2018 EDGE - Poketo
The LA Design Festival created the EDGE Award to recognize recently emerged talent. By “emerged” we mean talented individuals who have received some exposure on the world stage but are still writing their own stories and determining their own paths. They’ve been tested and overcome hurdles. Through those experiences, they’ve found their own voices but they’re still exploring their potential.
EDGE candidates were nominated through a public process and selected by the LA Design Festival Board. By coincidence this year, the 2018 EDGE Awards recipients are all creative groups (couples and collaboratives).
Since 2003, Angie Myung and Ted Vadakan have wanted to give people art and design for their everyday. They started out by creating custom designed wallets, T-shirts, and mugs, before eventually branching out to include jewelry, handbags, tech cases, stationary, and other lifestyle goodies, all sold from their website. Eventually they opened up their flagship store in the Arts District where they continued to curate artful objects. From tea towels with Lisa Congdon to a line of planners with Betsy Walton, Joe Rogers, and Katharina Leuzinger for Target, Poketo had mastered the art of collaboration. They soon opened up a new boutique within the Line Hotel, followed by a pop-up to permanent shop at Platform in Culver City, plus another pop-up in Little Tokyo once their original location in the Arts District closed, each of which hosts art exhibitions, workshops and other events that serve to foster the local creative community.
While they would surely deny this, Angie and Ted have quickly built a small design empire during an age when everyone is talking about the death of retail. A few months ago, Poketo opened a new flagship, Poketo Project Space at ROW DTLA, which is a concept space with rotating pop-ups by different brands, artists, designers, and makers.
Next up for this dynamic design duo? Rumor has it they’re working on a book about creatives in their spaces.
Stop by Poketo during the LA Design Festival to see an installation and pop-up shop by HEM, a Swedish online furniture company that is re-shaping the future of furniture.
Photo credit: Bonnie Tsang