What does love mean to you?
With Valentine’s Day included, February is recognized as the month of love. Love comes in various shapes and forms: Romantic love shared among couples, motherly love, affection towards pets, self-love, and many more.
Even with many speculations surrounding the origins of Valentine’s Day, the most compelling myth is the love story of Saint Valentine, a 3rd-century Roman priest. During Saint Valentine’s lifetime in Rome, the emperor banned marriages to keep his men in the military focused on the battlefield. Saint Valentine knew that love could not be stopped, and he wedded young lovers, which he was imprisoned for, and was eventually executed. In his cell, he fell in love with his jailor’s daughter, and before his death on February 14th, he wrote her a love letter. This is what many believe to be the history of Valentine’s Day.
Celebrating this special month, Studio Kō launched a special collection with the theme of Love. We collaborated with five artists and asked them, “What does love mean to you?”
All using different materials, the five artists created one-of-a-kind artwork of Love with their interpretation.
*All items are for sale and each piece of the collection is uniquely made. Once an item is purchased, it is sold out. [shop here]
Aeri Go, Jewelry Designer based in Brooklyn, NY
Share with us a short introduction about yourself.
Hi! I’m so excited to meet you! My name is Aeri Go, and I’m a jewelry designer and artist based in Brooklyn, NY. I fell in love with working with metal when I realized that I could manipulate it into any shape and texture. I explore soft, organic shapes and sculptural pieces that complement the natural forms of the human body. We are all a part of nature, so it was natural for me to explore and incorporate organic shapes from natural elements. I carefully studied the forms of pebbles, waves, leaves, flowers, vines, and dewdrops that surround us. Through this mindful observation, I developed greater love and empathy for myself and others.
My goal for Aeri Go Jewelry is to inspire a conversation about how nature can provide a space for us to connect with our emotions and be present in our thoughts. I convey this narrative through the natural motifs in my jewelry.
What are your thoughts on Valentine’s day, and do you usually celebrate this day?
I celebrate every special occasion, and Valentine’s Day’s no exception! This is when my partner and I put together a nice meal we make with love and cozy up to each other to celebrate the presence in each other’s lives. It’s my happy place, and I feel so loved!
How do you share affection and gratitude towards those you love?
I stay present when I’m with my loved ones. I actively listen to what they say, empathize with their feelings, and try to understand deeply why they feel what they feel. Being present with those you love is incredibly powerful but often unpracticed. Being fully present with my loved ones is my way of telling them, “I love you.”
The theme of this special collection is “love”. Love is shaped and formed in many different ways, such as romantic, platonic, and love gained from family. In your definition, what form does love take?
Love is everything we live for. Love is feeling safe. Love is hope. Love is everywhere, like the air we breathe in every second, and like the air, it’s so easy to take it for granted. To fully appreciate this, I take time to take in what’s around us—the smell of fresh air, the warmth of the setting sun, the sound of the wind, and the taste of ocean mist. I love that these feelings amplify when I share them with the people I love.
Please briefly explain to us your piece and its creation process.
I wanted to create an experience for people to be present with their loved ones where they can be fully vulnerable. It takes courage to be vulnerable in front of loved ones, so I wanted to create a safe space where people feel at ease to express their feelings as the candle burns through the sculpture. I sculpted open arms as a metaphor to invite people to be honest with their feelings and experience how liberating it is to be truthful with their emotions.
Many people appreciate your artwork. Is there anything you want to share with your audience?
I’m truly grateful for all your love and support! I feel incredible joy seeing clients create their relationships with my jewelry! The relationship you form with jewelry and objects is a way people express their life stories. It’s deeply attached to our beliefs and philosophy on how we intend to live our lives every day. I feel honored to be part of your ritual, your everyday celebration.
Sang Min Lee and Jihee Ryu, Wood Sculptors based in Seoul, Korea
Can you introduce yourself and your brand to us?
We are Sang Min Lee and Jihee Ryu, and we work under the name Mishisa. We both studied Korean traditional arts and crafts in university, and currently create practical wooden crafts for daily use. Studying traditional craftsmanship, the small, personal pieces enthralled us more than the grand history of the art. As we examined the field in more depth, the items that gained beauty out of necessity inspired us the most.
