Akiyo is a Japanese American artist and designer in California. She graduated in 2008 with a BS in Graphic Design but soon realized that she missed the tactile nature of working with her hands. She gathered whatever old t-shirts she could find for fabric and hand-sewed her first penguin prototype eventually named Niko. By combining her love for crafting and penguins, she created My Dear Darling – a shop to share her soft sculpture dolls. Her work has since been featured in magazines such as Elle Québec and Stuffed, and has been showcased twice on the pop culture news website, Buzzfeed. She was hand-selected to participate in the group show “Plush You!” in Seattle, Washington along with some of the best talents in the industry. That experience set her ambitions higher to dedicating a whole show around Niko Darling.

In 2022, Akiyo sent her penguins on vacation and focused on graphic design to better balance her work and family. As she took on more freelance projects, she also landed a roll as a Social Media and Affiliates Assistant for Yellow Brick Home.

Brands

Yellow Brick Home
Game Dev Unchained
Little Thai Hut
Go Demics
Black + Decker International

Press

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2016.01   21 Adorable Stuffed Animals For Grown-Ass Adults Elaina Wahl, BuzzFeed
2015.10   23 Things You Need If You Love Penguins Elaina Wahl, BuzzFeed
2014.08   Niko Darling Stuffed Magazine Volume 7 Issue 2
2014.01   Living In San Mateo   Ikea Family Live Magazine
2014.01   Meet the Artist: Akiyo Pham, My Dear Darling   Gwen Paja, Gifts.com Gift Wrap
2013.09   Meet My Dear Darling   Kristen Rask, Schmancy
2013.02   The Wild Wild West   John Petersik, Young House Love
2011.12   My Dear Darling   Mar-C, Super Cute Kawaii
2010.09   Elle Adore   Emmanuelle Néron, Elle Québec

EXHIBITIONS
2016   FIRST SOLO SHOW   Sketchpad Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2015   Plush You!   Schmancy, Seattle, WA
2013   Plush You!   Schmancy, Seattle, WA

RETAIL VENUES
2015.08   J-Pop Summit   San Francisco, CA
2015.05   Asian Heritage Street Celebration   San Francisco, CA
2015.05   Asian American Cultural Festival   Daly City, CA
2014.11   SF Etsy Holiday Emporium   San Francisco, CA
2014.01   Gifts.com   Online
2013.12   Come C Interiors Holiday Boutique   San Mateo, CA
2010.02   New People Vol. 2 Artist Village x Bazaar Bizarre SF   San Francisco, CA
2009.12   Mill Valley Holiday Craft Fair   Mill Valley, CA