Sep 03, 2013 8 Questions with: Ted Vadakan of Poketo
Since founding Poketo in 2003, the husband-and-wife team of Angie Myung and Ted Vadakan have grown their indie design company from a maker of limited-edition wallets (collaborating with everyone from Tim Biskup to Esther Pearl Watson to Gary Baseman to Adventure Time) to a full-on clothing, accessories, housewares, and stationery brand, as well as a partner with Nike, SF MoMA, Weezer, Arcade Fire, and Target. When I dropped by the Poketo booth at Comic-Con earlier this summer, I asked Ted if he’d mind taking time out of his empire-building to answer 8 Questions. It took a while, but I finally followed up with my old friend at the flagship shop in Downtown Los Angeles.
How would you describe your job?
Everything Poketo, from design to curatorial to business to sweeping the sidewalk.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find tons of inspiration outside of work… Being outdoors, traveling, exploring cities. I always stop for things that catch my eye and take photographs. My iPhone ends up storing examples of things that I love and have found out and about. I go to my camera roll often to remember these bits of inspiration. Even exploring Instagram and seeing what other people see–it’s like you have a million eyes out in the world.
What does your average work day look like?
Average work day… Angie and I try to keep a pretty normal schedule: walk the dogs, get to the store, meet with our team to discuss the week and months ahead. We always have new stuff that pops up, from workshops at the store to events offsite. We love doing new things and collaborating with other brands and artists that we admire, which means we take things on at a moment’s notice. If it excites us, we’ll do whatever we can it make it happen. Angie is busy finding the designers, artists, and awesome things you see in the shop. She is also scheduling workshops and inviting awesome people to come and teach at Poketo.
Poketo is more than a store; we really aim to be anchor for the creative community. We are doing workshops related to food, design, even social media and branding… And we always invite our friends who happen to be leaders in what they do. A lot of my day is managing special projects we have in the pipeline, and making sure the less glamorous business end is taken care of.
What are you currently working on?
Projects coming up… Expanding. We have been online for 10 years and opened our first retail store last year. It’s been an amazing experience and having the creative community, colleagues, and friends be able to pop into Poketo on the day to day is exciting. We are working to continue that–to continue to build community and an awesome retail experience. Big news to come!
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
As a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist, an adventurer, like Indiana Jones. But, who didn’t, I guess. Angie, she wanted to be a journalist, a reporter. We’ve dabbled with these things in our lives prior to Poketo. We still, of course, live to adventure.
What are you reading at the moment?
Reads… Embarrassingly, it’s been a lot of magazines lately. New Yorker is a favorite.
What’s your favorite post-work destination?
Favorite post work? Home. Haha! If I were to pick outings… Downtown L.A., where Poketo is has lots to choose from: Beers at Wurstküche, pie at Pie Hole, wine at Mignon, sushi at Komasa, yakitori at Honda Ya, karaoke at Max…
Do you ever get recognized after the Target displays, etc.? Not at the shop or booths at places like Comic-Con, but out in the wild…
Do we get recognized? Sometimes. People series say, “Hey, Poketos!” That makes us laugh.
Poketo’s slogan is “Art For Your Everyday” and you can visit the flagship store seven days a week at 820 E 3rd Street in Downtown L.A. (Mon. – Fri. 12 – 7 PM, Sat. – Sun. 11 – 7 PM). You can also check out the site, blog, and online shop at poketo.com.
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