Art for your everyday
Poketo, an art project started by Angie Myung and Ted Vadakan in 2003, morphed into a lifestyle brand company with two stores in Los Angeles. Myung and Vadakan originally came up with the concept of sharing the artwork of their talented friends, many in the early stages of their careers, by using affordable plastic and paper wallets as a medium; each priced at about a Jackson.
But they didn’t want to just be a wallet company; Poketo hoped to fill people’s lives with art and design, whether through beautiful and functional products or meaningful experiences. The company grew slowly and steadily, expanding into areas like housewares, stationery, and apparel. In 2012, Poketo opened a 4,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar shop in the Downtown Los Angeles arts district. Along with curated design goods, they created an event space for workshops, art openings, and cultural happenings to expand on Poketo’s mandate to promote art “for the everyday” and share the creative knowledge of artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs.
Info
Address The Line Hotel, 3515 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010, +1 213.381.7411 ext. 3076, www.poketo.com/collections/workshops, poketostore@poketo.com | Public Transport Purple Line to Wilshire/Normandie Station; the Line Hotel is across the street | Getting there Valet parking for workshop attendees at a reduced rate of $10; metered street parking | Hours Workshops are held on weekends, primarily Saturdays. Times vary; see website for schedule.| Tip The Commissary, next to the pool at the Line Hotel, is a beautiful greenhouse setting for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or drinks.
The renowned boutique hotel purveyor Sydell Group approached Poketo about opening up a space at the glammy modern Line Hotel in Koreatown. Since then, Poketo has been hosting workshops in a suite there, and on sunny days, sometimes in the garden area, with snacks and refreshments provided by Roy Choi’s downstairs cafe.
What can you expect at a Poketo workshop? The unexpected. Classes have included making summer sandals, basic techniques for baking a cake that is anything but basic, cocktail mixology, stop-motion animation, paper flower design, mobile phone photography, printmaking, and even an off-site overnighter in Joshua Tree with Los Angeles textile company Block Shop. New workshops are constantly being offered, each promising interesting participants, great conversation, and a hands-on way to connect with the city’s creative side.
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