The unknown is scary, but it’s also a great place to start when looking for inspiration. That’s exactly where the artists from our newest collaboration started.

Poketo is proud to announce our newest collaborator, Jeff Hamada of Booooooom. Each day, Jeff introduces us to great new work from around the world on his site and pairs it with a few well-chosen words. That great taste (and tone) has made Booooooom one of the largest blogs on the internet, with over 3.2 million pageviews each month. But it’s not just the many eyeballs that stop by Jeff’s site that appealed to us, it’s really abundance of creativity and the sense of community evident in the site.

Our collaboration with Jeff started with our previous collaboration with Club Mumble. In the awesome way the world works sometimes, a friend can sometimes introduce you to another person who shares some of the same passions you do. In Jeff’s case, that’s certainly true. Booooooom is a virtual home for people who are excited to go out and be creative, a theme that certainly rings true with Poketo.

In this collection, Jeff introduced Poketo to four amazing artists from Canada: Howie Tsui, Andrea Wan, Winnie Truong and Josh Holinaty, who all were given a simple concept to dwell on: the after life. Whew!

That’s a daunting task to be sure. How does one capture something so nebulous? Will it be filled with castles, sweetness and light? Or will it be something else entirely?

Here’s what these four came up with:

To say that we’re excited about this new Poketo wallet collaboration with Gary Baseman is a major understatement. Gary’s massive fanbase reaches far and wide, and we at Poketo are no exception. To prepare you all for the awesomeness that is to follow, we attempted to condense Gary’s impressive career and history into a brief introduction, to be followed by an interview, and exclusive peeks into his sketchbook.

Some might classify Gary Baseman’s work as Lowbrow, or Underground. He has coined and prefers to call it Pervasive Art, and himself a Pervasive Artist. It is his belief that clear vision and strength of voice enables an artist to bypass the stringent rules of the art world.

They can work in any medium, in any context. We have seen Gary and many of his contemporaries work in this manner and defy many rules. Indeed, his art has been seen in the permanent collections of major world-class galleries, on products, as sculptures or toys, as performance or interactive installations, fashion, animation, anything you could imagine.

Gary’s aesthetic is distinct and his voice insistent in all of his work, commercial and personal, whatever the medium. Gary is frank about his many artistic influences, which range from Hieronymus Bosch to Walt Disney.

Take the work we used for this wallet series: populous Boschian landscapes filled with fantastical beings, infused with a playful pop sensibility.

Through Gary’s own filter, these many influences are processed, and his essence remains prominent. His off-kilter work is often morally ambiguous, inhabited by naked girls, creatures oozing bodily fluids, and other inky-eyed animals sporting either grimaces or smiles.

Despite being disturbing at times, his work appeals to children and adults alike, all over the world. It is no wonder that he has built himself an empire. Stay tuned for an interview with Gary and a look into his sketchbook! Check out the Poketo x Gary Baseman wallets here!

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!