau) and several cats (Chief, Oliver, Sidney, Laney, Holly and Little Man to name a few). 

PAZ Is . . .

• pronounced ‘pä – zh’, meaning “peace” in Brazilian Portugese.
• a line of rugged, utilitarian-chic, universally flattering and ethically produced accessories.
• where fresh fashion meets genuine integrity.
• the product of one couple’s love of travel, culture, design, nature and animals and their deep and abiding respect for resources and the planet.
• truly a labor of love.
• hats and bags, hand-fashioned from recycled canvas – previously used by truckers throughout Brazil to protect precious cargo – and a fascinating, new faux leather made by Amazonian natives from sustainable plant matter.
• a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces.  Purchased from the truckers at the end of its “life cycle,” each piece of canvas comes with unique patches and markings that imbue it with character and echoes of past lives and stories.  These are organically incorporated into PAZ designs.

PAZ Is Proud To . . .

• repurpose existing materials for continued use beyond their expected lifespan.
• bring increased income to factory workers who are treated fairly and paid well.
• help create a sustainable income source for the Amazonian people, who make the vegetable leather without clear-cutting any land.
• give a percentage of proceeds from each sale to charitable partners, including Rainforest Alliance and PETA.
• provide people everywhere with high-quality accessories that they can feel and look great in.

PAZ’s Launch Collection . . .

• includes three baseball-esque hates, four “outback style” hats and four bags.
• ranges in price from $35 to $89.

PAZ Has . . .

• big plans to add additional bag styles and select apparel soon.
• big dreams for positive change in the world.

More On PAZ

PAZ Production

PAZ production treads lightly on the planet.  The canvas used to create the hats and bags is purchased directly from truckers at their facility when its usefulness to them has expired and it would otherwise be destroyed. 

The vegetable leather is entirely hand made by the Amazonian people and does not require clear-cutting any land.  Production, done in a small factory, is largely hand driven with minimal use of sewing and cutting machines. 

Finally, each PAZ order is artfully wrapped in recycled paper, sealed with a simple PAZ stamp, “saged” with good intent and sent off with a personalized “thank you.” 

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