A Career Built Across Continents
Cray Flynn’s design career spans more than three decades and multiple continents. Long before launching Amatoya in 2019, Flynn built a foundation working internationally in architecture and interior design. After studying architecture and interior design in Rome and Paris, Flynn began a career that would take him from Asia to the Middle East to the United States.
Early roles included working in Singapore on hospitality, commercial, and high end residential projects across a large global territory. Later, Flynn spent a decade in Las Vegas designing restaurants, casinos, and hotels within the hospitality sector. The travel and exposure to different cultures helped shape the way Flynn thinks about design today.
The interest in design started long before that global career began.
“I used to work with erector sets and building blocks and things like that, building things,” Flynn says. “I used to change my grandparents’ furniture all the time. It was always something that I liked doing.”
Moving frequently as a child also contributed to Flynn’s fascination with place, culture, and the experience of living in different environments. Those early experiences would eventually influence both his design philosophy and the creation of his own studio.
The Story Behind Amatoya
Amatoya was founded as more than a design studio. Flynn envisioned it as a platform for storytelling rooted in cultural identity and personal history. A tribal member of the Cherokee Nation, Delaware Tribe of Indians, Wyandotte, and Mohawk communities, Flynn wanted the brand to reflect Native American artistry in a contemporary way.
The name itself carries historical meaning.
“Amatoya means rain maker, or man that makes rain, in Cherokee,” Flynn explains. “He was a chief in the 1600s who I’m supposedly descended from.”
The studio produces interior design work for hospitality and residential clients, but it also functions as a design brand. Flynn develops furniture, lighting, and textiles that draw inspiration from cultural narratives without relying on literal or ceremonial imagery.
One example is the Kamama chair, named after the Cherokee word for butterfly.
“If you look at the chair, it looks like a butterfly,” Flynn says. “It has a softness to it. People can like the chair because it’s beautiful, or they can connect with the story behind it.”
This balance between design and storytelling is central to the Amatoya brand.
Design Rooted In Place
Throughout Flynn’s career, the concept of “sense of place” has become a guiding principle. Having lived and worked across multiple continents, Flynn believes design should respond to the culture, landscape, and people connected to a location.
“I think it’s the understanding of a sense of place,” Flynn says. “What surrounds people and what makes them unique to where they are.”
This perspective mirrors the relationship many Indigenous cultures have with land and history. Flynn often approaches projects by considering how environments evolve over time and how communities relate to the spaces around them.
Even when working internationally, this mindset allows Flynn to draw connections between cultures rather than imposing a singular design style.
Expanding Beyond Interior Design
While Amatoya began as a design studio, the brand has expanded into multiple ventures. Flynn continues to work on interior design projects, but a growing focus is licensing collections across different product categories.
Upcoming launches include furniture, lighting, and textile collections, along with a hospitality focused amenities line called Renewal by Amatoya. Developed in partnership with Ada Cosmetics, the collection includes hotel products such as shampoo, body wash, and lotions.
Flynn also hosts two video podcasts. Beyond the Art explores Native American creative industries including film, music, and fashion. Beyond the Design focuses on architects, designers, and makers within the built environment.
“I don’t want to look back and think about what I should have done,” Flynn says. “If I have an idea, I go with it.”
The projects may appear wide ranging, but Flynn views them as extensions of the same creative curiosity.
Risk Taking And Creative Drive
Despite balancing design projects, product development, podcasts, and leadership roles, Flynn describes the work as energizing rather than overwhelming.
“I don’t turn off,” Flynn says. “I enjoy what I do, so it doesn’t become a burden.”
Flynn often works late at night or on weekends, using quiet time to organize projects and develop new ideas. That mindset of constant motion has also shaped the advice Flynn offers younger designers.
“Be a risk taker. Don’t say no to yourself,” Flynn says. “If you have an idea, flush it out and go for it. You won’t know until you try.”
For Flynn, perseverance and curiosity have been essential to building a career that continues to evolve. As Amatoya grows, the goal remains clear: to expand recognition of Native American artistry while creating design that carries meaning beyond aesthetics.
