NYC Pokémon Store Makes Collecting an Art Form
Poké Court, the new Pokémon flagship, reimagines collectible culture through a refined retail lens. Designed by GAMPworks, the 2,000-square-foot space balances industrial architecture with a restrained Japandi sensibility. Organized around the geometry of a sports court, the store transforms trading into theater, anchored by a central Pack Bar. Banquettes double as a “Ripping Corner,” and rare cards are displayed like fine jewelry. From recycled materials to the walnut-clad VIP lounge, the design elevates fandom into a carefully choreographed spatial experience.
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—Researcher and educator Rana Abudayyeh, Ph.D., associate professor and Robin Klehr Avia Professor of Interior Architecture at the University of Tennessee
Nothin’ But Smiles: SPAN Architecture Redefines the “Dental Visit”
Smile House by SPAN Architecture challenges everything you think you know about going to the dentist. Consider all bad memories history. Designed as a multispecialty destination for dental longevity and aesthetics in New York City, the space replaces clinical sterility with warm amber tones, wood textures, layered spatial depth, and spa-like comforts—including weighted blankets and facial treatments. Yes, please! Read how Smile House is positioning oral health as a gateway to overall well-being, proving that a trip to the dentist’s office can feel less like a procedure and more like a restorative ritual.
Cottagecore Meets Cali at This Ken Fulk Retreat
Laurel Canyon has officially entered the chat—via Healdsburg. The Cottages at Little Saint, designed by Ken Fulk, bring groovy ’60s and ’70s creative energy to Sonoma with four color-drenched, vinyl-equipped hideaways tucked behind the beloved plant-based restaurant. Expect checkerboard floors, hand-painted armoires, vintage records, and private porches made for deep conversations. Equal parts whimsical and sophisticated, this is wine country with personality—and we’re fully on board.
DIFFA Executive Director Dawn Roberson at the 40th anniversary gala in 2024 with Chairman of the Board Tom Polucci
DIFFA, Reimagined
DIFFA has always thrown a great party—but now it’s throwing its weight behind an even bigger mission. Executive Director Dawn Roberson walks us through why the 42-year-old nonprofit has expanded its focus beyond HIV/AIDS to tackle risk factors behind the health condition, such as housing and food insecurity. She discusses how the design industry continues to power its magic and why this year’s Angels & Demons gala at St. John the Divine is more than just a creative black-tie affair.
Five Questions
With Karen Stonely
Architect, artist, and SPAN Architecture co-founder Karen Stonely has built a career shaped by creativity, curiosity, and civic engagement. Trained as a glassmaker and illustrator before turning fully to architecture, her multidisciplinary background informs her design work and her commitment to public service. She balances leading an award-winning practice with mentorship, philanthropy, and socially minded projects. Karen shares the ideas, places, and discoveries that continue to inspire her work.
Strike a Pose: 5 Pendants That Deserve a Close-Up
Commercial interiors can express more interesting lighting plans by incorporating pendants in the earliest stages. These decorative focal elements go beyond eye candy to divide space into functional zones, create private conversation areas and even help retailers focus consumer attention on specific products.
These five brands—Lodes, Ingo Maurer, Arteriors, RAD Furniture, Shailesh Rajput Studio—are at the forefront of what’s hot in pendant lighting. Each fixture expresses a different mood through its unique style and materiality.
Lodes, Oblò (left); Ingo Maurer, Shhh! (right)
The Ultimate Office Lure? Allsteel’s Sleek, Productive Jetty:Mod
Since work can happen anywhere, the environment itself must be the draw back to the office. Allsteel answers with the modular Jetty:Mod collection. Supported by the brand's Work Geometry concept, this flexible furniture allows for intentional setups, creating pockets for both focus and collaboration. Jetty:Mod respects where and how people want to work, making the physical workspace a visual communication of trust that supports individual goals.
Peter Marino Spins His Signature Rebellion into Rubelli Silks
Perpetuating his love affair with Venice, Peter Marino introduces Rococo, a capsule collection of nine reversible silks for Rubelli. Inspired by its namesake style of watercolor by 18th-century painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and woven at Rubelli’s Como mill, the line transforms fragments of Tiepolo’s work into free-flowing compositions, threaded with gold and silver. The results are something playful, luminous, and just downright beautiful.
Seoul’s First Major Queer Exhibition Opens
After stops in Taipei, Bangkok, and Hong Kong, "Spectrosynthesis" lands in Seoul for its fourth edition. Opening March 20 at Art Sonje Center, the exhibition marks the first time a major Korean institution has dedicated a large-scale presentation to queer subjects, narratives, and artistic practices. With more than 30 works and a roster that spans local and international names, it’s a significant cultural moment.
Dear Fear, 2020, by Dew Kim, whose work is featured at "Spectrosynthesis." Photo: Junyong Cho
From Denny’s to Designer Preschool
The new net-zero Betty Bazar Community Center and Preschool by Kadre Architects's is combatting housing insecurity in LA.
Inclusive by Design: A Women-Led Vision for Humanscale
Architect Suchi Reddy created a light-filled showroom for Humanscale in San Francisco that also serves as a hub for the local community.
Zero Bugs, Total Control With Zenith Retractable Screens
These screens from Corradi USA transform expansive commercial openings into climate-responsive spaces.
How Maya Bird-Murphy Built a Sanctuary for Design Activism
Buy Tickets to DIFFA's 2026 Gala: Angels & Demons—A Night of Divine Mischief
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The Comm Sheet celebrates the commercial design world while sparking community connection. Our twice-monthly newsletter delivers bite-size content—including insights from top designers; spotlights on new projects and innovative products; and deep dives into topics like neurodiversity, inclusivity, environmental sustainability, and democratization in design—all in a sharp, lively, easily digestible format.