A Story with POKETO

1. About POKETO

A lifestyle brand born out of the desire to infuse every day with aesthetic intentionality, Poketo has carefully curated and created a collection of design-conscious goods meant to cultivate a creative lifestyle.

The name Poketo (pronounced “poh-keh-toe”) stems from the mispronunciation of “pocket” by Angie’s (the founder) grandmother. It tied in perfectly with the first product ever created under Poketo: a series of artist wallets that fit right in your pocket—and Ted and Angie just loved the way it sounded.

In addition to its online store, Poketo has two LA-based retail locations in DTLA, and Little Tokyo, each of which hosts art exhibitions, workshops and other events that serve to foster the local creative community. The new flagship, Poketo Project Space at ROW DTLA, is a concept space with rotating pop-ups by different brands, artists, designers, and makers.

2. About the designer

Angie founded POKETO in 2003 along with her husband, Ted Vadakan. After working in TV and documentary production, Angie decided to get her second degree in Graphic Design. That's when a fun project called POKETO started in 2003, along with her husband, Ted. It was truly an accidental business as they really didn't intend to start a business, but 17 years later, Angie oversees the creation of all Poketo products from stationery, housewares, accessories, and more doing fun collaborations with like-minded companies like TAKENAKA.

3. TAKENAKA x POKETO

We worked closely with POKETO design team in selecting these 2 designs amongst dozens of possible designs. They appeal to different types of people. We love both designs and have a hard time of picking which one is our favorite.

ELEMENTS

It creatively represented food that would go in these bento boxes in an abstract fashion. All the colorful shapes against the neutral background was really fun.

POOL

We wanted to create a more artful and bold design inspired by the LA landscape of the ocean, sky, and sun. The pink and red colors and the combination of the 2 colors matched with the yellow band is surprising and fun.

FUROSHIKI

Furoshiki are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths used to transport everyday items to create a luxurious, multi-colored wrapping cloth to secure your bento box and chopsticks in style. This exclusive collaboration is the first one we have made. POKETO version coordinates perfectly with both designs of our Rectangle Bento Box and Bento Chopsticks and anything more! Read more about our story of FUROSHIKI.

Explore POKETO x TAKENAKA collection