We are honored to launch a new wallet collaboration between Creative Growth & Poketo. Creative Growth Art Center serves adult artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities, providing a professional studio environment for artistic development, gallery exhibition and representation and a social atmosphere among peers.

The Creative Growth x Poketo series includes artists Dwight Mackintosh, Merritt Wallace, and John Hiltunen. All of the wallets are available at Creative Growth Gallery in Oakland and will soon be available online. I sat down with Creative Growth’s Projects Manager, Jennifer Strate O’Neal and asked her a few questions to get to know more about the history and awesome things that happen at the Creative Growth Art Center. Jennifer handles all of the special projects coming through Creative Growth including this one!

Tell us about the history of Creative Growth, your mission, and philosophy.

Creative Growth was started in 1974 by Elias and Florence Katz, a therapist and an art teacher who had incredible foresight, and trust in the notion that every person, regardless of any challenge, has the right to a creative voice and to tell their story. Today, our mission is the same, and we have expanded the mission, in the last twenty years, to support the artists as their work becomes exhibition quality and requires gallery management and representation.

What does a normal day look like there?

The studio program runs from 9:30am to 3:30pm and the artists work in rotation in a variety of media: Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, Textiles, Rug workshop, Ceramics, Wood and Video. Artists travel to the Center independently and others arrive on Paratransit buses. There is time for social interaction, discussion, and ultimately an incredible amount of focused art making.

Creative Growth fosters the growth of people who have become prolific and well established artists. Tell us a bit about the exhibitions you have at the art center in Oakland and what Creative Growth is doing globally.

Within the Creative Growth gallery we have seven annual exhibitions—themes emerge pretty naturally from the work that is being made in the Studio here–mostly from things the gallery staff are inspired by. Outside the Creative Growth gallery we participate in 20-30 exhibitions annually–from collaborations with White Columns gallery in New York, to art fairs like the Outsider Art Fair, NY and NADA, Miami to exhibitions in and around Paris, via a small space we have there to show work to European collectors. Creative Growth artist Judith Scott’s sculpture is included in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Dan Miller has drawings in the collection at MoMA, New York. Many artists working here are thriving within the mainstream contemporary art world–they have been making work five days a week, some for over twenty years–they are very good at what they do.

Poketo wallet by Dwight Mackintosh

We are so excited to be working with Creative Growth on this collaboration. Is having art be utilitarian and part of the everyday something your artists love to do?

Art as an everyday function goes without saying at Creative Growth–this is what the artists here do, its their job, that they travel to each day–it turns the notion of art as a privilege upside down–Creative Growth is art doing something very important, more important than I have personally ever witnessed. The utilitarian part is certainly inherent in our history–painted chairs, handmade clothing, these items have been made here for years. We love working with Poketo and being able to create an item that makes people so happy to buy, and allows additional income to come into the artists and Creative Growth with out the pressure of having to create original artwork.

Poketo wallet by John Hiltunen

Poketo wallet by Merritt Wallace

How does the Visting Artists” program work? It sounds really interesting for all types of working artists that want to be involved with Creative Growth. What do you hope to achieve with this program?

We receive submissions from outside artists for four-day workshops, which are held in our Studio. We are interested in introducing new media and new ways of thinking to the artists at Creative Growth, as well as expanding the social atmosphere here to include contemporary artists and their world–a world in which many of the artists at Creative Growth have achieved much success. Often the work resulting from the workshop will be featured in an exhibition in our Oakland gallery.

Lastly, any future events or big plans you want to share coming up?

We are currently in the midst of our annual Holiday Show, runs through the end of December and is PERFECT for finding an original gift for your friends and family. Check our website for more info and for upcoming events and art fairs: creativegrowth.org

More info at creativegrowth.org.
Stay tuned for interviews with the artists!

Karolin Schnoor is an artist from Berlin now living in London. We love her work and you’ve often seen her clean lines and bold illustrations at the studio… on Poketo t-shirts, pullovers and now our latest fall wallet.

We love the contemplative feel of her work and how she’s able to translate that emotion into a beautifully illustrated piece. We wondered if there was something in the London air? Or was it something else?

Our curiosity naturally led us to ask Karolin if she would kindly show us glimpses of her daily life and here’s what we got:

We have a local market nearby so most of my days start with a cup of tea and some fruit

In the mornings the foxes sometimes come into our garden, watching them is quite a peaceful way to start the day.

The view from our window is what convinced me to move to this street 3 years ago, this is the houses across from us at dusk.

Check out Karolin’s wallet on poketo.com
Find more of Karolin at karolinschnoor.co.uk.

Fall is arguably one of our favorite seasons. The leaves turn brilliant oranges, reds and all sorts of hues we never thought existed. In honor of a gorgeous fall season, we’re introducing a new line of artist wallets made my amazing artists who have a knack for bringing wonder into the everyday.

Check out our new wallets on poketo.com.

