An incredible collaboration and fundraiser comes to life. Grammy nominated singer/songwriter, Neko Case is auctioning off her killer 1967 Mercury Cougar for one of our favorite non-profit organizations, 826 National. 826 National is a non-profit dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with creative writing and helping teachers getting their kids get excited about writing!

We are super excited that Neko asked us to be part of this fundraiser. As if her car was not enough to get people excited, she wanted to invite her favorite peeps to fill it with goodies. We are honored to be part of this. All proceeds of the sale/auction of the car will go directly to fund 826 Nationals programs and chapters across the country. Bidding for Neko’s amazing car will begin in the coming months so stay tuned.

In the meantime, you can support 826 now by purchasing the Poketo Mercury Cougar-Rama Muscle Car-’splosion tee shirt designed by Neko Case for this special fundraiser! Yes, Neko Case hand drew these two designs for 826 and Poketo! Singer, songwriter, and artist–Wow.

Check out the special edition Neko Case x Poketo shirts at 826national.org. Learn more about the auction and check out more pics of this famed 67′ Mercury at nekocase.com/auction. The video below is super cute, super cool and explains it all… and, did you spot it, Neko is wearing a Poketo tee!!

This has been a long time in the making. We are excited to announce the POKETO for TARGET collection is about to debut in Target stores nationwide. View the sneak peek website at poketo.com/target.

Beginning August 10th 2010, we’ll showcase the complete collection and lookbook on poketo.com. That same day, the Poketo for Target collection will be available at all Target stores across the country. We’ll be posting more about this collaboration with Target and more sneak peeks before the August 10th launch. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest. Stay tuned!

Miami-based artists Sam and Tury, known formally as Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, founded FriendsWithYou in 2002 to spread Magic, Luck, and Friendship all over the world. FriendsWithYou has since pervaded the art and design world with immersive installations and diverse multimedia projects. Read on to find out more about the dynamic duo and the creative process behind their innovative works.

Please explain the Poketo x FriendsWithYou wallet collaboration using only keyboard symbols.

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Can you tell us a little bit about your involvement with the Luminato Arts Festival in Toronto? How did it come about and what are you doing to prepare?

This is the most gigantic art experience we have created up until now. We have finished most of the designs and manufacturing, but there is still a few things left to do! This project came to us after we did the Fun House show at Scope during Art Basel Miami. The people from Luminato came to see all the magic we created, and we started our mission!

How does your process differ when working for a commercial assignment vs. a fine art project?

We put the same magic into everything we do. We want to make sure everything we put into the world has power and energy. We are passionate every step of the way.

In a span of almost ten years, FriendsWithYou has spread Happiness, Magic, and Luck all over the world. Where in your own lives do you see these elements playing a role?

Every moment. We are on the most incredible adventure of building this project to spread something powerful in the world. We lead enchanted lives that helps us make this kind of work.

Everyone on your team must be a creative dynamo. What’s a typical day in the studio like?

Everyday is different since we do so many different things and that is very fun. We all work towards the same goal of making the best art to put into the world.

In past interviews, you’ve mentioned that Malfi (pictured below) is the “keeper to the entry way into our magical world.” Is everyone allowed entry?

It depends. He just opens the door and then you can choose your next steps. Malfi is very powerful and loves to play.

How do you come up with all of the fun back stories for the characters you’ve created?

It’s easy. They all have lives already we are just letting them free into our world.

Many thanks to Sam and Tury for their time. Check out our Wish Come True wallet collaboration here!

We are pleased to announce our newest collaborative bag line with South Korean non-profit design brand, Eco Party Mearry! Just in time for Earth Day on April 22nd, our line of 100% recycled bags are made of old street banners, leather couches and jackets, and donated clothing. No two bags are alike! They’re super fresh, durable, design-forward, and best of all–good for the Earth! A percentage of the proceeds will go towards environmental efforts and create more jobs abroad.

The series includes three styles:

The Recycled Street Banner Bag

The Bubble Bag

The Recycled Suit Tote

* * *

A lot of love and hard work is put into every bag, and we wanted to show you first hand how these bags are made in Korea.

STEP 1: Gather the material. Street banners are found everywhere in Seoul, from buildings to streets. Instead of trashing the nylon material, volunteers gather the street banners from all over Seoul.

STEP 2: After gathering the discarded materials, they organize them and clean them.

