Nice to see former Chinatown gallery, The Box, move into the Arts District. Again, more proof that the Arts District of Downtown LA continues to become a destination spot for restaurants, bars, cafes, retail, and of course, art. I popped in and met proprietor, Mara McCarthy. Only a couple weeks old in this new location, The Box has a great music and performance exhibition with the Los Angeles Free Music Society.

The LAFMS has been around since 1973 and from what I gather is a rotating group of musicians that are more like sound and performance artists. When you walk into the space, you’ll find motion triggered sound sculptures, long tables of abandoned toys and junk that have been used as instruments, and walls of photographs and ephemera that documents the Los Angeles Free music Society’s long history.

The Box is planning on monthly exhibitions, and from the looks of this first show at this new space, they are aiming to push alternative forms of art and media. Learn more and check out their schedule here.

Proprietor of The Box, Mara McCarthy

Had the pleasure this morning to meet up with Steven Harrington and Justin Kreitemeyer at the Creative Mornings, Los Angeles talk. No doubt you’ve seen the work both Steven and Justin have done individually as well as for their design firm, National Forest. National Forest works on everything from identity to major advertising campaigns. Today, they went through some of their projects for the likes of Urban Outfitters, Quicksilver, and Target.

Most interesting though was their metaphor of the “spark”. A spark produces a flame which produces a fire, builds community, and spreads. In their case, all of their creativity and art starts with a simple act of doing what they love. The spark is their pure, unadulterated art. Often times, their art, their perspective get fused with commercial work with the potential of spreading like fire to millions. But, it all starts with the spark, being themselves and being free to express themselves through art. It’s how it is and how it should be.

Here is our friend, Jon Setzen, the organizer of Creative Mornings, Los Angeles. He is the one that invited us to our Creative Mornings talk last year at the Herman Miller showroom. Basically, Jon rocks worlds.

Josh and Colby of design duo, Jolby are having a solo show at Subtext Gallery, San Diego. They sent over a few sneak peeks and a link to their awesome video giving us the overall vibe of what you’ll be seeing.

Jolby will guide us on a voyage through their past, present, and everything in between to find out what makes them happy. For “Shapes & Smiles”, Jolby has been exploring their methods of storytelling with over 50 new pieces of work, including illustration, paintings, wood-cut shapes, screen prints, plush, and home goods. An audio tour will accompany the exhibition accessible by your smart phone. With this, you’ll be able to know the back story and personal relevance of each piece from the artists. Such a great idea! You’ve seen this done before in museums, but, rarely in a gallery setting like this. If you are in Southern California, the show is Friday, December 16th. Subtext Gallery is located at 2479 Kettner Blvd., San Diego, California 92101. More info here.

By the way, you can pick up some exclusive Jolby for Poketo products on the Poketo site. We met them last year in their hometown of Portland…. really down to earth, cool guys. We pride ourselves here at Poketo with collaborating with people that love what they do, are awesome at it, and are undeniably the coolest people on earth. Jolby is one of them. Stay tuned for more good things with Jolby and Poketo in the new year!

Thank you guys for making it out this past weekend for our annual holiday shop event. It was so awesome to see friends and fans of Poketo… all of your smiling faces made our day. Huge thank you goes out to Michael Phillips of Handsome Coffee Roasters… you know that if you got a coffee or espresso from Michael, you were served by the best. A world champion best. And those yummy baked goods, none other than Urth Caffe. Here are some pics from the day… and even more here… maybe you can spot yourself?

Illustrator, filmmaker Derek Kirk Kim and Actress Vivian Bang with Angie.

Ted with writer Julie Wolfson (Coolhunting) and proprietor of Starry Kitchen, Nguyen Tran.

Poketo fan, wearing an old school Poketo x Peskimo tee… only one of a handful made, seriously.

Gregory Han of the famed Apartment Therapy and Unplggd Blog with Ted and Angie.

Angie and Joy The Baker!

John of the Pomona’s Glass House Music Venue!

Kiddos!

Handsome Coffee Roasters. Love it.

Yummy treats from Urth Caffe!

Nathan Ryan from Proxart Magazine.

Michael Phillips of Handsome Coffee.

Tawny rocks!

Thanks ladies!