Our brand name Mishisa, 美視社, originates from replacing the Chinese character of the word ‘micro-history’, 微視史, to the Chinese character that signifies ‘beauty’, 美. Embedded in our name, we strive to be a brand that views beautiful objects. There was a time I was having a rough day and I grabbed a well-crafted, delicate dish and cooked myself a fancy meal to lighten up my mood. That’s when I realized that even though objects such as plates, dishes, and spoons were made for a specific purpose, their usage exceeds this function, and impacts our lives in unforeseen ways. We wish that our products can assimilate and sympathize with the owners fully. Made with fine wood, Mishisa’s pieces will make your day blossom.
Valentine's day is coming up. What are your thoughts on Valentine’s day, and do you usually celebrate this day?
Valentine’s day seems like a day when society allows people to freely express their love. You can fully and truly show the emotions you were hiding. We simply celebrate the day with a box of chocolate and tell each other ‘I love you’.
How do you share affection and gratitude towards those you love?
We frequently exhibit acts of love and gratitude towards those around us. Sometimes we write thank you letters to people we’re thankful for and give meaningful and special gifts to friends. It’s our way to demonstrate our gratitude and interest to others.
The theme of this special collection is “love”. Love is shaped and formed in many different ways, such as romantic, platonic, and love gained from family. In your definition, what form does love take?
We often take the love we received from friends, family, and loved ones for granted. We also neglect to communicate our love towards them because we’re too shy. However, we believe simple acts of affection such as conversing with people you care about or showing interest in them can be a simple yet sincere way to share your appreciation.
Please briefly explain to us your piece and its creation process.
We imagined a situation where people share a sweet dessert such as chocolate or cake on a heart-shaped tray while they converse with their loved ones. For this piece, we incorporated two new types of wood, Picrasma, and Padauk, using the inlay technique to add a vibrant pattern to the trays. This method takes a lot of time and effort, but I still enjoyed making each piece with love. We hope people receiving this piece can also feel the joy we experienced.
Many people appreciate Mishisa. Is there anything you want to share with your audience?
Mishisa aspires to create pieces that bring small joys in our everyday life. We think objects go far beyond their purpose and become intertwined with us. We are so grateful to gain such attention via Studio Kō. As long as people still appreciate our work, we will work hard to create meaningful pieces.
Youjung Choi, Glass Artist based in Bucheon, Korea
Share with us a short introduction about yourself.
Hi, I'm glass artist Youjung Choi. I create my work using the blowing method where I blow into a 1200°c glass pipe.
What are your thoughts on Valentine’s day, and do you usually celebrate this day?
Valentine’s Day feels a bit cuter and sweeter than other days throughout the year. With this special feeling, I try to spend the day eating something sweet or sharing small gifts with others.
How do you share affection and gratitude towards those you love?
I’m not the best at showing my emotions, so when I express gratitude, I try my best to make the person receiving it feel special by giving or being present with them. Even though it is hard, I hope to become a person who can give back to those I am grateful.
The theme of this special collection is “love”. Love is shaped and formed in many different ways, such as romantic, platonic, and love gained from family. In your definition, what form does love take?
Love to me means to permeate into that person. When you love someone, you start to spend a lot of time with them, and ultimately, you become one as you soak in each other’s love. It’s a stronger emotion than just getting close to someone. It is wanting to share what they think, what they do, and what they wish to be. Every moment you are falling into someone seems like different shapes of love to me.
Please briefly explain to us your piece and its creation process.
The creation of these pieces come from the combination of two concepts; through a process of different ‘steps’ (how different moments come together to create a moment of love) and ‘rhythm’ (the flow of how love grows into each other). These two relationship elements add color and vibrance to life; finally becoming lovers. These inspirations allowed me to come up with my work.
Many people appreciate your artwork. Is there anything you want to share with your audience?
Even though I have great pride in my work, I worry from time to time that people won’t appreciate it as much. For this reason, I am so grateful for those who adore my work and value my pieces more than I do. I hope these special pieces I made for this Valentine’s day bring much joy and love to everyone who receives them. Thank you for the endless support!
Nina Mastiff, Ceramicist/Illustrator based in Los Angeles
Share with us a short introduction about yourself.
My name is Nina Mastiff and I am an illustrator and ceramic artist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Within my ceramic work, a recurring theme is sharing my cultural identity. Coming from a Korean-Swedish family in Honolulu, Hawaii, I reference many of my unique cultural experiences in my artwork.
