My OBT

What if you spent every day looking for One Beautiful Thing?

The Geometric Baker

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Lauren Ko/LokoKitchen

Happy Pi Day! Guess what I’ve got for you?

Baker Lauren Ko (A.K.A. Loko Kitchen) is a wizard with geometry. And color gradients. And pie. All of my favorite things wrapped up in one, really. A secretary by day, Ko is (are you sitting down?) SELF TAUGHT, and only started making pies 3 years ago. Can you believe it? These amazing creations were made by an amateur!

“I’m an executive assistant with no professional culinary or pastry training/experience. What I have to show is simply a product of going for it with a measure of patience and a sharp knife.”

– Lauren Ko interview with Mic

Ko doesn’t even sell her masterpieces. After over-pieing her “poor” husband, she says she now gives the pies away to friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Lucky, lucky people!

You can follow Lauren Ko on her Loko kitchen website and on Instagram.

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Bright of way. ✨| Glowing pains can be tough, but better blaze always come after. If you’re feeling dull, here’s your shine that everything’s gonna be all light. So, c’mon, full gleam ahead. 🌟| Cranberry curd tart with some all-natural papaya glitz. 💥 . . . . . . . . . . #lokokitchen #cranberry #papaya #tart #tartart #f52bright #rightofway #growingpains #fullsteamahead #brightlights #naturalgradient #sunsetcolors #moderngeometry #geometricpatterns #tilefloor #tileinspiration #surfacedesign #fromwherewedesign #designforall #designboom #thedesignprize #dscolor #wordsthatinsPIEre #thebakefeed #chefsplateform #simplisticfood #chefsgossip #dessertmasters #theartofplating #todayfood

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One of the best parts about this #myamericanpie collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣ ⁣ We’re continuing the series with Priscila. I’ve made this pie inspired by Incan art and filled with Peruvian comfort food, aji de gallina, to go with her story. ⁣ “Before moving to the US, my view of American life was basically Saved by the Bell. But then in 2002, I moved to Georgia and I realized the “American Dream” my parents were chasing wasn’t going to be as fun as Mario Lopez made it seem.⁣ ⁣ People didn’t know anything about Peru and I didn't want to give them more reasons to consider me an outsider, so I suppressed this part of my identity in order to fit in. As I grew up and moved to New York, I realized that part of me will never go away – I'm Peruvian American and my heritage is what makes me unique and allows me to look at things with additional lenses. I can cheer for Peru during the World Cup and the US during the Olympics. I love ceviche AND grits. I'm a hybrid of where I come from and where I am today – kind of like this pie, I'm aji de gallina but also a pie. This is a country of immigrants, some have been here for hundreds of years and others for weeks, but it doesn't change the fact that despite our differences, we can help each other move forward. It's my new American Dream.”⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie⁣ ⁣ Portrait: @buildingshipatsea

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Back in July, I kicked off the #myamericanpie series by sharing my cultural heritage and a pie inspired by my family. One of the best parts about this collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. We’re continuing the series with Ryn. ⁣ ⁣ “My heritage is Japanese-American. My mother’s parents emigrated from Japan to California early in the 20th century. My father’s parents left Japan for Hawaii in 1937 at the time of government/military crackdown on progressive forms of Buddhism. Both my parents’ families avoided internment after Pearl Harbor in completely different ways. That influenced their parenting. We were told that American English would be our first and native language. Like many other Japanese-Americans, assimilation was the order of the day. My earliest memories have been of cluelessness about being different.”⁣ ⁣ As Ryn reflects on her cultural influences, she says, “The older I get, the more I wish I had learned,” and the Japanese textile art of shibori–dyeing cloth manipulated into different patterns with folds and stitches–is one of those traditions that encapsulates that feeling. This pie design is inspired by that art form, and is filled with Fuji apple and miso caramel. ⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie⁣ ⁣ Portrait: @buildingshipatsea

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Winter piebernation. 🥧I This year the winter blues have me feeling like a sad panda. 🐼 Between the polar weather conditions and grizzly current events, I’ve been finding the gloom oso unbearable. 🐻 I’d pay good honey for some sunshine. What are your coping mechanisms for combating seasonal melancholy? A day at the paw? Bearaoke at the cub? Koalaty time with your [bam] boo? 🐨 I’m on the growl for an effective cure, so send me your best strategies for clawing out of this funk. I Strawberry mango pie for a slice of warm, tropical paradise. ⁣🍓🥭🌴 ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchen #strawberry #mango #pie #pieart #woven #quiltpattern #winterhibernation #winterblues #SAD #sadpanda #polar #grizzly #bamboozled #spaday #karaoke #bearpuns #unbearablejokes ⁣ #f52grams #buzzfeast #marthabakes #imsomartha #flatlaytoday #foodandwine #bhgbaking #eeeeeats #winterbaking #hellofromseattle #seattlesweets #yeahbutwhatdoesitlooklikebaked

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Ombré as the main ingradient. 🌈🍒