At Poketo, it’s the people around us that help keep it real. Inspired by their great vibe, this series puts the spotlight squarely on them, their aspirations and their brushes with the Poketo world. It’s also a great way to keep in touch, don’t you think? Yeah, we thought so too!

We read all your comments, especially when you take time to let us know we’re doing well…. which is how we found Alex, a mathematician with a love for art. Seriously folks, he got his M.S. in Math at 23. Oh, he takes great photos too.

He wrote to let us know how much he loves Poketo and that he’s been using Poketo’s wallets for more than 5(!) years. Naturally, we wanted to know the man behind the message, so without further ado, here he is.

(Spoiler alert: there is math talk, but also comedy and trivia thrown in. Get ready.)

Hi, Alex! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello there! I’m 27, a Ph.D. student and Adjunct Professor of mathematics at the University of Binghamton. I moved to New York a month ago after finishing a Masters’ at the University of Kansas, and before that, my B.S. at Michigan Technological University (yes, I was a yooper). In short, it feels like I’ve been in college for my entire life.

Despite being a math nerd, I’m surprisingly social, I played tennis as an undergrad, and soccer for over twenty years. I’m a movie buff (gotta break up the math somehow!).

I play the guitar, and I know more than enough useless trivia (every swan in the United Kingdom is the property of the Queen).

I didn’t know that. Now, that trivia will come up in my next conversation. Thanks!

So, what three words describe you best?
I dislike summarizing.
*Badum-ching*

What’s it like in Binghamton, New York?
Quiet. I love it here.

Could you share some of your favorite hangouts?
I love all sorts of movie theaters (aside from all the miscreants that can’t go 2 minutes without looking at their cellphone, in case the President texts them. Nobody’s that important. Nobody) and any place where I can have a stimulating conversation. Generally, I try to learn at least one thing any place I go!

Right now, what’s keeping you busy?
The semester! Teaching, taking classes, giving colloquia (research presentations)… typical grad student-y life.

You’ve always been studying Math it seems. You took it up for college and now getting your doctorate in it. How did you first get into Math?
I’ve been told my first words were, “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.” I didn’t learn this fact until a few years ago, so I guess I chose math.

What keeps you passionate about math?
In math, there are no “i before e except after c, or when sounded like a as in neighbor or weigh. Or weird exceptions. Everything is based on a concrete set of rules, and when you understand the rules, the fact that every single thing in math behaves the way it does makes perfect sense. Most people never get to the stage where they learn the rules (hence the general mysticism of math). I guess I had this… intuition that there was some method to all the madness.

There’s a lot of us who are intimidated by the subject. What’s the coolest thing you’ve found that you could calculate?
Wow. Something tells me “coolest” has an entirely different meaning to me than to a non-mathematician.

Umm… something that fascinates me is Gabriel’s Horn, a shape with infinite surface area, but finite volume (so you couldn’t paint it, but if it were clear, you could fill it with paint and it would look painted). The internet can explain it, if you’re interested, but aside from that “I think it’s cool,” I don’t think I should go into more detail.

Do you have a favorite equation? Is there such a thing?
Absolutely. The sum (from 1 to infinity) of the reciprocal squares is pi squared divided by six. It’s unbelievably unexpected, even to people who like this stuff

How did you first find Poketo?
My undergraduate university, as amazing as that place is, is 200 miles from anything resembling civilization. So, anything interesting I wanted, I had to get online. A webcomic I read had a banner ad with a few wallets on it (“hey, those look neat”), and so the affiliation began.

I’ve carried a Poketo wallet in my pocket every day since my first one arrived in the mail around… 6 or 7 years ago.

Awesome! We love that you keep a Poketo wallet around for so long. What do you love about them?
Your wallets are the best! I love the individuality of not having a plain Jane brown or black wallet. I’ve had many, many conversations sparked by this. Also, the average bi- or tri- fold wallet makes me feel like I’m sitting on a rock. These are slim and minimalist: everything I need, nothing more. I’m hooked for life.

What Poketo stuff is on your current wishlist?
I already have my next wallet (as if there was any doubt). I think my next purchase will be some ideas notebooks (if they were graph paper, I’d probably already have them).

If you had the chance to realize a dream project, what would it be?
I’m doing it! I love thinking about some of the things I’m working on, learning, and the hope that maybe someday people will want to learn what I’ve thought of… It’s our version of fame, really.

If life could be encapsulated in one equation or symbol, what would it be to you?
Yikes! What’s the meaning of life? Well, a guess there’s your symbol. A question mark.

If you had one awesome piece of advice to give to anyone reading, what would it be?
Aside from the fact that Poketo is amazing? (is that the answer I’m supposed to give? Seriously, it is, though.) I guess I’d say… “Don’t be afraid of math. Or mathematicians. Well… some mathematicians.”

Haha. You could be a great comic too. Comic mathematicians, anyone?

Thank you, Alex. That was awesome.

Check out Alex’s photos on flickr.

Know someone we should talk to for our next installment? Send us a quick note. We’ll be glad to hear from you.