If you’re anything like me, you’ve experimented with baking during quarantine. Some people have elevated baking to an art, creating edible masterpieces. But even before quarantine, baker Lauren Ko already found her artistic calling, and a 409k follower count, through intricate and beautiful pies.
Ko's website describes her work as following a “colorful geometric style [that] made all hell ‘bake’ loose on the frontier of contemporary pie art.” She divulges all her tips, tricks, and journey in her new cookbook, Pieometry.
Ko flexes her pun skills in her Instagram captions as well as her cookbook.
The cookbook's title encompasses Ko’s approach to pie making: she is willing to try anything. She never plans a pie ahead of time. Her inspiration for her intricate designs comes from the ingredients she has that day.
Rosettes and leaves tend to dominate the pie decorating scene. Ko leans towards straight lines and clean shapes. While her style seems simple compared to the baroque decorations of other pie enthusiasts, Ko’s brand is easily spotted under #pie.
In her hometown of Seattle, Ko doesn’t sell or even eat her pies. She shares the art of viewing them on her instagram, @lokokitchen.
Her efforts have been recognized. Ko was named The Instagram Star on Bake from Scratch Magazine’s 2018 Baker’s Dozen list of most influential bakers.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, Ko stated, “I think with my designs there’s like a shroud of mystery … People think, ‘I can’t wrap my head around this, I have no idea where you’ve started or how you would even construct that’...People are pretty surprised at how easy it is.”
With her growing popularity, Ko has had to deal with her share of internet trolls. However, iunstead of letting the hate get to her, she created her own shady hashtag-- #YeahButWhatDoesItLookLikeBaked.
She has partnered with Seattle and Eastside charities to donate pies to raise money at auctions, and continues to use her platform to promote organizations she feels passionately about.
Ko has even posted a rainbow-colored apple tart with a caption sharing sexual assault statistics and resources.
In an interview with 425 Magazine, she said, “I feel a little bit of an obligation to use my opportunities and use my voice in productive ways. I’m continuing to explore how to do that in a way that is respectful and takes advantage of the platform I have.”
Lauren Ko has shown how creativity has taken over the pie world, one slice at a time.
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