Hi everyone, thank you for the overwhelming, positive responses to our new tea towels, designed in collaboration with the talented illustrator Lisa Congdon! We are so glad that you love them as much as we do.

Today, we’re excited to release another short but inspiring Q&A with Lisa herself, in which she shares about her beautiful new home in Oakland, decorating it and her favorite spaces.

1. Congratulations on your new home in Oakland! What are some things that you love about your new space?

It gets tremendous natural light. I used to live in a really dark apartment in San Francisco. So every day I wake up and my house now is flooded with light. Things look different in light. My animals might even love the sunshine more than I do! I also love the huge outdoor space we have in the back. I can’t wait to begin summer barbeques back there and reading books in the sunshine.

2. What’s your approach to decorating your home?

I am all about creating spaces that are not fussy, spaces that are both relaxed and organized. I am also all about personalizing my spaces. I like clean and minimal, but I also don’t want to feel like I am living or working in a bland hotel room or a room that is generic. I add a lot of personal touches to my home, through my collections, artwork that I’ve purchased over the years, and mementos.

3. What is your favorite room in the home and why?

The dining room! It has a great corner window, and some amazing midcentury furniture. It also includes many of my favorite collections, including my Catherinholm Enamelware collection.

4. Tell us more about decorating your kitchen…what do you enjoy most about it?

The greatest design challenge in my kitchen was the red countertops. When I first heard the countertops were red, I was really worried! But I decided to embrace it, and I went with a theme of red, white and black for the entire space. Now I actually love the red countertops!

Thank you Lisa for sharing your home! For our readers, if you missed our first interview with Lisa and want to see the awesome tea towel collaboration with Poketo, check it out here.

To celebrate the release of our new tea towels in collaboration with Lisa Congdon, we’ve conducted a series of interviews with the illustrator herself. We’re big fans of her creative work, and would love for you to get to know the amazing individual behind these designs!

In the first installment, we ask Lisa about her vision for the tea towels and how she will be using these versatile linens in her own home. We’ve got more interviews with Lisa lined up, so stay tuned!

1. What was your inspiration for the tea towels?

I use a lot of geometric pattern in my work, and oftentimes I find myself doodling different geometric designs in my sketchbook. This pattern started out as a doodle and the next thing I knew I was making it into a repeat pattern!

2. Why do you think these designs are totally Poketo?

Poketo is all about the combination of modern and quirky. It’s also about cool art and design being accessible and even funtional. I think the tea towels bring a really fun, quirky, colorful element to something that people can use in their everyday life.

3. In three words, how do you hope people feel when they use your new tea towel designs?

Happy, clean, inspired.

4. How will you be using the tea towels in your kitchen?

I will be adding them to my already huge tea towel collection. I started collecting tea towels from all over the world about five years ago — some are vintage, of course, but many are new and from countries that really embrace their tea towels like Sweden and England. I actually use the vast majority of my tea towels — most for drying things, but I also use them as centerpieces for my tables.

Happy Monday folks! We are so excited to launch our second collection of tea towels today. This time, we’ve collaborated with the prolific, talented artist and illustrator, Lisa Congdon. Lisa is no stranger to Poketo, having worked with us on our signature artist-designed wallets and our first Target collection back in 2010.

For our latest collection, Lisa has come up with two herringbone and pyramid geometric prints in vivid hues, and we love how they are so bright and cheerful for any part of the home. These are full of personality and truly make everyday tasks and moments a treat – whether you’re drying the dishes, throwing a dinner party, having your tea outdoors, going on an impromptu picnic, or wrapping up a gift. Because they’re so versatile, you can use them anywhere from your kitchen to your workspace and even your bathroom!

Our tea towels are made from 100% pure linen which are naturally stronger and more absorbent than cotton, and only get softer with use over time. We’re pretty sure you will get lots of mileage out of them, but here’s what we would love to hear…how will you use them in your own home?

Check all the tea towels out here.

Photography and Styling:
Lehua Noelle Faulkner and Jessica Park

Brooklyn-based illustrator, artist, and wallpaper designer Dan Funderburgh is the designer behind the Cairo City Wallet. You might have seen images of the oft-photographed wallpaper that he created for the Wythe Hotel in New York City. Known for his designs that play off of of historical ornamentation, his work seamlessly bring together the decorative and the everyday. Likewise, the Cairo City Wallet features intricate designs that speak of the city’s rich history and culture, yet rendered in colors that are refreshingly modern. In today’s interview, we speak to Dan about his experiences in Cairo, aesthetic and his travel style.

You can see all our City Wallets here. Until June 1st, 10% of proceeds from wallet sales will go to 826LA, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center that provides under-resourced students aged 6-18 with opportunities to explore their creativity and improve their writing skills.

1. What was your inspiration for the Cairo City Wallet?
Watching the footage of protestors in Tahrir Square was really, really inspiring. The city itself has amazing colors and art history, so it seemed like a great time and place to try and capture.

2. Have you been to Cairo? If so, could you describe some memorable experiences you had there?
The good people of The Articulate Baboon Gallery brought me out in preparation for an exhibit in 2010 shortly before the revolution. Unfortunately due to a combination of a slightly dicey political climate and my own procrastination I have yet to make it back for the show. Work is still in progress though. I’m very excited to return and install the show.

3. Can you describe your aesthetic and share how you got started as an illustrator?

I would describe my aesthetic as fancy and derivative. I got started making illustrations and textile patterns for baggy hip-hop clothing in the early 2000′s. It was very educational but I think wallpaper is a better fit for me.

4. What is your travel style like, and how has traveling influenced your work?

I walk a lot. I like the pace plus I don’t have a driver’s license. There is beautiful crazy patterns and textures and signage everywhere. It drives me a little bit mad that I cannot be constantly exploring some new country, but of course plenty of that crazy stuff is home as well if you remember to look for it. Often times it’s something completely unexpected that has the most influence. The hieroglyphics and museums were remarkable, but ultimately not that different than images I have in books. I was more struck by the colors people choose to paint the residential towers in the poorer areas and the anarchy of Cairo traffic.

5. Your work is rooted in the decorative arts and everyday items…what details do you find yourself drawn towards when you look at such objects?

I’m attracted to the honesty of tools that are purely utilitarian and the singularity of purpose of decoration that is purely superficial. I guess.

6. Which destination(s) is high on your travel list this year and why?

Everywhere ! I know it’s ambitious. Iceland and Alhambra are definitely on the short list. Also Patagonia.

7. What are some current themes that you are working with?

Entropy. Heredity. World History. Permanence. Decoration as Art.