our story
Where design meets real life.
The artist behind
Monkey Balling started in the studio - but really, it’s the result of a lifelong obsession with materials, textures, and the stories they carry. This is a place where recycled and reclaimed materials turn into mosaic art, handmade pieces, and limited-edition objects built to last.
I'm Damien Laglera, a designer based in Antwerp, Belgium, working between art, interiors, and objects. My background is in Color, Material & Finish (CMF) - a field that lives between emotion, precision, and sensory design. I care about how things feel, age, shift in light, and connect with people on a tactile level.
My work has always balanced craft, experimentation, and industry. I’m obsessed with the details - the difference between satin and matte, what a chipped edge says, or how a slight shift in tone can transform a whole mood. Eventually, I wanted to build something more personal, less polished, and less mass-produced.
So I built one.
Monkey Balling is where CMF meets play - where basketball culture, bold materials, retro textures, broken ceramics, stone fragments, and pop-culture references turn into sustainable design. I collect pre-loved, salvaged, and recycled materials and rebuild them into new stories with a new rhythm.
The result?
A visual language shaped by both precision and play - one foot in the material lab, one foot in the playground.
Moments from the studio.
Tiles, tools, fragments, experiments - this is where mosaic art and limited edition objects take shape.
DESIGN
Artist
PAssions
Every piece starts with
a story that lasts
EXPERIMENT
& GROW
We humans evolve by trying, failing, and trying again. Growth comes faster when we embrace experimentation - learning through the process, not fearing mistakes. In our work, every mosaic piece begins with reclaimed stone, recycled fragments, and materials. To experiment is to transform what’s left behind into something new.
LOVE AGAIN.
and again
Life is about second chances - and so are our pieces. What once seemed broken becomes part of something meaningful. We love giving pre-loved materials, ceramics, and discarded objects a new life through mosaic art.
There’s nothing more human than turning mistakes and leftovers into beauty.
MADE with
Care
We care deeply about what we make - because how it’s made shapes what it becomes. Each cut and each fragment is placed with intention.
Working with recycled stone, reclaimed materials, and handcrafted processes means slowing down to notice the details. Care is our craft.
“Beauty doesn’t disappear - it just changes shape."
We don’t talk sustainability - we practice it, piece by piece.
At Monkey Balling, every material has a past and every object deserves a second chance. We source reclaimed stone, recycled ceramics, broken tiles, chipped mirrors, leftover wood, and “lost” fragments people usually throw away.
If it’s solid, textured, raw, or storied - it belongs in the studio.
If it carries history, even better. Forgotten materials make the best foundations for upcycled design.
This isn’t greenwashing - it’s intentional craft, resourcefulness, and respect. We use what already exists, instead of asking the planet for more.
We experiment constantly with how to reuse more, waste less, and build with longevity in mind.