What are your thoughts on Valentine’s day, and do you usually celebrate this day?
I have never celebrated Valentine's Day as a romantic holiday. As my current relationship was previously long distance, I often spent this day with friends and family as a ‘galentines,’ aka an excuse to have some fun!
How do you share affection and gratitude towards those you love?
My love language is shared through quality time and gift-giving. Through family, we have always shown each other this love by sharing coffee. On our Swedish side, whenever we are all together, we spend time through fika. Fika is a ‘coffee break’ and is my favorite way to spend time with the people I love. It can be from five minutes to hours of sharing stories and snacks over coffee. Being Korean, the coffee addition was only amplified by the countless cozy cafes and good espresso available in Seoul! These are casual, yet intimate moments I love to cherish and experience with others.
The theme of this special collection is “love”. Love is shaped and formed in many different ways, such as romantic, platonic, and love gained from family. In your definition, what form does love take?
The way I naturally share my gratitude towards my loved ones has been through gift giving, and spending quality time together! I cherish memories that we can look back on, often with sentimental items or photographs to remember them by.
The way I receive love, and define love is through shared moments and experiences. Through family, we have always shown each other this love by sharing coffee. On our Swedish side, whenever we are all together, we spend time through fika. Fika is a ‘coffee break’ and is my favorite way to spend time with the people I love. It can be from five minutes to hours of sharing stories and snacks over coffee. Being Korean, the coffee addition was only amplified by the countless cozy cafes and good espresso available in Seoul!
Please briefly explain to us your piece and its creation process.
Mauka & Makai (Mountainside & Oceanside) are twin landscape pieces referencing the phrase, “Home is where the heart is.” My home and heart has always been in places surrounded by a mountain or body of water. “Mauka,” is a directional term for mountainside, and “Makai,” is the oceanside in Hawaiian. The small white illustrations on each piece are from a love story from two of my homes. The wave, with birds from a Korean folk tale, 칠석(Chil-seok) and the mountain, with half flowers from the Hawaiian legend of Naupaka. Both pieces are hand painted, and hand built from Nara Porcelain. Each clay body was mixed with mason stains to achieve their natural base colors.
Is there anything you want to share with your audience?
I’m grateful for the opportunity to share a creative space with the Studio Kō family! I’m looking forward to see what the future holds!
Tracy Dasol Kim, Art Director based in Los Angeles
Share with us a short introduction about yourself.
My name is Tracy Dasol Kim—an artist, art director, and graphic designer based in Los Angeles. I was born in Seoul, and have previously lived in Berlin during pre-pandemic days. I currently work for a film/television production company and have professionally worked as a graphic designer in industries ranging from lifestyle to fashion, interior design, and entertainment. Throughout my career as a graphic designer, I've always created my fine arts work in tandem. To summarize, my body of (personal) work is highly process-driven and lives in both analog and digital spaces.
What are your thoughts on Valentine’s day, and do you usually celebrate this day?
I typically don't celebrate Valentine's Day, but I like the idea of celebrating love! So Valentine's Day should be a year-long thing, right..?
How do you share affection and gratitude towards those you love?
By spending time with those I care for, and through words of affirmation.
The theme of this special collection is “love”. Love is shaped and formed in many different ways, such as romantic, platonic, and love gained from family. In your definition, what form does love take?
Love encompasses all three of those forms for me, as love is multifaceted, and shown/received in various ways by various people in my life. I think all three forms of love are equally important (and vital)!
Please briefly explain to us your piece and its creation process.
This piece was to evoke the feeling of being in love. The fast heart palpitations which are visualized by the repetitive blocks of color, love makes the heartbeat short and fast, so the irregularity of the blocks' sizes—and spacing between the blocks—is to mimic that. Color is a huge part of my work, and there is a dream-like quality that I tried to capture within the colors of this poster—with the very recognizable color palette we associate with the concept of love—hues of reds, magentas, and pinks. I wanted both the English and Korean translations of "love" to be layered so that the viewer can decide which translation reads to them first.
Many people appreciate your artwork. Is there anything you want to share with your audience?
It feels great to know that my work resonates with others, and I hope to continue creating work that taps into people's emotions and evokes genuine responses from them.