STEP 3: The street banners are taken to the workshop to be cut and sewn into bags by designers.

Check out the full line here!

UPDATE! Portugal.The Man to perform live May 1st! Free show, all ages. See info below.

Poketo x Kitsune Noir x Space 15Twenty presents “Los Angeles, I’m Yours”
Where: Space 15Twenty Gallery, 1520 N. Cahuenga Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028
When: Opening reception, Saturday April 24th, 7-10pm. Show runs until May 15th

Special performance by Portugal. The man, Saturday, May 1 7-10 pm

From April 24th to May 15th, “Los Angeles I’m Yours” transforms Space 15Twenty Gallery into a living art market. Filled with an eclectic mix of found objects, these vintage pieces are given new life as over 30 artists reinterpret and reincarnate these objects into art.

“Los Angeles, I’m Yours” will create the same joy of the hunt and sensory overload experienced every month at Los Angeles’ famed Rose Bowl outdoor market. Found objects are given new life as an impressive roster of artists will reinterpret and exhibit pieces ranging from vintage glass ware, old vinyl records, antique lamps, and odd knick knacks. Imagine these vintage finds, drawn on, painted on, and manipulated by the artists into a new form.

The opening reception on April 24th, 7-10pm will have a DJ set by Aquarium Drunkard, ice cream by Scoops, and a gallery space transformed in to an art market. Get there early because you never know what
you might find.

May 1st, 7-10pm a special evening with Portugal. The Man. Live acoustic set and more. Stay tuned for more details.

Participating artists include:
Alex Krastev \ ASHKAHN \ Bijan Berahimi \ Brian Wade Scott \ Chris Bettig \ Cole Gerst \ David Browne \ Eamon Ore-Giron \ Eric Trine \ Erin Burrell \ Florencio Zavala \ Gary Baseman \ Geoff McFetridge \ Gina Osterloh \ Hannah K. Lee \ Ian O’Phelan \ Jared Andrew Schorr \ Jason Schwartzman \ John Pham \ Jordan Crane \ Leah Chun \ Marco Zamora \ Mark Todd \ Neil Doshi \ Neil LaBute for Significant Objects \ Portugal. The Man \ Saelee Oh \ Sarajo Frieden & Marci Boudreau \ Scott Barry \ Steven Harrington \ Tim Biskup \ Tom Vadakan \ Ye Rin Mok

The too-cute-for-words duo of APAK (Aaron + Ayumi) have done it again with their new “Joyriders” t-shirt. We’ve worked with them in the past when they did a pop-up shop at Royal/T gallery in ’09, and they continue to keep the magic alive with their work. See what APAK‘s been up to since our last interview!

Tell us a little bit about your t-shirt design.
“Joyriders” was originally made for one of Ayumi’s friendship greeting card collection. It’s our hope to communicate teamwork, harmony, and love and also encourage eco-friendly bike riding!

Photo via APAK

Favorite song to karaoke to
Aaron – Daisy Bell
Ayumi – Natsumatsuri by JITTERIN’JINN

Any projects you have coming up in the near future?
A Kids book! We have a story and the pages layed out already but just need to find time and make it happen. We’re really excited about it!

Photo via APAK

Were there any art projects you can remember from your childhood that you were extremely proud of?
Aaron – got in trouble for drawing boobs in Kindergarten.
Ayumi – a portrait of my mom for Mother’s Day when I was 5 or 6 years old. I remember I was putting so much energy and love in the piece.

Photo via APAK

Photo via APAK

(For Aaron) Ayumi is better at _____ than me.
Ayumi is better at cooking tasty treats than me.

(For Ayumi) Aaron is better at _____ than me.
Aaron is better at watering house plants than me.

Photo via APAK

Biggest risk you’ve taken with your art?
Collaborating together!

Ayumi, fondest memory of your childhood in Japan.
I really enjoyed making Yomogi (Artemisia princeps) Mochi filled with red bean paste with my grandmother every spring.  We’d walk around in the neighborhood and pick the young Yomogi grass. Then sit on the floor in the kitchen and grind up the grass and mix it with cooked mochi, and wrap it around a ball of red beans. It’s the best when it’s fresh because you can smell the scent of young yomogi leafs and also the mochi is very soft. That’s how we celebrated the arrival of Spring back home.

First art piece you saw that you were affected by?
Aaron – Works by MC Escher and Magritte maybe.
Ayumi – Paul Gauguin’s “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?”

