Akassa Co

🌙🖼️ Where cultural memory meets the digital dream.

Our vendor spotlight series continues with a maker whose work lives at the intersection of memory and imagination .gifts by Nini Chen, a Cantonese Los Angeles–based illustrator and designer.

Inspired by her hometown of Foshan, China, Nini’s work blends cultural memory, natural forms, and contemporary digital visual language. Drawing from dreamcore and glitchcore aesthetics, her illustrations explore the quiet tension between stillness and motion.

At her table you’ll find stickers, risograph prints, illustrated postcards, handmade zines, stone clay magnets, and other small art pieces designed to bring a fragment of her illustrated universe into your everyday life.

🎟️ Free RSVP — link in bio
🗓️ April 18 | 11AM–3PM
📍 Whimsy Pasadena

🧧 CALL FOR VENDORS — LUNAR NEW YEAR MARKET 🧧
📍 Pasadena • January 31

We’re kicking off the Lunar New Year with a festive, community-centered market and we’re looking for small makers to join us ✨

We prioritize uplifting AAPI- and women-owned creators, while remaining open to all makers depending on space and category balance.

👉 Applications are open. Link in bio to apply!

2025 looked quieter for AKASSA as we navigated personal seasons. Instead of doing more, we chose to do less—with intention. We poured our energy into one thoughtfully curated market, choosing depth and care over scale.

And still, the impact was real.
💛 Supporting small businesses
💛 Giving back through philanthropy
💛 Growing a community rooted in connection

We’re endlessly grateful for the makers who trusted us with their work, and for the shoppers who slowed down, chose small, and took time to learn the stories behind each table.

Here’s to continuing to grow a safe, welcoming home for small makers to come together and give back with purpose.

Small makers, big impact.