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Polar system.🌬I When we moved to Seattle from Boston, everyone reassured me that it *never* snows here. And of course it has snowed every single winter we’ve been here and when we get back from Portland today, it’ll be four in a row. So it is with life in the snow lane. 🆘I Vegan black sesame tart with dragon fruit herringbone inspired by a pair of kicks! 🐉I Only 2 days left on the early bird discount for my Barcelona workshops on June 6 & 7 @elmondolcdeclaudia! Take advantage of the 15% savings by clicking the link in my bio!⁣ ⬆️ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchen #vegan #blacksesame #dragonfruit #tart #tartart #herringbone #tile #tilepattern #tilework #plantbased #snow #slowlane #spain #barcelona #masterclass #pieclass #elmondolc #f52grams #f52favorites #marthabakes #imsomartha #onmytable #bakeandshare #beautifulcuisines #thebakefeed #thekitchn #ihavethisthingwithfloors #ihavethisthingwithtiles⁣ #visitspain

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Change of greenery. 🍃I Pear berry pie dragging me into fall because the rain is back and apparently mint to stay. If it wasn’t already obvious, summer is my jam and olive the autumnal things feel like limes against humanity. “Sage against the PSL machine! Slash and fern the bulky sweaters!” are not uncommon thoughts around this transitional period. 😩 Someone promise me that everything’s going to be pine, and I’ll go silently into the fall night if I moss. 🌲I You know the drill…baked photos get posted to my stories/highlights. This one is still in the freezer so try to leaf the #yeahbutwhatdoesitlooklikebaked ??! unteal then.⁣ 🙃 ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchen #pear #blueberry #pie #pieart #geometry #geometricdesign #fall #autumn #PSL #green #shadesofgreen #wordplay #f52grams #buzzfeast #marthabakes #imsomartha #foodandwine #saveur #bareaders #thebakefeed #amazonhome #bombesquad #fromwherewedesign #designforall #whpcolorplay #pantone #seattle ⁣

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Bragging brights. ✨I Like a prodigal sun slinking home after a one-light stand, this tart is trying to stay glow-key. But for the record, where this tart goes at night is sun of your business. ☀️I Grapefruit curd tart with an ombre citrus medley of Cara Cara and blood oranges and Page mandarins. Stay lit. ⁣🍊🔥 ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchen #grapefruit #curd #citrus #citrusmedley #wintercitrus #ombre #tart #tartart #braggingrights #prodigalson #onenightstand #lowkey #noneofyourbusiness #staylit #f52grams #buzzfeast #foodwinewomen #marthabakes #imsomartha #flatlaytoday #theartofplating #foodandwine #bhgbaking #eeeeeats #winterbaking #hellofromseattle #seattle ⁣

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I am the first generation in my family to be born in the United States. My father immigrated here from Hong Kong when he was 12 and my mother from Honduras as an adult. ⁣ ⁣ I grew up in San Diego, spent most of my summers in Tegucigalpa with my grandparents, and have never been to Asia. English wasn’t my first language, but it is now my dominant one. ⁣ ⁣ I’m generally not Asian *enough,* not quite Latina, and while I’ve lived in several different countries, the U.S. has still always been home, for better or worse. So it seems both ironic and perfect that I now reimagine a classic American dessert for a living. It’s equal parts not traditional enough, (not baked enough, hoho), and not radical enough. But American all the same. ⁣ ⁣ This pie, like my childhood, is filled with mango; fragrant like the fruit I used to pick in the yard. And clothed in a design that is blue and white like the Honduran flag, blue and white like my grandma’s Chinese porcelain with the dragon motif, and blue and white like the California beachscape that is home. This is my American pie. #lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie⁣ ⁣ Portrait 📸: @buildingshipatsea

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One of the best parts about this #myamericanpie collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣ ⁣ We’re continuing the series with Peter. I’ve created this pie inspired by his heritage–with a savory lumpia filling and a design modeled after Croatian folk embroidery. ⁣ ⁣ “My father is Croatian. He left former-Yugoslavia now Bosnia Herzegovina because there wasn’t much opportunity for him. My mother is from the Philippines. They met at a dance party in Queens in 1984 and married 3 months later. ⁣ As a mixed-race person born and raised in NYC, with a very Eastern European name, I learned quickly that people will often see two things: what they are most comfortable with and/or what they’re most uncomfortable with. Additionally, as a person with a disability, I’ve inherited the ideas of what it means to be disabled in the United States. ⁣ ⁣ Growing up in Queens, I was given the opportunity to experience many different cultures. The embroidery on this pie to me represents how all the different cultures I’ve experienced and been influenced by (and continue to be) have been interlaced together and impact how I live. The intricacies and the simplicity show how very different things can come together to create something unique and beautiful.” ⁣ ⁣ #lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie⁣ ⁣ Portrait: @buildingshipatsea

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Author: Donna from MyOBT

I have committed to spending part of every day looking for at least one beautiful thing, and sharing what I find with you lovelies!

14 thoughts on “The Geometric Baker”

Leave a comment

  1. Sheree
    March 14, 2020 at 7:00 am

    How fabulous! Those look so tempting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. bcparkison
    March 14, 2020 at 7:21 am

    I do love pie …not sure how some of these would taste but aren’t they beautifully done. I almost get dizzy trying to figure one or two out. Where did she start?…on the middle or on the edge?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. StellaKate Blue
    March 14, 2020 at 11:34 am

    I would like a tiny slice of each please. (Training for Thanksgiving!) They surely are gorgeous, I’m sending this to my dauighter who is a pastry chef!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Laura (PA Pict)
    March 14, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    I very much admire the beauty of this delicious art but I absolutely do not have the patience to even attempt to replicate it. Well, maybe the one with the strips arranged in a swirl, but not any of the others.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. janhaltn
    March 15, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    Love all of them. Having some computer problems, so in catch up mode. Hal

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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