Photo via APAK

Most rewarding memory of your careers as artists?
There are so many rewarding memories as artists and it’s hard to name one as the best… But when a fan of ours told us that our work makes him smile every time he sees our painting hanging in his apartment in the morning and evening after work made us feel good. It’s rewarding to know our work is affecting people in a positive way on an everyday basis.

Ocho and P-Nut! Photo via APAK

Thanks for this interview Aaron and Ayumi!

To purchase “Joyriders” visit our shop here.

Melissa Contreras is an artist who embodies the feminine spirit, as you will see in the upcoming interview we conducted with her for her recently released Creature Friends II t-shirt. She’s a dreamer, mysterious, strong, beautiful, and spiritual. We always love working with her, and we hope after you read this interview, you will love her too!

Tell us a little bit about your t-shirt design.
Creature Friends II features the sister of the original Creature friends. It’s like morning and night, this is the night, all the creature friends are dreaming as the owl’s and sister friend keep a protective eye out for them.

Photo via Axel Honey (aka Melissa Contreras)

Any projects you have coming up in the near future?
Yes, I am working on a jewelry line. The pieces are inspired by my illustrations. There are lots of owls and other creatures. I start by hand sculpting them in wax, then get them cast, locally, in silver or brass. I’ve been playing with adding stones, too. I will be doing my first jewelry show in June.

Photo via Axel Honey (aka Melissa Contreras)

Photo via Axel Honey (aka Melissa Contreras)

I also illustrated a children’s book, Butterfly’s Circus for the Australian Broadcasting Network. It just got released last month.

What kinds of things (if any) can you only express in your art that you can’t otherwise?
Imagination and confidence.

Photo via Axel Honey (aka Melissa Contreras)

All of your female characters are really beautiful and seem like mysterious forest nymphs.  What are they thinking and feeling?
I always think of them as lonely, almost by choice.  Strong and withdrawn. Observers & fierce protectors.

Photo via Axel Honey (aka Melissa Contreras)

Favorite Spring time activity?
Bike rides to the beach and art openings.

Women are way better at _____ than men.
Multi-tasking.

Photo via Axel Honey (aka Melissa Contreras)

What would you tell 16-year-old Melissa Contreras?
Don’t try so hard, have more fun &  don’t be afraid to dance!

Favorite sound?
The dry crunch of walking on loose gravel and a baby’s uncontrollable laugh.

What would your personal heaven be comprised of?
Fluffy floating sheep and lots of sleep.

First art piece you saw that you were affected by?
One of the first that comes to mine is Klimt’s, The Kiss. I was drawn to the use of geometric patterns, beautiful colors and strong emotion.

Thanks for letting us get to know you on a more intimate level Melissa!

Check out her newly released Poketo shirt here!

Non-profit organization, 826LA presents Chickens in Love, an online pledge-a-thon, fundraiser, full-length album, and one-day music festival. 826LA workshop students, ranging from 7 to 13 years, wrote these songs in an 826LA workshop titled Songwriting with The Submarines, led by singer/ songwriters John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard of The Submarines.

From there, the kids had the opportunity to write their own music and lyrics in their own bands. The result was a full-length album titled, Chickens in Love, with 12 songs from 826LA students who then had their songs covered by Los Angeles-based musicians including, She & Him, Fiona Apple, Cold War Kids, Tim and Eric, The Submarines, Summer Darling, The Happy Hollows, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Dum Dum Girls, The Growlers, Crystal Antlers, and The Pity Party. Check out some videos of the original songs, followed by a sample track of the recording artist who covered it:

The Peeps: “Mamacita”

Coldwar Kids cover of “Mamacita”

The Taco Shells: “Mexican Food”

Summer Darling cover of “Mexican Food”

The Gummy Bears: “So Sleepy”

Fiona Apple’s cover of “So Sleepy”

The public can listen to these songs and bid on their favorites, with all proceeds going directly back into the organization itself, that will help fund writing and tutoring workshops for kids in L.A. (Pledges of $30+ will also be tax deductible!) When the bid closes on April 30th, 2010 the band that raises the most money will win the ultimate bragging rights with the 826LA Gold Record! The one-day Mini Music Festival showcasing Chicken in Love songs will also be held at the Echoplex on March 6th

Support children’s literacy and creativity through this great cause! Pledge now!